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[Sing! Rehearsals] Final Rehearsal on Thursday – NB starting at 7 pm

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Dear Sing!ers, 

1. This week:
It's our final rehearsal and we will be having a longer rehearsal from 7 pm to 9.30 pm. No lyrics please! Our fabulous band will be with us to practice our band songs, which are:
  • All These Things That I've Done
  • Hadestown Medley
  • Wonder 
  • ABBA Medley
  • Keep Singing
  • Jump
Be prepared to go through some of the 'non-band' songs if we have time.
It's the Altos' turn to bring snacks please

2. Concert on Saturday:
Everything you need to know is in Concert Info for Choir so please read this carefully. Some key points:
  • Arrive at the Common Room by 3.15 pm
  • Bring everything you need (food, non-metal water bottle, blue and black clothes)
  • Please note that in a change from previously, we can only eat in the Common Room and one of the classrooms. Please do not change or put on make up in the classrooms, we need to do that in the changing rooms.    
  • Check what you have signed up to do here; we still need help with bringing a few drinks, assembling and taking down the staging and writing a blog after the concert please 
  • See note below about bringing cakes and drinks below
  • We're meeting in the Queen Edith Pub afterwards
3. Message for those who have signed up to bake for the concert:

Please check the concert sign up sheet to check if you have offered to bring baked goods. 
Please remember to bring your baked offerings to the concert –  allergy / ingredients labels will be ready in the foyer to be completed.

Please remember the following for your baked goods:
  • Please be extra careful with hygiene when baking
  • Cut your bake into individual portions before you bring it
  • We can't keep anything in a refrigerator – please keep this in mind when you bake
  • Take note of the ingredients in your baking as the venue requires us to list allergens for all food (labels will be provided)
  • Collect your containers after the concert.
J20 cans delivery:
  • If you are bringing J20 cans – please bring these to the foyer outside the hall on arrival or after the rehearsal
  • Thanks for contributing towards refreshments for the  concert
4. Coming up at Sing!
  • Thursday 12 February: Karaoke Social at the Alexandra Arms, details in last week's email
  • Thursday 19 February: half-term, no rehearsal
  • Thursday 26 February: we will be starting again to prepare for our summer concert on 11 July. We will be inviting some new members from our waiting list to come to our three taster sessions. 

We hope you enjoy the concert, please do ask if you have any questions.

[Sing! Rehearsals] Sing! this week – starting at 7 pm

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Dear Sing!ers, 

It's just over a week to our concert, so please read this email carefully:

This week:
We have a slightly longer rehearsal this week, meeting from 7 pm to 9.30 pm in the Recital Room at Hills Road. No lyrics please and do make sure you've caught up with the part tracks if you aren't sure of any of the songs. We will be rehearsing all of our 'non-band songs' this week, which are:
  • Call Ya Back
  • White Winter Hymnal
  • Winter Song
  • It Must be Love/Top of the World
  • You Need to Calm Down
We will also run through one or two of the band songs (everything else) if we have time, but we'll let you use lyrics for these if you need to ☺️
It's the Tenors' and Basses' turn to bring snacks please.

Concert info:
We've got an incredible 71 people signed up to sing at the concert. If you haven't signed up yet, please do so here, the deadline is Thursday, otherwise your name won't be on the programme. Please also look at the 'to do list' tab on the same spreadsheet and sign up to help with something. There are still a number of jobs that need doing, so please offer to do whatever you can – thank you 🙂 
All you need to know about the concert, timings, what wear, where to go etc are in this document. 

Sing! Karaoke Social:
After all our hard work at the concert, we deserve a social, which will take place the following Thursday:

Thursday 12 February 7 pm to 11 pm

Alexandra Arms Garden Room, Gwydir Street
🎤 Karaoke 8 pm – 10 pm 
🍔  Recommend arriving before the karaoke starts if you want to order food. Kitchen closes at 9 pm
https://maps.app.goo.gl/uxg4NLACVRQRWMDe9

The Sing! team

Follow Sing! on Social Media

     

Web Links

https://singcommunitychoir.co.uk/member-info-santa Term info
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1LNFRy5kk3LndCdZabdb2mpJLdRy-ZQRh?usp=sharing Music, part tracks and lyrics
 Join our private Facebook group

Emails

🙋 Sign up to the socials mailing list
💃🕺 Organise a social
🏃💨 Unsubscribe from this list

[Sing! Rehearsals] This week at Sing!

