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Choral Society is not a choir or a club. We've all heard about High society, the café society and so on, which identify people collectively who share a common interest. There exists amongst singers a bond which identifies and unites them in the same way. So this web-site is for choral singers who are passionate about their singing. The site is organic and constantly being developed so please come back if you find something does not work or is incomplete. If you’d like to make a contribution, tell the Webmaster |
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CHORAL SOCIETY WebMag With this level of traffic, it is mutually beneficial to have reciprocal links. Please tell your web-master. This site is changing and developing as a result of your input and my self-indulgent additions! So what’s new? We’re still in 2010 but what happens next year when there is a ‘11’ in the date? There’s, Chopin and Schumann born in 1810, Thomas Arne and Pergolesi in 1710. Samuel Barber in 1910. Not related to this but I’ve found about six events featuring Gounod’s messe solennelle de Ste. Cecile. If you are doing it and want to learn the Gounod, click here.
Curious how this happens. Are choirs giving audiences enough variety? What do you think? Have you any ideas for 2011? For SALE (still) I have still have five copies for sale of Elgar’s The Kingdom at £9 each + postage. More news. Can you help the Kathleen Ferrier Society? I have been contacted by David Whittaker as follows. “I am presently doing research for the Kathleen Ferrier Society. We are compiling a performance chronology of the great contralto's career, which we aim to complete for her centenary celebration in 2012. I have discovered she sang in two performances of the Messiah at: If you could find the time and you have access to this information would it be possible for you to give us any further details of these performances? Who the other soloists were? The orchestra? The conductor? (I feel sure it must have been the Chesterfield Philharmonic Choir?). The KFS would be very grateful for your co-operation, our Chronology will have two more completed performance details and there will be a record of the professional link between Ferrier and the Chesterfield Choir.” Singing Holidays is a new venture, which takes amateur singers to Umbria, Italy for a week. During that time, guests will be treated to 2 hours of daily rehearsals plus some short rehearsals in idyllic locations. Contact Jeff Stewart Where do you find your I am approached sometimes by choirs, wishing to find a professional soloist. Similarly, professionals ask me about opportunities. Recently I have had contact with Jill Davies who knows about these things. Recently she was asked to take on singers Concert Directory International so she has a list of sopranos, mezzos, tenors, bass-baritones, counter-tenors to offer. See Davies Music. Like-minded... John Hooper is a like-minded singer, musician and doer of all the sort of things which would interest you. The title of his site is "John's (downloadable) Midi File Choral Music". Ever had the SMITF experience? St. Martin’s in the Fields is a magical venue for choral concerts. Bob Porter (Brandenburg Sinfonia) presents many concerts there and our choir could be one of them. Bob’s ‘band’ has accompanied many choirs including Leatherhead Choral Society. If you are interested in performing Brahms’ Requiem but lack the resources for a full orchestra, Bob has written an arrangement for small orchestra (Brandenburg Sinfonia ideally!). Contact him at Brandenburg Sinfonia. Yet another Orlando; Orlando Singers is based in the middle of Dorset, with singers from London to Somerset. They perform in cathedrals including Canterbury, Winchester, Lincoln, Truro, Bristol and Ely. The choir does not meet weekly. Instead, they have six Saturday "sing-days". Take a look at their site. There is yet another Orlando in Cambridge. Who can tell us more? A regular and reliable contributor is the Orlando Chamber Choir based in London. Most of the members work in or around the City (which makes rehearsals near Paddington very convenient). Quite a few are students or working on a PhD. They are ‘audition only’ but the pic shows that there is more to being in a choir than singing!
