Choir Members' Blog
 I have heard good reports from this lunchtime’s event at the TfL faith group event and I’m sorry I had to miss it but my voice is not yet up to singing yet. Tomorrow, Tuesday 17th December, Merel is holding a rehearsal at 55 Broadway ahead of the RailStaff carol service on Thursday. Please arrive at 17:45 so she can start promptly at 18:00. Wednesday. We are busking at Westminster Station 17:30 – 18:45 - please see Sam’s earlier email. Thursday. Please be at St Mary’s Church Eversholt Street near Euston Station by 10:30. The service starts at 12:30 and there is a chance to get refreshments afterwards if you are able to stay. Uniform is the usual all black with red scarf or tie and your music in your folders. Have a good week and I look forward to seeing you all on Wednesday and Thursday Catherine Well done to everyone who sang at the Christmas Celebration this lunchtime, hosted by the TfL Christian Network. I thought there was a good balance of SATB and my personal fave was Silent Night. 🎶🎵🎶 We certainly had an appreciative audience who gave us a round of applause after each carol!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼Xx Fiona A special thanks to Fiona for arranging the Christmas Celebration Event. Thanks to Alex for conducting and Annette Kay for accompanying us and providing lovely background carols on the keyboard during lunch.👏👏👏👏 Jenny Well done all and my apologies for turning up late: you did sound good in the last carol and looked very professional whilst listening to the address and in the last carol. Thank you, Fiona for organising this event. Bob Another of our sopranos was missing - but she had a good excuse too - back to work for Maddy! Michael 
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Ladies and Gentlemen,
May I say many thanks to each and every one of you for the wonderful music you produced this evening. I thought our sound as a choir was excellent as did the members of the congregation I spoke to after the service. Mike Brown was very complimentary as was the Reverend Catherine Duce, who said the repertoire was outstanding for a volunteer workplace choir, to which I have to agree: you really did do yourselves proud. One special thanks needs to go to Sam for really lifting the Shepherds' Farewell to another level; the steel pan will have to become a regular member of the choir. Our success in no small part down to our wonderful choir directors. AmyBeth who over the last 5 years as MD has brought the choir along in leaps and bounds taking us from an average choir to a choir to be reckoned with, one which can sing in some of the most prestigious places in London. AmyBeth has taken our voices and trained us in the way so that now we can take a piece be it, The Shepherds' Farewell or Proud Mary, Waterloo Sunset or the introit of Faure's Requiem, and deliver it confidently, with feeling and musical understanding. It has been an amazing piece of teaching to get us that far: unfortunately she hasn’t yet been able to get us to watch her as often as she would want but you can't work miracles and we are working on this. AmyBeth - we will miss you as our MD but you did graciously introduce us to our next MD in Merel who I am sure will continue to build on all your hard work and achievements. Please do come back and sing with us as and when you're free to do so - we wold love to have you back with us. So here’s to a great Christmas season with a few more events all as important and worthy as tonight’s. Where you are able please do come along and help us, especially at Westminster for busking and at Palestra for the faith group service on Monday week. Once again many thanks and you really did do yourselves proud. Just a short note ahead of the biggest and most important event of the year - the TfL Festival of Carols
Rehearsal Please arrive from 1530 so we can begin warming up at 1545 and start rehearsing at 1600 sharp. We will rehearse for an amount of time to be confirmed by the musical director on the day. Please do not leave your possessions in the main seats but in the pews to the side or any other areas as shown by committee members. Uniform Please wear all black from head to toe. Please bring and wear your red scarf or red tie and please ensure you have ironed them. Please ensure you have all of your music and it is held in your choir folder. Anyone who does not conform to these instructions will not be allowed to sing (as per the instruction at last Saturday’s rehearsal) The uniform requirements remain the same for all events unless otherwise specified. After rehearsal Once we have finished our rehearsal we will relocate to a room downstairs were we can leave you belongings. This room will be locked when empty. There is some time to have a snack before you need to return to the room fully ready to depart at 1850. Once we leave the room and enter the church stairs please remain silent as the noise echoes up the stairs into the church. Pre paid Souvenir Programmes / Guest arrival If you have pre purchased the souvenir programmes from Zena the please ensure your guests have them to gain entry otherwise they will be asked to buy another (with no refund!) If you were not at Saturday’s rehearsal then you can pick up any remaining programmes from Zena before or just after tomorrow’s rehearsal. Please ask your guests to arrive by 1855 as the doors will close at 1900. Please note the later they arrive the less choice of seats they will have. Also please ask them not to sit at the end of the pews by the middle aisle as this is where the invited speakers sit and they may be asked to move. Performance We will then perform until around 2005/ 2010. You must remain seated until directed to leave. This will be around 5 minutes after the clergy have departed. You are then free to mingle with your families etc but please remember to return to the room downstairs to collect your belongings. After the concert As stated above please remember to return to the room to collect your belongings. Then you are free to leave. Catherine. Here are the details which the organisers have sent to Fiona
Running Order 11.30 – 12.00 – set up, buffet arrives, decorate, singers arrive and practice 12 to 12.15 – people arrive, buffet and (optional) singers sing in the background 12.15 – Welcome and official start Carol - Once in royal David’s city Bible reading – Isaiah 9:6-7, the prophet foretells the coming of Jesus Carol – O Come All Ye Faithful Bible reading – Luke 1:26-35, the birth of Jesus foretold Performance piece by singers – Silent Night Bible reading – Luke 2: 1-16, the birth of Jesus 12.45 to 1pm - talk by Kev Murdoch Carol - Hark the herald angels sing 1pm official end On Saturday we had a three hour rehearsal, attended by 6S 4A 5T and 6B - a terrific turnout! After an active warm up (great for our step count!) we started the rehearsal with A Great and Mighty Wonder the tune of which was familiar to some from another hymn or carol (can anyone remember which?). We then went onto Once in Royal David’s City, O Litttle Town of Bethlehem and It came upon the midnight clear where the sops (and friends) learned the decant which was new to us.
After a short break we looked at I heard the Bells on Christmas Day and Bob advised us of the word changes. We then rehearsed Mary’s Magnificat and ran through Lo he comes with clouds of glory. NOTES FOR FUTURE REFERENCE A Great and Mighty Wonder - If you can roll your ‘r’s exaggerate this on ‘Repeat’ and ‘Glory’ in chorus in particular. Once in Royal David’s City - Ensure clear diction - AmyBeth’s instructions on v2: emphasise ‘down’ and ‘heav’ - Carry over ‘heaven’ to ‘who’, breathe after God - Break after ‘lowly’ and ‘earth’ - ‘holy’ sing as ‘holee’ not ‘holi’ O Little town of Bethlehem - All verses in harmony - v3 quiet - respect the hold-overs shown in music and don’t breathe It came upon the midnight clear - Annotate your score with the revised words previously circulated - respect the hold-overs shown in music (both printed and annotated) - sops do please look at the descant as we haven’t sung this before I heard the bells on Christmas Day - see instructions from last week; in addition: - verse 3: Basses and tenors to respect the ‘piano’ dynamic and also sing softer on ‘Ah’s so don’t drown out the melody and soloist. - change all ‘men’ to ‘all’ Mary’s Magnificant - Respect the ‘commas’ and break in v2 - v3 no break between Jesus and softly Lo he comes - No additional instructions |
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