January Conductor’s Notes

Hello friends, I hope you’re all well and had a lovely Christmas break!

This is my first post of the new year, and I can’t wait to get stuck into some more excellent music-making with our first rehearsal tomorrow (Thursday 15th January). Below is all the information you’ll need for this term, for January, and some feedback from last term too. Thank you all for reading carefully.

Feedback from last term

Well… what can I say… it was truly epic! Both performances of The Armed Man (Wheatley and Botley) were excellent, but our one in our ‘home’ venue was utterly incredible. It was, dare I say, the best concert you’ve ever done?! Certainly the best we’ve done together. It was so full of energy, passion, and excellent story-telling – exactly what the piece needed! All of the hard work we’ve done across the term came together that evening, and I feel like we lifted to another level as a choir. I could not be prouder! It was of course incredibly exciting working with the orchestra and soloists, and this helped bring a certain enthusiasm to the performance, but the hard work was all done by you! Very well done indeed!

Of course, these things couldn’t happen without the incredible team of people who put in hours of work behind the scenes. A huge thank you to our wonderful committee, to Steve for leading it all, and for all the amazing work you all do. It makes my life so much easier knowing I’ll just be able to turn up and wave my arms and everything else is sorted! A particular thanks to those who helped move all the percussion! And a special thanks to Mike who not only did a beautiful programme, but ran the whole of the front of house – even as we were squeezed to bursting point with our sold-out concert!

Rather excitingly… Ed, the principal trumpeter, recorded the concert (it’s two huge files, so if you’re struggling to access it please let me know and we’ll find another way to watch it). Unfortunately the first 4 movements failed to record, so the recording starts at movement 5 (Hymn Before Action), but I hope you’ll all enjoy reliving the event. I shall say no more as I think the recording shows how phenomenal it all sounded… I may have had tears in my eyes rewatching this, I’m so proud! The link is here: Concert Recording – 30.11.25

Lastly, in my wrap-up for last term, a huge thank you and well done to those who came carol singing in the two care homes in December. We had some lovely feedback from the homes, and it’s proof that what we do for our community really matters. It was such a fun, relaxed, and enjoyable way to end the term. We then of course had a bit of a social at the pub afterwards, which was such a nice way to end 2025. In my first rehearsal with you all, someone came up to me in the break and said “I bet you’ve never seen a more sociable and friendly choir”… that is indeed true!

Spring term & January’s Plan

Below is my Project Sheet for this term – it contains (hopefully) all the details you’ll need for the next few months. I especially want to point out the marked scores (please ensure that these markings go into your copies once you have your music), and the learning resources (I’ve tried to source as much as possible to help you with your practice at home). I trust this is all clear.

January’s Rehearsal Plan
And here’s the rehearsal schedule for this month. Please do come prepared where you can; I understand it’ll be a little tricky in the first couple of rehearsals as we’re just beginning to learn the music, but please start using the resources and Spotify Playlist to become a bit more familiar with the music.

Other events

One last thing: my barbershop quartet, The Acafellas, will be leading an afternoon workshop on ensemble singing, and then performing a concert in the evening as a fundraising event. I’d be delighted to see some friendly faces in the audience, so please consider coming along to one or other of the events. The poster is below, and you can get tickets here: https://www.cncs.org.uk/product/acafellas/

See you all tomorrow for our first rehearsal back! I can’t wait!
– Ben