Author: Paul Cope

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

HARLESTON CHORAL SOCIETY
MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Held on Monday 9th October 2023
at 7.30pm in The Church on London Road, Harleston

Stella welcomed Justin, Karen and choir members and declared the meeting open

  1. Apologies for absence
    Apologies were received from Joanna Barfield, Lesley Hiller, Lynda Austin,
    Linda Barden, Rachel Beswick, Felicity Todd, Christine Vincent, Jan Clarke,
    Philip Hall, Pat Holton, Tracy Jeffries, Susan Chambers, Crissy Smith,
    Sharon Pringsheim, Brenda Crockford and Linda Bradley.
  2. Minutes of the last AGM (held on Monday 17 th October 2022)
    On the proposal of Jo Curry, seconded by John Awty, the minutes were
    approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.
  3. Report by Music Director
    Justin delivered his report (see attached). This was proposed by Julia
    Awty and seconded by Caroline Rodbourne.
  4. Report by Chair
    Stella delivered her report (see attached). This was proposed by John
    Awty and seconded by Peter Hearn.
  5. Report by Treasurer
    Malcolm delivered his report (see attached) This was proposed by Tony
    Pringsheim and seconded by Ivan Tammas.
    He had also brought along copies of the annual accounts for choir
    members that wanted them and these will be filed with his report.
  6. Appointment of Auditor
    Malcolm explained that, although our choir was too small to officially
    need an auditor, Robin had been with us since 2000 and he would very
    much like to keep him. On the proposal of Julia Awty, seconded by John
    Awty, Mr Robin Farrar was appointed as Auditor for the year.
  7. Change to subscription fees
    Malcolm had explained in his report (see above), that the wording in the
    Agenda for this item was inaccurate, inferring that a decision had already
    been made by the committee. It should have read that this was a proposal
    only and needed to be put to the vote by the choir members.
    Malcolm reiterated points that he had made in his report outlining the
    major increase in costs and proposed that we raise the fees to £45 per

term. They were last raised from £35 to £40 in 2018. Points discussed
were:
 Whether or not fees could be raised to £50. Malcolm pointed out
that this would be a 25% rise and may be too much for some
people.
 Whether there should be a basic rate of £45 with people paying
extra if they wanted to.
 Stella reminded members that they should come to the committee
if they were struggling with fees, and arrangements could be made
for easier payment terms.
 It was asked if there was a cap on the amount soloists are paid and
Stella explained that contracts are negotiated very carefully for
each concert and, with their expenses, the soloists already make
very little for each performance.
 Whether or not a better rate for the rent of the church could be
negotiated, as the rise was so high. Stella agreed to speak to
someone from the church regarding this.
 Malcolm pointed out that the cost of borrowing music is
continually rising.
As a result, an increase in fees to £45 per term, with the option of paying
extra for those who wished to do so, was proposed by Peter Hearn and
seconded by Virginia Skoyles. It was put to the vote of the members and
agreed on unanimously.

  1. Election of Committee members for the year 2023/24
    Joanna Barfield, Stella Brownsea and John Formston were all due for re-
    election this year and have all agreed to stand again. This was proposed
    by Ruth Cawcutt and seconded by Tom Crisp.
    There were no nominations for new members. Stella encouraged people
    to think about joining, saying we have a very welcoming and proactive
    committee.
    Date of next AGM: Autumn term 2024

CHRISTMAS 2023 CONCERT

Running Order


CHRISTMAS 2023 CONCERT
9TH DECEMBER
FIRST HALF:
ONCE IN ROYAL DAVIDS CITY – AUDIENCE AND CHOIR
BLOW BLOW THY WINTER WIND – RUTTER
SHEPHERDS FAREWELL – BERLIOZ
GLOW – ERIC WHITACRE
GLORIA – VIVALDI (WITH JO WESTAWAY, BRENDA CROCKFORD AND JOANNA
GAMBLE)
THE FIRST NOEL – AUDIENCE AND CHOIR

SECOND HALF:
O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM – AUDIENCE AND CHOIR
CHRISTMAS DAY – HOLST (WITH SOPRANO , ALTO , QUARTET AND CHORUS)
IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER – DRAKE (SOP AND TENOR SOLO)
CAROL OF THE BIRDS – GUERNEY – JOANNA GAMBLE (ALTO)
LULLY, LULLA LULLAY – STOPFORD
PIANO SOLO – KAREN SMITH
DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR? –
I WISH YOU CHRISTMAS – RUTTER – JO WESTAWAY (SOPRANO)
JINGLE BELLS
O COME, ALL YE FAITHFUL – AUDIENCE AND CHOIR

Printable PDF version here to download

Notes for New Members – January 2025

Welcome to Harleston Choral Society

Welcome! We are delighted that you have come along to our choir practice today. We do hope that you will enjoy singing with us and that you will become a permanent member.
 
Along with these notes, you should also have received a list of diary dates and a GDPR form.
 
