This week, we will be meeting as usual on Thursday 24th October in the Recital Room at Hills Rd 6th Form college from 7:30 – 9:15 before having a break next week for half term. We are going to learn a new song: Miss Fogarty's Christmas Cake followed by learning some more of Let It Snow and Winter Song.
This week it is the Sopranos' turn to bring snacks please.
There is still no update on the QR code situation so continue as normal please.
Suggestions for concert name and charity to support
We are now open to suggestions from choir members of:
a) A charity to support with the profits from our concert
b) A name for the concert
Charity: If you'd like to nominate a charity for us to support, please write a short paragraph (max. 150 words) to describe what the charity does and any personal link you have to it, plus a link to its website.
Concert name: We usually give each concert a name to help with publicity. This is often drawn from a song title or lyric that we're singing. Have a look at this term's lyrics sheetif you'd like some inspiration!
Please email any suggestions to singcommunitychoir@gmail.com by Tuesday 29th October. We may shortlist suggestions if we get a lot. Then look out for a poll next week to vote for your favourites!
We will be meeting as usual this Thursday 17th October in the Recital Room at Hills Rd 6th Form college from 7:30 – 9:15. We will have 2 longer teaching slots for 2 new songs: Winter Song and Let It Snow!
This week it is the Altos turn to bring snacks please.
1. Another Call for cabaret acts for concert on Saturday 14th Dec!
We are still short of cabaret acts for the concert so please do let us know if you'd like to do one. They are usually songs performed as a solo, duet or small group, rather than by the whole choir. They provide variety in the concert programme and give a chance for smaller groups to showcase their talent!
If you’re interested in offering a cabaret act, please email musicteam@singcommunitychoir.co.ukbyend of Sunday 20th October, letting us know what song you’d like to do and roughly how many people will be involved.
If you need to recruit other singers, please make an initial effort to do this before putting your idea forward (e.g. chat to others at rehearsals or post in our Facebook group). Also do think about what will be realistic to get together to a good standard in the time you have available. We’ll be in touch after the deadline to confirm which acts will be in the concert!
Andi is a member of the London Vocal Project led by Pete Churchill who ran the excellent ones we've been to the last couple of years, so I'm sure it will be great! If you'd like to come, please go ahead and book your ticket(s) to avoid disappointment.
Please let me know (hello@jonwilson.coach or WhatsApp 07950434645) if you'd like to come for food and/or drinks afterwards!'
We will be meeting as usual this Thursday 10th October in the Recital Room at Hills Rd 6th Form college from 7:30 – 9:15. There are still no updates on the QR code situation so continue as normal with entering the site please. We will start by recapping Don't Stop Me Now, and then we will finish learning both Livin' on a Prayer and Hallelujah for Today.
We currently have the rather wonderful situation of a backlog of biscuits, so no more snacks this week please! We will use up what we already have first.
1. Call for cabaret acts for concert on Saturday 14th Dec!
As usual, we'd like our concert to include a few'cabaret' pieces – these are songs performed as a solo, duet or small group, rather than by the whole choir. They provide variety in the concert programme and give a chance for smaller groups to showcase their talent!
We can only fit a certain number of these in each concert. Usually we have space for all offers, but occasionally we have to be selective. So, if you’re interested in offering a cabaret act, please email musicteam@singcommunitychoir.co.ukbyend of Sunday 20th October, letting us know what song you’d like to do and roughly how many people will be involved.
If you need to recruit other singers, please make an initial effort to do this before putting your idea forward (e.g. chat to others at rehearsals or post in our Facebook group). Also do think about what will be realistic to get together to a good standard in the time you have available. We’ll be in touch after the deadline to confirm which acts will be in the concert!
2. Solos
Thanks to everyone who has put themselves forward for a solo – we will be in touch with you soon. We are still looking for an alto or soprano to sing the solo in Never Gonna Not Dance Again, so do get in touch if you're interested in that one.
3. Final Call for Subs
Subs are now OVERDUE. Here are the details again if you haven't paid yet:
£35 for the term or £17.50 for concessions. Please pay whichever you can afford, concessions are self-declared with no questions asked.
Please pay by bank transfer using the details below asap. Please remember to add your name as a reference! Thank you!!
Any issues please catch Claire (Treasurer) or a member of the committee at rehearsal or send us an email.
Bank: The Co-operative Bank
Account name: Sing! Community Choir (leave the exclamation mark out if needed) Sort Code: 08 / 92 / 99 Account Number: 65694684
Reference: <Your Name!>
4. Dates for your diary again if you missed last week
Mill Road Winter Fair – Sat 7th Dec, 2pm – St Phillips Church, Mill Rd. We'll sing a selection of the songs we've learnt this term, plus some sing-along carols.
Christmas Concert – Sat 14th Dec, 7.30pm – Netherhall School, Queen Edith's Way. Our main performance of the term – get it in your diaries now!