Has anybody tried Warwick Audio? If you have then you’ll know that they offer concert recording, double audio CD with on-body printing, jewel case, colour insert and pay MCPS fees. All this FREE! What is your experience? See www.warwickaudio.com One of many useful contributions from Brian Maskell is this. He has used NoteWorthy Scriptorium to prepare electronic versions of pieces for himself and fellow choristers are learning. He says it is a very versatile tool and fantastic value for money. He adds, “I am not on commission!” Ever heard of MULAG? In 2002, the Eastbourne and Hastings Music Libraries closed and their Music Librarians were made redundant or moved elsewhere. The Lewes Music Library was demolished and its music collection severely reduced. So what happened to the music? The music scores, reference books and recordings from all three libraries were either 'weeded out' and sold or put into storage. These actions by East Sussex County Council have deprived local musicians, music lovers, teachers and students of an essential resource. MULAG was formed to campaign for long term Music Library provision. If you are concerned about this loss, please consider joining MULAG. You can read the the most recent Newsletter which I have by clicking here. Go to www.mulag.org.uk. Register your interest who will keep you informed. Two ‘High Note’ MULAG campaigners are Roy and Angela Goodall. They publish the excellent bi-monthly publication “Words and Music”, a valuable survey of the Performing Arts in Surrey, Sussex and Kent. I originally saw this about seven years ago in my local library (as in most) where it is distributed free. It has developed enormously so is worth ordering by post for £8 a year from R.S.C. Sparey, 14 Fox Close, Clapham, Bedford, MK41 6GF 01234 215953 “The Choral Society” a novel by Prue Leith to be published in 2009. She’s not just a foodie! This is about relationships in a choir. Read the STEAMY SYNOPSIS!. The Robert Bouffler Music Trust If you’ve heard of The Robert Bouffler Music Trust, you will know that it was established in 1988 to sustain the spirit and objectives of the late Robert Bouffler's work, by encouraging and supporting young musicians from the East Surrey area. Michael Barlow conductor of the Hurst Green Singers (Surrey, not the Sussex) has been appointed their Musical Adviser. I have attended the RBMT concerts and many of the musicians are outstanding New Requiem for choirs. Philip Ledger's new Requiem "A thanksgiving for life", was written for performance by choral societies. More information about Ledger scores from Encore Publications in Matfield. Liturgical Music Courses. I’ve not heard from them so I shall remove this item unless somebody tells me what is happening. |
Editorial messages. Calendar & choirs page. The automated pages have become a bit of a pain with infiltration by malefactors. I have remove many entries every day so I worked on a method where you have to enter letters and figures from an image. Contact me if probs. You can click on FEEDBACK to send me a message but e-mail is quicker. Archives to 2007 can now be found under Links & Archives. Please, please give this site a link to yours. It is mutually beneficial. If you want a logo, right-click to download and save here. Please make the link to this site simply as Music Notation and scanning software interests me vey much. I have just been introduced to Music Publisher by Kay and Peter Bates. Read more. Autumn’s nearly here but let’s remember what has been happening already this year. Sponsalia is a chamber choir, founded and chaired by Janee Foxon, whose members are based in the Surrey Hills. They specialise in singing for weddings but over a glorious week-end in late May 2010 were invited, with conductor Beresford Bell, to perform in a ‘Festival Chorale’ organised by the Mayor and Twinning Committee of Chantilly, a pretty town some 30 miles north of Paris.
Choirs representing all four towns took part in a two-day choral festival performing programmes of their own choice of music representing a variety of styles and period at well attended concerts on Saturday in the Salle du Jeu de Paume part of Chantilly's beautiful château and on Sunday in the Église Sainte-Thérèse. Sponsalia's performance of ‘O Magnum Mysterium’ by American composer Morten Lauridsen proved appealing to the audience. Choirs joined together in a finale comprising Fauré's ‘Cantique de Jean Racine’ and the rousing Hymne Européen, set to Beethoven's music. Each evening finished with splendid suppers hosted by the organisers in the Salle du Bouteiller facilitating opportunities to make new choral friendships over fine French fare. Sponsalia look forward to being part of future choral collaborations following the success of this first twinned-towns choral festival. Autumn Singing Season starts ◊ Dorking Choral Society invites more men and ladies too Contact to sing with them from September. Contact Ges Ray, their Chairman. ges.ray@virgin.net The choir now has a new web-site. Go there to see why you should join or listen to them. ◊ A few months I met Ron Billard who sings with Surrey Fringe Barbershop Chorus They sing what it says on the box and sounds a lot of fun. Contact Mike Hurdle, Chairman 01483 223255 rbsurreyfringe@aol.com Give it a try! ◊ Leatherhead Choral Society is looking for more tenors and basses to join us for their winter concert "Love Sacred and Profane" featuring Carmina Burana and the world premiere of the cantata "The Song of Songs" written by their musical director Ian Assersohn. The performance takes place at the Menuhin Hall on Saturday 27th November. Rehearsals start on Monday 6th September 7.45 pm Christ Church United Reformed, Leatherhead, KT22 8ST ◊ Crisis in Cranleigh. Cranleigh Choral Society is singing at the Cranleigh Music Festival (Cranleigh Showground, Surrey) on Saturday 4th September - "Open Air Proms" with the Guildford Philharmonic Orchestra. Unfortunately a number of the men have dropped out and they are asking for Tenors in particular. Contact Tricia Robinson(secretary) 01483 274455 patriciarobinson@redcedar.demon.co.uk and mention this site; choralsociety.org.uk ◊ The London based City Chorus is celebrating its 90th birthday season in 2010-2011: the culmination of their anniversary year will be a concert in July 2011, which will feature a newly commissioned 20-minute work for chorus. Composers from around the world are invited to apply for this £2,000 commission. City Chorus is an adult mixed choir, open to all without audition, and their 'ideal' composer will be able to write music which is original and exciting, yet within the capability of amateur singers. Deadline is 3rd December 2010. Download details here.
