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Basingstoke Choral Society will present a Summer Evening With Mozart at Douai Abbey at 7.45pm on Sunday, 21st June.  Works include the Coronation Mass, Exsultate, Jubilate, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, and Tantum Ergo. The brilliant rising soprano star, Erica Eloff, returns to sing with the New London Sinfonia and Basingstoke Choral Society under the direction of David Gibson.

 Strawberries and cream, with a glass of wine, will be served by choir members to assembling guests in the peaceful grounds of Douai Abbey from 6.30pm onwards. Tickets, at £15 each (or £14 if ordered before 31^st May) which includes the refreshments, can be obtained from Jean Taylor on 01256 461402. 

Here is the Gerontius newsletter for March 2009

This newsletter contains a number of items of interest to singers and choirs. Please feel free to send this newsletter on to other members of your choir and to friends.

Newsletter contents

1. Rayburn Tours : 2009/10 Choir Tours to the UK and abroad
2. Choir Spotlight : Jubilate Ladies’ Choir
3. Sing / listen to American Jewish music with the Zemel Choir
4. Liturgical Music Courses 2009
5. Three days of immersion with CoMA (Contemporary Music Making for Amateurs)
6. Women In Music Convention - Birmingham 28th March
7. Music Summer Schools
8. Gerontius Choirs for Hire
9. Other useful pages on Gerontius
10. Gerontius Site Sponsors
11. Next Gerontius newsletter: mid-May

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1. News from Rayburn Tours : 2009/10 Choir Tours to the UK and abroad

The new Rayburn Tours website is now here…. And just in time for our new 2009/10 Choir Tours Brochure!

After working with many choirs over the years, it became increasingly apparent that a Choir’s tour needs are very different from those of orchestras or bands. That’s why in 2008 we launched our dedicated Choir Tours brochure, with featured destinations carefully chosen with singers in mind.

In 2009 we’ve taken it one step further. Our new website has a homepage dedicated entirely to Choir Tours! Here you can view all of our Choir Tour destinations, request a brochure make a tour enquiry, and more.

Please feel free to forward this e-mail to other members of your choir who may be interested. For more information about any of our Choir Tours or other possible destinations contact Nathan Truesdale, our Concert Tours Manager on 01332 347 828.

Rayburn Tours Choirs homepage
http://www.rayburntours.com/choirs.php

View brochure online
http://www.rayburntours.com/emags/choirs/flash.html

Request brochure / make a tour enquiry
http://www.rayburntours.com/contact.php?preset=6

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2. Choir Spotlight : Jubilate Ladies’ Choir

Originally Kingsbury High School’s choir, the group became ‘The Diana Kiverstein Singers’ once its members had left school with choir mistress Diana at the helm. With the help of accompanist Trevor Hughes the group went from strength to strength with achievements including reaching the semi-finals of Sainsbury’s Choir of the Year and an appearance on Opportunity Knocks. Diana left the choir in the 1990s to be replaced by Trevor, who occasionally still accompanies the choir today. At the same time, the choir moved to Harrow and officially became known as ‘Jubilate’. Some of the choir’s original members remain in the ranks but as people move on and new recruits arrive, the choir has evolved and grown. The choir has around 40 members of varying ages who sing for their own and other people’s pleasure.

Sarah Stroh, a freelance singer, singing teacher and choral director is the choir’s current Musical Director. As well as directing Jubilate Ladies’ choir Sarah also pioneers its youthful ‘offshoot’, Jubilate Juniors!

Plans for the forthcoming months include the Mid-Somerset Festival in Bath, rehearsing for ‘Baroque to Broadway’; a midsummer concert at Winston Churchill Hall, Ruislip, where they will be joined by the award-winning Wessex Male Voice Choir. With the possibility of a CD recording and a brand new uniform in the pipeline, 2009 is shaping up to be the most exciting year yet for this dynamic and ambitious group.

Jubilate Ladies’ Choir is currently looking for a sponsor. For details please see http://www.uksponsorship.com/choral1.htm

Choir web site :
http://www.jubilatesingers.org.uk

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3. The Zemel Choir - Celebrate With Song 2009 - Come and Join us for Workshops and a Concert

Singing Workshop May 31st - Guest Workshop Leader on Voice Technique - Suzi Digby

Workshop and Concert - June 14th @ St Johns Smith Square

Celebrate With Song is now in its third year, bringing mixed-voice Jewish choral music to a wide range of amateur singers and music-lovers. Do you enjoy singing? Do you want to experience music that you may not have sung (or even heard) before? Come and join us for workshops and a concert at St John’s, Smith Square on June 14th 2009.

This year we are doing something a little bit different, celebrating the output of Jewish music from a single country: the United States of America. While the USA’s contribution to world culture is acknowledged in many areas – from literature to cinema – for the past century it has been one of the world’s two major centres for Jewish culture, producing many great composers of Jewish music both before and after the creation of the State of Israel. This is your chance to learn more about this aspect of American culture, and to sing some beautiful music, both liturgical and light. In order to facilitate group music-learning we will be having one large workshop group, with sessions on May 31st and June 14th. The workshops are open to both intermediate and advanced singers, and will include works by Gershwin, Kurt Weill and Tom Lehrer, plus one or two others.

As in previous years, we will also be including a guest workshop, focussing on voice technique and other aspects of choral singing. This year we are pleased to announce that our guest workshop leader will be the BBC’s Suzi Digby, who is an experienced voice coach and conductor, and well known to television audiences from her appearances on Last Choir Standing and the BBC’s Choir of the Year.