Winter Social “Sing's Got Talent!” – Thurs 19th Dec, 7pm – Cass Centre, Shaftesbury Rd. End-of-term celebration and talent show
Here is everything you need to know for our rehearsal on Thursday and more…
1. This Week
We will be meeting as usual in the Recital room at Hills Road 6th Form College this Thursday 3rd October from 7:30 – 9:15. This week, we will be recapping Harbour, finishing learning Never Gonna Not Dance Again and Barbara Ann.
If you miss a rehearsal or just need a bit of a reminder, it is really helpful to us if you practise using the pre-recorded audio tracks. The links to these can be found at the bottom of each rehearsals email and should look like this:
This week it will be the Tenors and Basses turn to bring snacks.
2. Still no need for QR code this week
It looks like we will continue to enter without QR codes for a few weeks – just watch this space for updates! The code for the car park is 8945.
3. Please pay your subs if you haven't already
Subs for this term are now due – £35 for the term or £17.50 for concessions. Please pay whichever you can afford, concessions are self-declared with no questions asked.
Please pay by bank transfer using the details below by Friday 4October. Prompt payment to help with planning would be greatly appreciated, and please remember to add your name as a reference! Thank you!!
Any issues please catch Claire (Treasurer) or a member of the committee at rehearsal or send us an email.
Bank: The Co-operative Bank
Account name: Sing! Community Choir (leave the exclamation mark out if needed) Sort Code: 08 / 92 / 99 Account Number: 65694684
Reference: <Your Name!>
4. Dates for your diary!
Mill Road Winter Fair – Sat 7th Dec, 2pm – St Phillips Church, Mill Rd. We'll sing a selection of the songs we've learnt this term, plus some sing-along carols.
Christmas Concert – Sat 14th Dec, 7.30pm – Netherhall School, Queen Edith's Way. Our main performance of the term – get it in your diaries now!
Winter Social “Sing's Got Talent!” – Thurs 19th Dec, 7pm – Cass Centre, Shaftesbury Rd. End-of-term celebration and talent show
5. Solos
If you would like to try singing a solo this term, the following are available. Either have a word with one of the Music team or else reply to this email to let us know.
Harbour – 2 solos available – would suit any voice part
Hallelujah – 1 or 2 solos available – would suit an alto or mid/high tenor
Never Gonna Not Dance Again – 1-2 solos available – would suit a soprano or alto
Livin' On A Prayer – 2 solos available – would suit a soprano or alto, or possibly a bass
That's all for this week – we look forward to seeing you on Thursday,
We need to pay the deposit for Letton Hall fairly soon, hence this early survey to gauge interest. This does not commit you either way, simply answer as honestly as you can at this time. Even if you can’t attend, your response is still really helpful!
— What we have planned
We have provisionally booked The Hall at Letton Hall (https://lettonhall.org), an incredible venue and quite a step up for us in terms of the social spaces, number of rooms, and sleeping arrangements (spacious bedrooms and no bunk beds!).
We would love love love to go here! For it to work financially we need to charge a little more (£110) and we need at least 40 people to sign up for the whole weekend. The price includes accommodation, food, soft drinks, snacks, choir member led activities on Saturday, and a full-day choir workshop on Sunday!
Please also let us know if you would love to come but the price is an issue for you. The Weekend Away is big part of how we live out the “community” part of our name and we will do our best to get everyone there who wants to go.
We have now finished our 3 taster sessions so if you are receiving this email, you are in!
1. This Week
We will be meeting as usual in the Recital room at Hills Road 6th Form College this Thursday 26th September from 7:30 – 9:15. This week, we will be recapping Hallelujah for Today (don't worry if you've never heard this one before – it is very easy to pick up with a call and response style and you can find the music in a link at the bottom of this email); we will then learn some more Livin' on a Prayer and will finish learning Don't Stop Me Now.
This week it will be the Sopranos turn to bring snacks.
2. No need for QR code this week
The college is still having some teething problems with the QR code entry, so access to the site will be as normal this week. The code for the car park is 8945.
3. Subs are now due!
Subs for this term are now due – £35 for the term or £17.50 for concessions. Please pay whichever you can afford, concessions are self-declared with no questions asked.
Please pay by bank transfer using the details below by Friday 4October. Prompt payment to help with planning would be greatly appreciated, and please remember to add your name as a reference! Thank you!!
Any issues please catch Claire (Treasurer) or a member of the committee at rehearsal or send us an email.
Bank: The Co-operative Bank
Account name: Sing! Community Choir (leave the exclamation mark out if needed) Sort Code: 08 / 92 / 99 Account Number: 65694684
Reference: <Your Name!>
4. Weekend Away Survey
Look out for a separate email to follow with exciting information about next year's weekend away. We need you to take a survey to gauge interest.
Huge thanks to everyone who came along to the Sing! Summer Concert in July. We had a blast Puttin’ on the Ritz for you – and you helped us to raise more than £1,000 for Red Balloon Learner Centre – Cambridge !