GDPR form
Please keep the top sheet of information for yourself, fill in the consent form as clearly as possible with your personal details and then return it to John Awty, Membership Secretary. Thank you.

History

Harleston Choral Society was founded in 2000 by Anne Gee, an experienced singing teacher and pioneer in developing amateur choirs. She especially believed in encouraging people who were unaware that they could actually sing! Anne quickly introduced members to a varied and demanding repertoire. We were fortunate to have her son Nathaniel as our patron for many years.

Chris Bracewell was our Music Director from 2004 – 2017. Chris was a very experienced choral conductor and inspired the choir to new heights, for example in performances of Brahms’ Requiem and Bach’s St John Passion.

From 2018 – 2021, our Music Director was Janette Ruocco. During that time, we had great success performing a wide variety of music from Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle, to Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, to Chilcott’s The Twelve Days of Christmas.

In March 2022, we were delighted to appoint Justin Bindley as our new Music Director. Justin has a wealth of singing and conducting experience. Our first concert with Justin was in June 2022 and we look forward to exciting times ahead.

We are very fortunate to have Karen Smith as our regular accompanist at our practices. Karen is a professional musician who also works with Eye Bach Choir.

Practices

We meet on Monday evenings during school term time from 7.30 pm till 9.30 pm in the London Road Church, Harleston. We perform our concerts in St John’s Church, Harleston. There is a short break for refreshments at approximately 8.30 pm. For new members, the first three practice sessions are free. If you then wish to continue singing with us, a termly fee is due, currently £45.00 per term, (there are some concessions).

There are no auditions for our friendly community choir and we welcome everyone. Although it’s an advantage to be able to read music, it’s not essential.  Music is provided free.  More experienced members are always happy to help and support with musical challenges and sometimes small groups meet in between scheduled practices.

Choir practices can often involve hard work, but the emphasis is on relaxation and enjoyment. Regular attendance is important and, to get full advantage, it is advisable to practise with at home during the week. It is useful to bring water, a pencil and reading glasses to practices! 

Concerts

We perform two evening concerts a year: a Christmas Concert, which normally includes a substantial choral work and sometimes includes Christmas Carols, some with audience participation; and a Summer Concert in June when we usually perform a longer choral work. For some concerts, we also have professional soloists and an orchestra.

There are rehearsals on the Friday evening and Saturday afternoon before a concert in St John’s Church. Concert dress is black tie for gentlemen and black for ladies.

Committee
We have a committee of up to 12 choir members who are elected during our autumn term AGM. The committee meets regularly to help with running the choir and organising our concerts. Many other members take on further important and essential tasks throughout the season.
 
Further information
If you would like any further information, please contact Caroline Rodbourne, caroline@rodbourne.org.uk 01986 782545 or Jo Curry, jo.curry@sky.com 07768 544005 or our Membership Secretary, John Awty, saintsjandj@btinternet.com 01986 782302
 
Or please visit our website: www.harlestonchoralsoc.org.uk

Monday Practice Schedule March 2023 & Help with learning the Stabat Mater

MONDAY 6TH MARCH

STABAT MATER

RUN PAGES 3 – 7

BEGIN WORK ON PAGES 31 – 33, THEN RECAP FROM PAGE 28

RUN 63 – 71

BREAK

IDOMENEO 1 – RUN

ENTFUHRUNG – CONTINUE WORK

CLEMENZA 1 – RUN

MONDAY 13TH MARCH

STABAT MATER

RUN 28 -33

WORK ON PAGES 44 – 47

RUN PAGES 13 – 16

RUN PAGES 63 – 71

BREAK

IDOMENEO 2 – BEGIN WORK PAGES 123 – 127

ENTFUHRUNG – CONTINUE WORK

CLEMENZA 2 – BEGIN

CLEMENZA 1 – RUN

MONDAY 20TH MARCH

STABAT MATER

RUN PAGES 3 – 7

WORK ON PAGES 48 – 50, THEN RECAP PAGES 44 – 50

RUN PAGES 28 – 33

RUN PAGES 63 – 71

BREAK

IDOMENEO 2 – PAGES 132 – 134, RECAP PAGES 123 – 127

CLEMENZA 2 – CONTINUE WORK

ENTFUHRUNG – CONTINUE WORK

MAGIC FLUTE 2 – RUN

MONDAY 27TH MARCH

STABAT MATER

RUN  PAGES 13 – 16

WORK ON PAGES 51 – 53, THEN RECAP FROM PAGE 43

RUN  PAGES 63 – 71

RUN  PAGES 28 -33

BREAK

IDOMENEO 2 – PAGES 123 – 134

CLEMENZA 2 – CONTINUE WORK

CHOIR FINISHED AT 9PM

QUARTET IDOMENEO 1/2 – 9PM TO 930PM

Help with learning the Stabat Mater

1. Stabat Mater – Latin to English translation:

Stabat Mater – Wikipedia

2. Choralia website that breaks down voice parts to aid learning:

J. HAYDN – STABAT MATER (choralia.net)

   We also still have the link to the John Fletcher site to help with voice parts: https://johnfletchermusic.org/stabat-mater-haydnj/

NB The first piece starts with the tenor solo for a few bars before the choir comes in with the basses (bar 29).