Music lovers are also welcome to join us for our concert, which will include performances by the Zemel Choir and the choir of Yavneh College, and will culminate in a mass performance of Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, for which the Zemel Choir will be joined by musicians from the Wallace Ensemble and by members of other London choirs. This is a unique celebration of music from a unique country. Credit may be crunched, sterling may not be sterling, but we can all remember that music gives us a cause to celebrate. Come and join us, and let’s sing music that will make Uncle Samuel proud.

Here is a link to the Flyer for Celebrate With Song 2009
http://www.the-zemel-choir.org/celebrate_with_song_2009_A4.htm

For More Information, Please e-mail celebratewithsong@hotmail.com
or visit
http://www.the-zemel-choir.org

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4. Liturgical Music Courses 2009

The L.M.C. is hosting three cathedral singing weeks, open to all experienced choral singers with some sight-reading abilities.

The “Cathedral Classics” week is based in Exeter, and runs from 6th - 12th July. The course will include singing several services of Choral Evensong, the Sunday Eucharist, and a lunchtime recital, all in Exeter Cathedral. It will also include an excursion to sing an afternoon concert in Buckfast Abbey, on the edge of Dartmoor. The core repertoire will be cathedral “standards” (Ireland’s “Greater Love”, Walmisley’s D minor Evening Canticles, and works by Byrd, Stanford etc). As with all of the L.M.C.’s courses, sheet music and rehearsal CDs will be provided well in advance, and there will be opportunities for solo/semichorus work.

This year’s Malvern Course (17th - 23rd August) will focus on the late sixteenth / early seventeenth century music of southern Europe (Palestrina, Monteverdi etc) and will involve performances in the cathedrals of Worcester, Gloucester and in Great Malvern Priory.

The Wells Tudor Music Course runs from 18th - 23rd October; guest tutors will include Alistair Dixon (dir. Chapelle du Roi)

For further details visit http://www.liturgicalmusic.co.uk where online applications can be made, or telephone 0118 326 6319 for a brochure.

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5. Three days of immersion with CoMA (Contemporary Music Making for Amateurs)
Thursday 30 April – Saturday 2 May 2009

CoMA is running a three-day residency in partnership with Sounds New Contemporary Music Festival in Canterbury. Open to singers and instrumentalists of all abilities, the residency will focus on rehearsing and performing new works by leading Polish and British composers to tie in with the Festival’s ‘Polish Connections’ theme. The choir will be giving the world premieres of Salve Regina by Pawel Lukaszewski and a new work by Joe Cutler.

The choir will be directed by Sarah Leonard, who is director of CoMA Voices and is one of Britain’s most respected and versatile sopranos.

The residency also includes talks on Polish contemporary music given by Joe Cutler and Stephen Montague, admission to all Sounds New Festival concerts for the three days and a live interview with Krzysztof Penderecki as part of a conference on Polish Music since 1945.

CoMA (Contemporary Music Making for Amateurs) is dedicated to enabling amateur musicians to get involved in contemporary music, through commissioning new works and running amateur ensembles and a range of activities.

Cost £125 (£65 concs)
For full details and online booking visit
http://www.coma.org/soundsnew
or call 020 7193 9787.

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6. Women In Music Convention

The Women In Music Convention is taking place on 28th March in Birmingham at the Crescent Theatre.

Further details are here:
http://www.womeninmusicday.com/

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7. Music Summer Schools

A summer music course is a great way to spend a relaxing and fulfilling holiday in the UK, and to make new friends. We have recently re-launched our sister website that lists summer schools and summer courses for adults and children.

Do visit the site to have a look at what’s on offer:
http://www.summer-schools.info

If you know of anyone who runs courses in the summer, do tell them about the site. Free listings are currently available. Paid listings are also available for those who want a more prominent listing. Further details are here:
http://www.summer-schools.info/about.php

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8. Gerontius Choirs for Hire

The gerontius choirs for hire pages list choirs available to sing for weddings, conferences etc.
We could do with some more choirs in all areas.
We get a lot of enquiries for weddings in London, but don’t currently have many choirs listed. There’s an opportunity there for someone ….
Further information here:

http://www.gerontius.net/wedding_choirs.php

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9. Other useful pages on Gerontius

Forum
http://www.gerontius.net/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi

Classified Ads (choral job vacancies)
http://www.gerontius.net/classified-ads

Choral resources / suppliers directory
http://www.gerontius.net/directory

Music Hire
http://www.gerontius.net/findscores.shtml

Music Downloads
http://www.gerontius.net/musicdownloads

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10. Gerontius Site Sponsors

Many thanks to the following

Rayburn Tours
http://www.rayburntours.com/music-tours/

Chameleon Arts Orchestras
http://www.chameleon-arts.co.uk

Manchester Amateur Choral Competition
http://www.themacc.org.uk/

Cambridge Early Music
http://www.cambridgeearlymusic.org/

Hungarian Choral Castle
http://www.choralcastle.hu

La Maison Verte
http://www.lamaisonverte.co.uk/

Music Dynamics
http://www.musicdynamics.co.uk/

ScoreStore Printed Music Ltd
http://www.scorestore.co.uk

More information on becoming a site sponsor
http://www.gerontius.net/becomingasponsor.shtml

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11. Next Gerontius newsletter: mid-May

If you have an item you would like to include, please let us know as soon as possible so we can reserve you a space.

You can see previous newsletters here
http://www.gerontius.net/newsletters.shtml