Laudamus Chamber Choir not to be confused with other choirs of a similar name or the Hot Metal band, has vacancies for altos from September. The choir is based in Addlestone, near Woking, Surrey. Singers who can sight-read, who are committed and who have a passion for choral singing are needed. For more information please contact Susan Smith who is a new contributor with a passion for singing! laudamus@suray.plus.com An opening for tenors.
Earlier this year, Nick Landauer, conductor of Cantamus Reigate experienced/suffered a surfeit of tenors. Either they haven’t returned or perhaps he needs even more! He tells me “We're joining forces with the small (but perfectly formed) St Mark's Choir (Alma Road, Reigate) to perform the Fauré Requiem liturgically - ie. in a service - on All Souls' Day, Tuesday November 2nd at 8pm. We hope to have a harp and cello with us, as well as the organ. Rehearsals There are three booked, all in St Mark's at 7.45pm to 9.30pm on Monday 18th October, Monday 25th October, and Friday 29th October.” If you are interested, e-mail him here Nick Landauer and be sure to mention this site, please. That’s not all! He is running a “Come and Sing!" day on Saturday 20th November in St. Mark’s Church, Reigate. Some Creation choruses, some Goodall, Stanford and other rather interesting repertoire. Robin Gritton will also be there to keep you in order. All welcome, especially tenors. More soon. Do you ever complain and wish somebody would listen? There was an interesting item on Radio 4’s Today programme which I followed up. There is a complaints organisation called Complaints Choirs Worldwide here and if you want a bit of fun, go to this item on YouTube. The things which people complain about (up with this I will not put) transcend nationalities and geographical boundaries. Why not compose your own piece and I will post it on this site. Workshops to enjoy in 2010 and 2011 Reigate-based English Arts Chorale has been awarded a grant under the Choral Ambition scheme run by the BBC Performing Arts Fund. As part of this, Brian Kay will lead a workshop on Saturday 4th September 2010 in Reigate. Duruflé Requiem and Lauridsen O Magnum Mysterium. Full details are here. Places on the workshop cost just £15 and should be purchased in advance. They regret that in order to maintain balance in the choir, soprano tickets are not available. However you can still buy a soprano place if you buy a Tenor or Bass ticket at the same time! Get your ticket on-line here before they all go! Can’t make it? Then try these Consider singing with the Epsom Choral Society at their “Open rehearsal - Duruflé Requiem" on Wednesday 15th September at 7.45pm. More and another... Hill Singers are very enterprising in their publicity. Click on the pic to see their mention in the Merton Journal. They are now on Facebook as well. Is this something which you should consider doing? there’s more... and more... there’s no end to the opportunities... yet another three, details to follow... and in 2011 (some choirs think ahead) Something to add to this site? Would you like the opportunity to discus ‘things’ on this site? For example, what do you think about auditioning? A board can be arranged but will it be worth all the work? Want to know what other choirs are doing in 2010/11? Conflicting dates are always a worry when deciding when to hold your concerts. Here is a new facility to check what is on when you might be considering a date. See what other choirs are doing, add your own, enter your events. This does not replace the New Events pages which are primarily for your retail customers to see. Either navigate from the Calendar & Choirs drop-down button below Useful Links or go there now.
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Langlais Festival 2010. You’ve just missed it! Once again, Brenda Dean has run her BMW (Brittany Music workshop) between 25th - 29th July. Ouest-France newspaper liked it!
Five days of stimulating music lead by Malcolm Archer, with David Bednall (organ) and Hilary Jones (voice coach) and composer Alex Campkin in attendance. This is the third year that this event has been publicised on choralsociety.org.uk. Many thanks to all who have sent me pictures. Brenda is planning something BIG for 2011, the 20th anniversary of the death of Jean Langlais. Keep looking here. Ever wondered where the young choristers go when they grow up? Mystery partly solved thanks to Chairman, Malcolm Bury (pictured below with Brenda Dean), of St. Albans Cathedral Ex-choristers’ Association which makes very interesting reading. See their Newsletter pdf here. On Saturday 18th September 7.30pm they have a concert in St. Alban’s Abbey, probably their most important since the Association began. More.
____________________________________ Stephen Hope can be relied upon to keep the music pot boiling! He is organising a trip to Krakow in 2011. Please look at the Sussex Festival Choir web-site for details. Carols in Bruges - December 11th Let him know Stephen Hope by September 1st if you are interested. Pick-ups at Maidstone Services and Horsham Park & Ride February 5th 2011 Workshop. Messiah. Croydon PC. see other column. July 31st 2011 Arundel Cathedral. Bach B minor Mass. Joint rehearsals June 26th & Wingrave Singers (see more below) ran a workshop on 6th March which was funded by the BBC Performing Arts Fund, a charity that was set up within the BBC in 2003 to help everyone achieve their musical ambitions, from choirs, hip hop artists and musical theatre performers to folk musicians. Since its inception the fund has awarded over 3m to aspiring musicians, performers and groups across a range of genres through funding instruments, training and development. To learn more about what the fund does and how you can apply, visit the website Based in Wingrave, near Aylesbury, . Buckinghamshire this friendly mixed voice choir of about 25 singers. They have a wide repertoire of religious and secular music. The choir have a strong background of visiting cathedrals around the country. .
