Holmfirth Choral Society

Members' Information

updated December 13th 2018

Many thanks to all who worked hard and sang so well at our concert on 8th December.  It was again an excellent concert, blessed with excellent soloists and some expressive playing from the orchestra.  Well done!
THE REHEARSAL SCHEDULED FOR DECEMBER 13th has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. 

We restart in 2019 on Thursday 10th January (and not 3rd as originally suggested)

REHEARSALS are at Holmfirth Methodist Church, Thursdays 7.30 until 9.15 (normally).    New members welcome! As you know, we are low in numbers particularly in the tenor and bass sections - if you know of any able tenors and basses, do please invite them.

CONCERT DATES . 
30 March 2019 - Verdi Requiem

We are affiliated to MAKING MUSIC, an organisation which provides resources for choirs and other music groups throughout the UK and beyond. They recently highlighted a parliamentary petition which seeks to support the musical education of our young people by making instrumental tuition in schools free of charge.  This was certainly the case when I was at school, and I benefited by having violin lessons then.  If you would like to support this principle, you can sign the petition at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/223408 (assuming you haven't already done so - there's around 10000 more signatures on now since I first mentioned this some weeks ago, but another 75000 or so are needed to bring this to a parliamentary debate).

SIGN UP to the Members' Newsletter - this will be emailed using mailchimp only infrequently (because the information will be on this page anyway) and will be used primarily for emergency purposes, e.g. if there is a short-notice rehearsal or concert cancellation or alteration.  You can sign up by clicking   here;  Mailchimp allows you to unsubscribe at any time too.  (I will need to check that the MailChimp database complies with the new GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) this year).


Rehearsal Aids:
I've  been told about a music teacher who records rehearsal CDs and has built up quite a reputation, I believe.  You can order your own part from him.  Some recordings seem to be piano only, others include a vocal line.   He is called Quintus Benziger, on 01799 586269, and his business is the Saffron Choral Prompt.
See also:  http://www.saffronchoralprompt.co.uk/    and   http://www.quintusbenziger.co.uk/    for further details.

A good source of midi files which are useful for playing parts through if you have a computer is http://www.learnchoralmusic.co.uk/
Covered by this site:  Verdi Requiem  
The midi player program I have mentioned before, MidiPlay_v2p6.exe  (actually this link is to a later version) will allow you to play files from this site, and adjust the volume of your own part to suit your learning.

Recordings:
The 2011 Proms performance of Verdi Requiem is available on Youtube.

We still have a number of items for sale, proceeds to Holmfirth Choral Funds, including:  our 2002 CD Holmfirth in Harmony (which includes Last of the Summer Wine and Pratty Flowers, hated by some but loved by others!!!);  our 50th anniversary souvenir booklet,  a recipe book (recipes submitted by members a few years ago), and still a few copies of Postcard Pops, a cassette (if you remember these!) made some years before the CD, and also with performances of those favourite(!) pieces.   Speak to me or email me for details or to buy one.  These are of course also for sale to people outside the society (who may or may not be viewing this members' page!)

Geoffrey Lockwood




OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST

THE SIXTEEN are touring the UK in early 2019, and will be performing at Wakefield - see https://thesixteen.com/the-choral-pilgrimage-2019/



An email received from Phillip Tolley:

The latest edition (October 2018) of the British Choirs on the Net ‘Chorister’ Newsletter is now available online at www.choirs.org.uk/chorister/oct2018.pdf

 Please feel free to share this newsletter which I hope you will find both useful and interesting - feel free to print it off, forward or simply ignore.

 If you would like to view past editions of the ‘Chorister’ Newsletter please visit http://www.choirs.org.uk/chorister.htm

 Thank you,     Phillip Tolley

For those new to this mailing British Choirs on the Net,  www.choirs.org.uk,  is a free listing of over 4000 choirs across the UK.  Listings are both alphabetical and geographical.  The site was originally set up in 1995 to help people who were relocating to a new area/town/city to find new choirs to join. Since then it has grown into so much more, but retains the UK’s largest free listing of choirs at its core. To see how email data is collected and how it is used please visit www.choirs.org.uk/mailings.html

philliptolley@colcanto.co.uk

www.concertfinder.co.uk

 British Choirs on the Net is a member of the Singing Network UK and an associate member of the Association of British Choral Directors (ABCD)


Several of you took part in the RSCM Festival in Leeds Cathedral on 23rd May 2015.  If you are not on the local RSCM mailing list, and you would like to receive information about upcoming events of interest to choir members, you can sign up the the mailing list at http://hudds.org.uk/rscm .   I've also some spare music copies from that event for sale at £3.50 each. 

Please try to communicate information with those of your colleagues who might not have access to web pages such as this.
G.L.  688487