Newsletter 11 May 2017

Newsletter 8  May 2018   

Mirror, mirror on the wall, whose singing communicates with all? 

“You need to watch yourselves singing in the mirror,” says Jeff. In my study, which is where I tend to practice in between rehearsals, I can see the exact spot where I could put a mirror. At some point I’ll get that organised.

However, I have a useful alternative that works better in the winter than now when the days are getting longer; I never pull down the blind in my study except occasionally when “sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines” (our mate Bill just gives and gives, doesn’t he?). This means once it’s dark I have a perfect mirror – the window. There is a snag, however. The folk in the house that backs on to ours also have a couple of studies upstairs and they never close the blinds, either. In fact, I’ve been waved to now and then. I can hear them thinking “What is she doing?” Maybe one day they’ll pop round and I’ll tell them.

I’ll tell them that singing is good for the body and for the soul. For me personally, singing, and in particular singing with a choir is such a contrast to what I do the rest of the time, working pretty much on my own and having to be different from everybody else. Singing in a choir involves a group effort where you do not want to stand out.  

If the neighbours do pop round, I’ll also invite them to one of our concerts and to sign up for this newsletter.

So, maybe, even when the mirror is in place, I’ll carry on signing to the garden occasionally.             

     

Forthcoming Events

You can also often find details on our Facebook page and we’ll usually put links on Twitter as well.

At most of our events you can get tickets on the door. However, we do recommend getting tickets in advance where we offer this. It helps us and it guarantees that you won’t be turned away at the door. We’ve not had to do that yet but we’ve come close to it.    

24 June St Thomas Church Huddersfield

We’re performing for Hand to Mouth, a Christian charity, at St Thomas Church, Huddersfield, St Thomas Gardens, Bradley, Huddersfield HD2 1SL. £5 for adults £2 for children,  including refreshments.

The concert begins at 7.00 – and features cake as well.

    

Swinton Grove Family Fun Day 8 July

As we have done for the last few years, we’ll be opening this event at around 12.00 noon. It’s always a fun event and even though we squelched around in the mud a little last year, it stopped raining just in time.    

 

Victoria Baths 9 July and 10 September

We’ll be singing at about 1.00 p.m. and 2.15 on both occasions, though watch out for updates on this newsletter. If you’ve not been before the Victoria Baths are well worth a visit. 

We now are singing there regularly a couple of times a year. You can read about our previous visits here.     

Buxton Fringe 15 July 2017 

 

We’ll be singing at our usual two venues:

United Reformed Church Buxton 11.00  a.m.

St Mary’s Church Buxton 3.00 p.m.

Book your tickets at www.ticketsource.co.uk/ordsallsingers/events If this link doesn’t work copy and paste it.

Tickets: £5.00 full price, £3.00 concessions, children under five free, family ticket £12.00 (up to four people, one of whom must be a concession)       

Also with cake. Naturally.

I’d like to add here that we had a great time last month when we performed at St Mary’s as part of their centenary celebrations. You can read a full report here.   

Ordsall Festival 22 July

This takes place in Ordsall Park Salford. We’ll be performing at home, in effect. It’s always good to remind ourselves of where we come from. We’re not sure of exact timings yet but it will be sometime in the afternoon.  

  

Looking further ahead

We’re already looking to the autumn and winter. Dates will no doubt soon fill up.

Happy singing and listening everyone.

 

Newsletter 8 March 2017

Dear all,

What a month it’s been. Last time I was telling you that we would be going to the MACC,  on 26 February with an extra concert the night before and then about the Salford Vocal and Choral Festival on 4 March. Now those have been and gone and we’re pleased with what we achieved.

The MACC judges assured us that we sang better than they’d ever heard us do before.  Is this perhaps as it should be really, if we’re continuing to make progress? Ah, our MD is working us hard – and it pays off.     

And, er, we won the Salford Vocal and Choral Festival. 

Quotes from the judges: “Fantastic engagement with the audience”  “An excellent dynamic group. The harmonies were tight – well done.”

There were a lot of firsts around the two events and indeed the concert the evening before the MACC:

·         The first time we’ve performed without a conductor

·         The first time we’ve sang scattered instead of in voice parts (and it seems that this improved the harmonies)

·         The first time our small groups (the Ordsall Chord and the Ordsall Tone Rangers) performed in public. Incidentally they did well too at the Salford Festival with comments: “ Lovely blend of harmonies, the light and bouncy feel of the song was well conveyed ” “ a super programme, super interaction”.

Our concert on 25 February with two other choirs was also very rewarding. It was there that we tried out our new regime. It worked, so we risked it also at the two competitions. It seemed to work there too.

Of course, we also made friends with two new choirs. All three events were delightful as they brought us into contact with other people who love singing.   

You can read more on our blog about the MACC and the concert the day before here.      