Not long now until our Summer concert! We’re back at Netherhall School on Saturday, 13 June from 7.30pm at Netherhall School in Cambridge for an evening of joy and music, celebrating the power of song!
Tickets are £10 (£5 for concessions) – under tens go free. All proceeds to Red Balloon Learner Centres, Cambridge providing an alternative to school which enables young people to re-engage with education.
For a few weeks already at Sing! we could feel an extra ripple of excitement in the air as we all knew this year’s weekend away was just around the corner. As laptops shut and office doors closed on Friday afternoon, Thetford forest felt tantalisingly close.
This year we returned to Thorpe Woodlands Adventure Centre, which for some felt like an old friend, whilst for newer choir members such as myself it was an exciting unknown. As we approached on the tranquil roads, we could already feel the restorative effects of the forest descending.
Friday evening was a time to spend as we pleased, to find our bunk rooms (or for some of us, our peaceful pods amongst the trees), eat together and play board games in the spacious common area. Some of the earlier birds amongst us eagerly signed up to set up breakfast the following morning (but there were plenty of jobs more suited to the night owls too!)
On Saturday morning we were treated to bright sunshine. Some keen runners headed out early to take part in Thetford Parkrun a 10 minute drive away. Others soaked up the morning rays in an impromptu shady reading corner under the canopy of the trees.
The day’s activities then started. Several talented choir members had organised workshops to share their enjoyment of their hobby with others:
Marie got the day off to an energetic start with a session of Rabble!Naomi ran 2 sessions of her ever-popular glass fusing activity. This year the theme was birds – we scrabbled for the perfect beaks and branches to bring our colourful bird creations to life from fragments of glass, which would later be fused in the kiln.Daniele oversaw a team of intrepid bakers who made tiramisu for the whole choir to enjoy after dinner.Sian demonstrated how to make prints from leaves collected from the forest that morning onto fabric to make interesting textile art.Emily ran a mindful drawing workshop, resulting in the creation of many colourful patterns across a huge scroll of paper.Rebecca taught the art of fermenting vegetables (and also brought in some delicious jars that she’d prepared earlier for us all to sample at dinner).Eva passed on her enjoyment of cross-stich, as participants created geometric patterns in a curve stitching workshop.Vicky led a popular nature walk through the forest, pointing out the many bird songs which can be heard and identified.
Thanks to all the dedicated workshop organisers for their hard work and enthusiasm!
As well as the workshops, a number of activities were led by the dedicated staff at Thorpe Woodlands (many thanks to Luke and Isis for running these activities for us). A raft-building competition saw two teams build rafts and launch them on the River Thet. Testament to the engineering skills of the teams, everyone stayed dry (until they all jumped into the river to cool off from the heat of the day, that is!)
The tree trekking activity took place in the forest and included navigating two different high-ropes courses between the trees and also climbing trees using handholds and an auto belay system. Jumping from a platform metres above the ground, relying on a harness to slow our fall, certainly got the adrenaline going! A special mention has to go to Becca who chose to climb barefoot, much to the initial bemusement and then awe of the instructors.
The third venue-led activity was focused on team building, with such games as trying to fill a bucket with water as quickly as possible using water carried in a pipe filled with holes (resulting in quite a few somewhat damp choir members!) and a blindfolded trust trail through the forest.
Of course, no day on a Sing! weekend away could pass without… singing! As the light faded in the evening, we all gathered around the campfire and sang choir repertoire past and present.
Sunday came just as bright and warm as Saturday, and we were all looking forward to taking part in a choir workshop run by Stuart, a professional choir leader who had travelled all the way from Manchester to join us. He started out by teaching us two gospel songs which were great fun to sing, and encouraged us to sing with our whole bodies, and our facial expressions, not just our voices, coaxing out the meaning and emotions in the words we were singing.
A particular highlight was the culmination of the workshop, standing round in a massive circle in the forest clearing singing our hearts out. Stuart also gave very insightful feedback on a couple of the songs we had been learning this term, bringing out our inner backing singers for “You Make My Dreams” and having us rising passionately from our chairs for the bridge in “Already Home”. Thanks so much to Stuart for teaching and inspiring us – we’ll all be drawing on what we learned in our singing over the coming weeks of rehearsals.
All too soon, the weekend came to an end. I speak on behalf of the whole choir when I say that the weekend away brings us closer together through not just singing but our shared enjoyment of other activities and being amongst nature. A very special mention must go to Jon who organised us all to make the weekend away the success it was.
Firstly, we’re excited to be performing at the free Music in the Parks event on Sunday 16 June from 3-5pm at Romsey Rec, Cambridge. You can expect our usual mix of joyful song on stage from about 4pm.
We’re delighted to invite you to Sing! Community Choir’s Summer Concert 2024 on Saturday, 13 July at 7.30pm at Netherhall School in Cambridge. Come and join us for an evening of fun & sunny music. We’d love to see you there!