This is a robed choir (pictured with Alex Campkin in Coventry Cathedral) when singing in cathedrals, church services and weddings. The choir rehearse weekly in term time on a Friday evening in Wingrave Parish Church from 7.45pm to 9.30pm. Interested? Dorking Camerata’s Box of Delights The box looked good but the contents were even better. On Sunday 27th June they gave a picnic concert in the delightful setting of St Barnabas church on Ranmore Common, Dorking, next to Denbies vineyard. Wonderful music conducted by Ian Assersohn with his wife accompanying. Here’s a new choir - well, nearly new. The UCS Centenary Choir was formed as a direct result of University College School’s centenary celebrations in 2008. (Zingy web-site.)The singers had such a good time that they just kept going! There are about 100 members at present and the only requirement for joining is an ability to sing in tune, hold a part, and most of all, be enthusiastic. Membership is open to all SATB singers. You don’t have to be a pupil, parent or anything like that. They meet at the school in Frognal, Hampstead, North London. Next concert is Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. more Concert at St. Margaret the Queen, Buxted Park. Saturday 9th October
The Buxted Event has now run for 15 years. The 2009 concert was a sell out. This was a Voices for Hospices event and over £4,000 was raised for the St. Peter & St. James Hospice, Sussex. Music for this year is Vivaldi’s Gloria and Handel’s Coronation anthem ‘Let thy hand be strengthened’. Learn Vivaldi for Buxted plus the latest Buxted news here. By request this link is left at the request of singers who want to Learn Brahms’ Requiem - click here This item about Robin Milford, composer, was introduced to me by Nick Landauer, Conductor of Cantamus Reigate. Robin grew up in Surrey. Thanks to response from David Pettigrew, Publicity Manager of Epsom Choral Society, I can tell you this. “this Society (Epsom) was founded by Sir Humphrey Milford in 1922 in order to give his son Robin experience as a choral conductor in the Leith hill Musical Festival. He was a pupil of Vaughan Williams and Holst and was a lifelong friend of Gerald Finzi, all of whom influenced his music. Mainly in the 'English' style, it includes choral, solo and chamber music, cantatas, a symphony and an Oratorio. He took over the direction of the Leith Hill choir, Dorking. Nick is very interested in performing some of Robin's works. I am considering making this a feature on this site, provided there is more than one choir interested in exploring Milford. Please contact me Webmaster if this resonates with you. (See Cantamus Reigate on New Events.) Latest from Shalford Choral Society
www.shalfordchoralsociety.org.uk ____________________________________ A new contributor is the Buckland & Betchworth Choral Society. I have known of them for quite a long time but they have just decided to enter the limelight with a new web-site bbcs.org.uk. They have appointed a new MD. More here soon. A new aid from the USA to Learning the Notes. I don’t accept commercials or advertisements but if something interesting comes up for singers, I will include it in the editorial. SingleParts CDs are available to choral singers in the UK. I have had a look at this and think it is good. I personally continue to use midi files because I haven’t found anything why suits me better. Go to their web-site for more information and a demo. Tell me what you think by clicking FEEDBACK at the top of the next column. Here’s something interesting; a site called Helping You Harmonise. It is all about Liz Garnett and what she as a professional musician, can offer singers. In her own words “Helping You Harmonise offers ideas to help choral directors and singers in vocal ensembles to rehearse and perform more effectively.” We now have reciprocal links because we both feel that we can benefit one another. Take a look. It’s an interesting site. www.helpingyouharmonise.com Know the name Gareth Malone? If you do, it is because you have been following his choral programmes on BBC TV. If you don’t, you will have missed out on how he’s made singing Cool to reluctant young men. You’ve also missed out on his creation of the South Oxhey Community Choir and the South Oxhey Youth Choir. More soon. southoxheychoirs.org How far is far?. So far, New Orleans One of the singers of Symphony Chorus of New Orleans, named Ginger, asked for some help on Bernstein’ Chichester Psalms. I was delighted to answer her and in passing, I said I lived about 60 miles from Chichester. She replied, The site is worth a visit. You can always learn something from other choirs.
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Go to 
Commissioned by William Owen and the Choir of Christ Church, Christiana Hundred, USA, the choir gave World Premiere on 4th November 2007. 
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