You can read more about the Salford Vocal and Choral Festival here.

Forthcoming Events

You can also often find details on our Facebook page and we’ll usually put links on Twitter as well.

At most of our events you can get tickets on the door. However, we do recommend getting tickets in advance. It helps us and it guarantees that you won’t be turned away at the door. We’ve not had to do that yet but we’ve come close to it.    

 

Buxton St Mary’s 22 April Centenary Concert 3.00 p.m.

We have been invited to provide a concert for St Mary’s, with whom we have become great friends over the years that we’ve been going to the Fringe Festival at Buxton. They celebrate their centenary this year. Tickets will be the same price as for our main Buxton concerts:

£5.00 full price

£3.00 concessions (children, unwaged, senior citizens)

Family ticket £12.00 – up to four individuals in one party, where at least one person must be a concession

Children 5 and under free.

The church is arranging the ticketing for this and it should be available by the end of the month. It will be possible to pay on the door but only if there are seats remaining. Book your ticket here to guarantee a place. 

 

Buxton Fringe 15 July 2017

We’ll be singing at our usual two venues:

United Reformed Church Buxton 11.00  a.m.

St Mary’s Church Buxton 3.00 p.m.

Book your tickets here.  Prices as above.

Victoria Baths 9 July and 10 September

We’ll be singing at about 1.00 p.m. and 2.15 on both occasions, though watch out for updates on this newsletter. If you’ve not been before the Victoria Baths are well worth a visit. 

We now are singing there regularly a couple of times a year. You can read about our previous visits here.     

Happy singing and listening everyone.

 

Newsletter 24 January 2017

Dear all,

It’s a been a little while since we’ve had a newsletter so now we have one or two bits and pieces to tell you. We’ve had to firm up one or two details and we did have a break over Christmas but now we’re speeding along again.

Christmas seems a long time ago now, but it you want to know what we did then, take a look at our blog.  This is always a fun time of year but it’s also good to get back to our normal repertoire and to learning some new songs.  And we’re doing that in spades.  

Last Saturday, 21 January, Jeff ran a very successful workshop for us where we were able to consolidate a few things. This is just another bonus of belonging to a choir. What a great way to spend a Saturday.  

And now we have a few events lined up for you. See below.         

Forthcoming Events

You can also often find details on our Facebook page and we’ll usually put links on Twitter as well.

At most of our events you can get tickets on the door. However, we do recommend getting tickets in advance. It helps us and it guarantees that you won’t be turned away at the door. We’ve not had to do that yet but we’ve come close to it.     

 

Manchester Amateur Choral Competition 26 February 2017 

… fondly known as the MACC. Yes, we’re entering this again. The songs have been selected … more or less ….. Ha, ha, they’re a secret! We sing for fifteen minutes. It is open to the public – click on the link above -so you might like to come and support us. There is a fantastic atmosphere and although the choirs are in competition with each other they are also very supportive of one another. Guaranteed you’ll hear some great singing.        

Salford Choral and Vocal Festival 4 March

How could we not join in this?  It will to some extent be similar to what we’re doing for the  MACC – note how close together the two events are. But there’s more. In addition, we’ll be entering some small groups of up to ten people. This is something we’ve been working on recently. We’ve been meeting an hour early and singing in small groups – often with just one person singing each part. That really stretches you. It’s a sharp contrast to singing in the bigger choir but it’s great because you can really hear the other parts clearly.  

Find out more about the festival here.          

 

Buxton St Mary’s 22 April Centenary Concert 3.00 p.m.

We have been invited to provide a concert for St Mary’s, with whom we have become great friends over the years that we’ve been going to the fringe festival at Buxton. They celebrate their centenary this year. Tickets will be the same price as for our main Buxton concerts:

£5.00  full price

£3.00 concessions (children, unwaged, senior citizens)

Family ticket £12.00 – up to four individuals in one party, where at least one person must be a concession

Children 5 and under free.

The church is arranging the ticketing for this and it should be available by the end of the month. It will be possible to pay on the door but only if there are seats remaining. I’ll send out a short note once we have the link for booking.              

 

Buxton Fringe 15 July 2017

We’ll be singing at our usual two venues:

United Reformed Church Buxton 11.00  a.m.

St Mary’s Church Buxton 3.00 p.m.

Book your tickets here.  Prices as above.

A couple of housekeeping items:

I’m sending out this newsletter to all those who have signed up for it AND to all choir members.  I do the latter so that you can easily pass it on to friends and family. You may therefore be getting it twice.  DO NOT UNSUBSCRIBE – you might unsubscribe from the wrong one and then not get vital choir messages. Let me know if it’s a problem.

I’m also now posting a copy of each newsletter on the blog. Therefore if you’ve deleted the email you can still access the info on our blog.          

Happy singing and listening everyone.