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Dear Sing!ers, 

We look forward to seeing you again this Thursday in the Recital Room at Hills Road. Please note that this will be a slightly longer rehearsal, starting at 7.30 pm and finishing at 9.30 pm. On Thursday 29 January and Thursday 5 February, we will be rehearsing from 7 pm to 9.30 pm and will have no lyric sheets please! Please do your best to come to all of these longer rehearsals if you can, but we do understand if this isn't possible. 

This week: 
We will finish off learning three songs: Jump, our split songs It Must be Love/On Top of the World and You Need to Calm Down. It's the Sopranos' turn to bring snacks please. 

Our Concert:
This is less than three weeks away. Please make sure you read the email sent to you on Saturday with the link to the Concert Info document. Please make sure you've put your name on the sign up sheet so that you will be listed in the programme and very importantly sign up for any jobs that need doing. If we all do a little bit, it really helps to share the load. Mike Comfort has very kindly offered to help coordinate refreshments; he would really appreciate someone to help with this please. Do add your name to the sign up sheet or speak to Mike or Bekki on Thursday to find out what is involved. 

Upcoming dates:
Thursday 12 February – no rehearsal, but there are plans afoot for a social, so watch this space and sign up for the 'socials mailing list' – link below
Thursday 19 February – no rehearsal (half-term) – perhaps you'd like to organise your own social in your part group?
Thursday 26 February – rehearsals begin again to prepare for our summer concert on 11 July – we will be inviting a few people from our waiting list to join us
Sing! Weekend Away – 15 – 17 May – details to follow at a later date

The Sing! team

[Sing! Rehearsals] Important Information about our Concert on 7 February

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Hello Singers,


Our concert is coming up on Saturday 7 February at 7.30 pm; please read the information below carefully:  


1. Upcoming rehearsals:

Please keep learning the words and your part for all the songs, using the part tracks and lyric sheet on the Google Drive. This coming week on 23 January, we will be finishing slightly later at 9.30 pm. For our final two rehearsals on 30 January and 5 February we would like you not to use lyric sheets please. These rehearsals will be longer than usual, running from 7 pm to 9.30 pm. At the 5 February rehearsal we will be joined by our fabulous band 🙂


2. Concert sign-up sheet

The concert sign-up sheet is ready for you to fill in. There are two tabs in the spreadsheet:

  • TAB 1: Sign up to help with concert tasks (some tasks are things choir members can help with; for others we're looking for kind friends/family who would be willing to help in return for free entrance)
  • TAB 2: Add your name to be included on the programme! 

3. Key concert info

The full concert info doc is here. Please make sure you read through it really carefully, so you know where you need to be and when. It also includes details of how to advertise the concert to your friends and family

If you've not been to a Sing! concert before (or even if you have), you might like to follow the link at the bottom of this email to our Flickr page and our Youtube page to see photos and videos of previous concerts. 

If you have any questions about the concert, please ask any of the committee. The sign up sheet and concert info document can all be found in this term's folder with the music tracks and lyrics. 

[Sing! Rehearsals] This week at Sing!

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We look forward to seeing you on Thursday at 7.30 pm in the Recital Room at Hills Road. 

This week:
We will be recapping All These Things that I've Done, then learning some more of Jump and then continuing with our split songs It Must Be Love and Top of the World. If you weren't there last week, please check this spreadsheet to see which split song you are doing. It's the Altos' turn to bring snacks please. 
Concert: 
Our concert is coming up on 7 February, I'll be sending out an email with further details this week. 

[Sing! Rehearsals] Happy New Year! Sing! is back this Thursday :)

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Dear Sing!ers, 

Happy New Year, we hope you had an enjoyable and restful Christmas and we look forward to singing with you again in 2026. 

This Week:
We will be back in the Recital Room at Hills Road this Thursday at 7.30 pm. We will be recapping Call Ya Back and learning some more of You Need to Calm Down. We'll also be starting to learn two split songs: It Must Be Love (Alan Jackson) and Top Of The World (The Carpenters). This is where we split the choir into two groups to experience singing in a smaller group. This time we'll be splitting into two equal choirs each made up of all four parts. So please check this list before the rehearsal on Thursday to find out which song you are going to be singing!

