Sing Hosana for the summer is here!

Choir’s last mass before breaking up for the summer. A few of our singers had already gone on their holidays so although numbers were down we had a really good group of singers, ready to warm up and run-through early in the morning!
This conductor was a bit tired and distracted after a difficult couple of days (many of you know about the recent loss of a dear friend of David’s, whose funeral we attended on Friday afternoon in the West Country.) Anyhow you were all superb, singing through a set of familiar hymns and even coping well with the last-minute addition of the “Holy Holy” and “Mystery of faith” which George had suggested we sing and he kindly photocopied scores for us. With great support from the Matthews family the good, choral ship was steered into safe waters! A special thank-you to a few of you: Tenor Phil for having the initiative and willingness to help out in setting up all the microphones and sound-desk as well as taking care of my music stand (very thoughtful.) Super soprano Frances for jolting me out of a reverie and reminding me it was time to sing the Gloria! Alex, our accomplished pianist, was an absolute trouper helping to guide the singers through that tricky, five-beat rest in the middle of the verses in “Here I am Lord.” By the end of the mass, the congregation were clapping along with us to “Walk in the Light” like the best of them! Thanks for all your hard work these few months everyone, I’ve really been putting you through your paces – enjoy your much-deserved summer break and we’ll see you all at the start of the new “term” in September.

Singing in the fields

We did it! A great performance at the St Joseph’s School Summer Fair, in sweltering temperatures at lunchtime. Thanks to a great sound rig by Peter Rose, the choir was heard over the loudspeakers throughout the huge playing fields. A lovely group of children joined us for the finale which made it even more special. IMG_3318 There are two independent reports of “goose bumps” among the audience. You wowed them all and held on to the end, despite the rather noisy atmosphere in the field. Onwards and upwards everyone, really well done. I’m so very proud of your achievement. A huge thank you to Dave (May’s husband) who videoed the performance.
Pat yourselves on the back for a job well done.

Fine tuning, here and there.

Lots of fun at tonight’s rehearsal – demob happy almost – as it’s our last formal rehearsal prior to Sunday’s performance at the summer fair. Everyone was in such good spirits. We got stuck into our tunes – oh those monkeys are sounding cheeky and fab. We went through the other numbers in our set – fine tuning a harmony line here, perfecting an entry there, just some final tweaks before the big day. I was so overjoyed to hear the choir singing so well and with such enthusiasm – they’ve worked incredibly hard and all that work is really paying off. We’ll have a final run-through on Sunday morning with the children who are joining us for the finale. Then it’s show time. Can’t wait. By the way, anyone know a decent videographer who can record the performance on Sunday?