3. A couple of performances off youtube :

(160) Joseph Haydn – Stabat Mater – YouTube

(160) J. Haydn Stabat Mater – Livestream René Jacobs, Kammerorchester Basel – YouTube

Concert Dress

Ladies- black full or three-quarter length skirts or trousers, black top with at least three-quarter length sleeves and a moderate amount of ‘sparkle’, blingy necklace.

Gentlemen- black tie evening wear.

GDPR Policy

HCS GDPR Policy

Data Security

We will ensure that:

  • there is appropriate security to prevent personal data being accidentally or deliberately compromised;
  • there is a named person in HCS who is responsible for ensuring information security;
  • the data base will be backed up;
  • all emails within HCS will be sent ‘blind’ (bcc), with a copy to the person who is sending the email, unless those emails pertain to a group discussion, eg within the HCS Committee, and with those members’ prior consent;
  • emails which are no longer needed will be deleted;
  • the password for the designated Committee member will be their own personal password for their computer etc and their mobile phone;
  • hard copies of the database will be kept in a safe place in the designated Committee member’s home, but may be brought to choir practices for reference.

Disclosure of personal data

We will always be aware that:

  • HCS has a legal duty not to disclose data exceptto HMRC in order to claim Gift Aid;
  • HCS has a legal duty to disclose information to investigative authorities if requested to do so.

Keeping personal data

The Act does not set out any specific minimum or minimum periods for retaining personal data.  However, we will:

  • review the length of time we keep personal data;
  • consider the purpose(s) for which we hold the information in deciding whether, and/or for how long to retain it;
  • delete information whichis no longer needed for this purpose or purposes;
  • update, archive or delete information if it becomes out of date.

Data protection rights and duties

Our duties under the Act apply throughout the period when personal data is processed.  Therefore we will:

  • ensure that we comply with the Act from the moment we obtain the data until the time when the data has been returned, deleted or destroyed;
  • ensure that personal data, when we no longer need to keep it, will be disposed of and in a way which does not prejudice the interests of the individuals concerned.

HCS Committee

January 2023

A copy of the GDPR policy can be downloaded here in pdf format

 

Christmas Concert 2022 Running Order

Printable pdf file here

FIRST HALF

AUDIENCE CAROL – O COME O COME EMMANUEL [CB p230]

  • SHEPHERDS PIPE CAROL – RUTTER [CB p86]
  • ADAM LAY YBOUNDEN – WARLOCK [CB p32]
  • COVENTRY CAROL – SHAW [CB p212]
  • TORCHES – JOUBERT [sheet music]
  • CHRISTMAS MASS – RONALD CORP
  • KYRIE   B) GLORIA   C) CREDO  D) SANCTUS   E) AGNUS DEI

AUDIENCE CAROL – HARK THE HERALD ANGELS SING [CB p107]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~INTERVAL ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SECOND HALF

AUDIENCE CAROL – IT CAME UPON THE MIDNIGHT CLEAR [CB p194]

  • O MAGNUM MYSTERIUM [sheet music]
  • PERSONENT HODIE – HOLST [CB p266]
  • STILLE NACHT [CB p304]
  • QUELLE EST CETTE ODEUR AGREABLE? WHENCE IS THAT GOODLY  – WILLIAMS [CB p270]
  • IN DULCI JUBILO [sheet music]
  • CAROL OF THE BELLS [sheet music]

AUDIENCE CAROL – O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL [CB p226]

NOVEMBER 2022 REHEARSAL SCHEDULE

View here as a printable pdf file

7th November

Agnus Dei [p30] – Work Through (CHRISTMAS MASS)

Recap Sanctus [p24] if time

Break

Shepherd’s Pipe Carol [CB p86]

Carol Of The Bells [sheet music]

Stille Nacht [CB p304]

Whence Is That Goodly Fragrance (French) [CB p70]

14th November

CHRISTMAS MASS – Agnus Dei recap [p30]

Run Credo & Sanctus [pp14 & 24]

Break

O Magnum Mysterium [sheet music]

In Dulci Jubilo [sheet music]

Personent Hodie [CB p266]

Hark The Herald – Descant Verse [CB pp107/108]

O Come All Ye Faithful – Descant Verse [CB pp226/227]

21st November

Run CHRISTMAS MASS 

Break

Coventry Carol [CB pp212]

Torches [sheet music]

Carol Of The Bells [sheet music]

Adam Lay Ybounden [CB p32]

Shepherd’s Pipe Carol [CB p86]

28th November

Run CHRISTMAS MASS

Break

Shepherd’s Pipe Carol [CB p86]

Stille Nacht [CB p304]

Whence Is That Goodly Fragrance (French) [CB p270]

In Dulci Jubilo [sheet music]

Carol Of The Bells [sheet music]

** PLEASE BE READY TO SING ANY NUMBER DURING THIS MONTH  **