It's the Tenors' and Basses' turn to bring snacks please – I'm sure you've got plenty of Christmas chocolate to share! 
Spring Concert:
Make sure you have 7 February in your calendar for our Spring Concert at 7.30 pm at Netherhall School. Thank you for voting for the concert name and charity. I'm pleased to let you know that the concert name will be 'Keep Singing' and we will be supporting Cambridgeshire Down’s Syndrome Community Network. We will be sharing further details about the concert in the coming weeks. 

Concert Promotion:
People only come to our concert if we invite them, so please do invite all your friends, family colleagues, neighbours etc.
  • If you use Facebook, do use the Event page to say that you are going and to invite your friends: https://fb.me/e/3JolmLuaz
  • We will share some e-posters with you next week and some printed posters in due course

[Sing! Rehearsals] Happy Christmas!

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Obviously there’s no Sing! rehearsal tomorrow, but if you’re missing some singing, then you might enjoy watching the videos from our summer concert. Huge thanks to Will Hay for editing them. 

[Sing! Rehearsals] Sing! this week

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Dear Sing!ers, 

What a fantastic evening we had at 'Sing's Got Talent' yesterday. Thank you so much to everyone who contributed, particularly to Jon for organising it. 

This Week:
We will be recapping White Winter Hymnal and learning some more of You Need to Calm Down and Jump. It's the Sopranos' turn to bring snacks please. We will be in the Recital Room as normal, but the Hills Road Staff Christmas Party is also taking place in college, so we won't have all the usual breakout rooms available. There will be food vans in the quad from 7 pm and you are very welcome to come along and buy some food from them. 

Call for cabaret acts for concert on Saturday 7 February!
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.uk by end of Wednesday 31 December, letting us know what song you’d like to do, its general vibe and roughly how many people will be involved. 

Vote for the Winter concert name!

Thank you to everyone who suggested concert names. It's now time to tell us your favourites from the submissions we've received by filling out this form: https://forms.gle/Qkak4gpbA8TXG4By6 

Please send in your choices by Friday 19 December.


Charity Nominations:

We only had one nomination for a charity to support at our winter concert. So we are really pleased to let you know that we will be supporting Cambridgeshire Down’s Syndrome Community Network, which was nominated by Celia. This is what Celia said about them:

'Cambridgeshire Down’s Syndrome Community Network (CambsDSCN) was founded in 2024 to respond to a critical gap in local provision for families of children and young people with Down’s syndrome. In a region where many families had long felt isolated and unsupported, CambsDSCN is creating a vital community lifeline. At the heart of our work is a monthly social and therapeutic gathering where children with Down’s syndrome, their parents, and siblings connect with others who truly understand their experiences. These sessions offer specialist speech and language support, creative arts and crafts, and free play in a welcoming, inclusive environment. For many families, this monthly meet-up is the first time they’ve had access to tailored community support. Since launching, CambsDSCN has already begun to meet an urgent need. Your support will help us grow.

 

Jenny Knight (alto) and her son are members of the CambsDSCN community. Celia Phipps (soprano) has worked with pre-school children with Down's syndrome in Cambridgeshire for many years and currently volunteers at the monthly group sessions. This is a brilliant, local, small charity that fills a much needed gap in provision for the families involved. For more information, go to www.cambsdscn.org


Next term:

We will have a two week break over Christmas and will be starting again on Thursday 8 January. We hope you have a restful and enjoyable break. 

Happy Christmas! 

[Sing! Rehearsals] Sing! this week

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Dear Sing!ers, 

Well done on a great performance at MRWF, we've had some lovely feedback. We hope you enjoyed it, especially those who are new to Sing! this term. 

This week:
We'll be recapping All These Things That I've Done and then starting to learn two brand new songs, Jump and You Need to Calm Down. It's the Altos' turn to bring snacks please. 

Sing!'s Got Talent:
Next Monday at 7 pm at the Cass Centre. I've copied last week's email about it at the bottom of this email. Please make sure you sign up to say what food you are bringing.

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 sheet if you'd like some inspiration! 

 

Please email any suggestions to singcommunitychoir@gmail.com by Saturday 13 December. We may shortlist suggestions if we get a lot. Then look out for a poll to vote for your favourites!


Last week of term:
On Thursday 18 December we will be singing as usual at Hills Road, this will be our last rehearsal of the term. We will then have a two week break before returning to some singing on Thursday 8 January, with only 5 more rehearsals until our concert on 7 February!

Sing's Got Talent 2025

Here’s all you need to know for Sing!’s Got Talent 2025! It’s a relaxed social evening and a chance to celebrate some of the amazing talent we have in our choir. It’s just us (Sing! members only) and very reasonably priced at £0! We do ask you to bring some food though 🍔😋

 

ACTION REQUIRED

👉 Add your food contribution to the spreadsheet below

👉 If you offered to perform you should have heard from Jon by now!

 

WHEN AND WHERE

 🗓️ Monday 15th December, 7pm until 11pm

📍 The Cass Centre, Shaftesbury Rd, Cambridge, CB2 8BS https://maps.app.goo.gl/6hRHB3XPU125YSGw9

🚗 There is plenty of car parking space at the venue

 

TALENT SHOW

 🎤 Thank you to the brave and brilliant folk who have volunteered to perform! We have a full roster! The plan is to start once we’ve grabbed some food and drink, and finish by around 9/9:30pm so we have plenty of time to socialise afterwards.

 

FOOD AND DRINK

 🍕 Please update the spreadsheet below with what you’re bringing, and whether it’s gluten-free, veggie and/or vegan if you know. See what others have put and use your common sense so we get a good selection. We probably want more savoury/mains than sweets/desserts, and having some duplicates is fine!

 

✏️ https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16Y6JQwtA6nUdW87ODBLXBZZYGjW1cSSP1g5I6aZ_aRU/edit?usp=sharing

 

🍽️ We will provide disposable plates, cutlery and napkins.

 

✅ There are limited options for heating food, so either stick with cold food, or bring it straight from the oven.

✅ Avoid liquid/sloppy food and bring whatever utensils are needed to serve / cut it up.

✅ If it’s home cooked, please label it with your name so those with allergies/intolerances can ask. If it’s bought, please bring the packaging with it so people can check ingredients.

✅ With everyone bringing something you don’t need to bring huge portions! Feel free to buddy up and bring something a bit bigger between two or more.

 

🍹 Please buy your drinks from the staffed bar (prices are reasonable).

 

Any questions please contact Jon at hello@jonwilson.coach or WhatsApp 07950 434645.

[Sing! Rehearsals] Sing! this Thursday

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We look forward to seeing you this Thursday at 7.30 pm in the Recital Room at Hills Road.

This Week: 
We will be running through all the songs we are planning to sing at Mill Road Winter Fair on Saturday (see below). It's the Tenors' and Basses' turn to bring snacks please.

Mill Road Winter Fair performance:

Here are the details for our informal sing-along and performance at Mill Road Winter Fair this year! 

 

WHEN? Saturday 6th December, arrive at 1:45pm, perform 2:00-2:45pm. 

 

WHERE? Inside St Philip's Church, Mill Road, CB1 3AN. Please head upstairs on arrival – we'll gather in the upper room for warm ups. NB: Mill Road and some of the streets leading off it are closed to traffic on the day of the fair, so if you're driving you'll need to park a little further away and walk in (see the MRWF website for advice about getting there).

 

WHO? Everyone! Bring along your friends and family too; there will be sing-along carols for them to join in with 🎶

 

WHAT? This is a great chance to practise some of the repertoire we've been learning and to have fun singing some extra Christmas songs!

 

Dress code: Wear anything you like! Festive clothing and accessories (Xmas jumpers, tinsel, Santa hats etc.) are especially welcome!

 

Songs: We will be singing a mixture of:

· Our own songs, as follows. Please learn the words if at all possible!

  • Keep Singing
  • ABBA Gold medley
  • Call Ya Back
  • Hadestown Medley
  • White Winter Hymnal
  • Winter Song
  • Wonder

· Some well-known carols and Christmas songs (unrehearsed!). These will be audience sing-alongs, with lyrics provided, and you're welcome to sing standard harmonies & descants (bring a Carols for Choirs book if you happen to have one) or to sing the tune.

AFTER: after our performance it would be lovely if you would like to stay along and support the Cambridge Tuneless Choir and give them some encouragement. And if you haven't had enough singing, then St Philip's and St Martin's Churches will be doing some candlelit carol singing outside the Coop (next to the church) at 3.45 pm and they'd really love a few extra people to sing along. They'd be grateful for anyone who knows the tunes, any harmonies are a bonus.
Sing's Got Talent:
Monday 15 December – everything you need to know is in the email sent out yesterday. 
See you on Thursday 🙂