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Minutes of the Annual General Meeting

HARLESTON CHORAL SOCIETY
Held on Monday 7 th October 2024
at 8.15pm 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 Jo Curry, Philip Hall, Lynda Bradley, Alison
    Dumbell, Anne Pickstock, Felicity Todd, Robyn Challis and Lou Townsend.
  2. Minutes of the last AGM (held on Monday 9 th October 2023)
    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 Caroline
    Rodbourne and seconded by Ivan Tammas.
  4. Report by Chair
    Stella delivered her report (see attached). This was proposed by Nikki
    Wilkins and seconded by Jenny Hyams.
  5. Report by Treasurer
    Malcolm delivered his report (see attached). This was proposed by John
    Formston and seconded by Julia Awty.
    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
    Mr Robin Farrar was, again, appointed as Auditor for the year.
  7. Election of Committee members for the year 2024/25
    Jo Curry, Amanda Fletcher, Fiona Bartlett and Heather Butcher were all
    due for re-election this year and have all agreed to stand again. This was
    proposed by Tony Pringsheim and seconded by Tom Crisp.
    This left one vacancy and Nikki Wilkins, who was co-opted earlier in the
    year to deputise for Malcolm, as Treasurer, was proposed by Malcolm
    Butcher and seconded by Julia Awty. Heather Butcher had volunteered to
    stand down if anyone else wanted to join but there were no further
    nominations.
    It was proposed by Ruth Cawcutt and seconded by Ivan Tammas, that
    John Awty, who has been acting as Membership Secretary, be elected permanently in this position.

Stella had announced in her report that she is standing down as Chair.
Caroline Rodbourne and Jo Curry were proposed by Tony Pringsheim and
seconded by Ruth Cawcutt, as Chair and Vice Chair respectively (for the
purposes of the constitution), although, in practice, they will share this
position equally.
Stella encouraged people to join the committee and invited them to come
to a meeting if they wanted to see how we work. She also told them about
the various sub-committees and explained that members are welcome to
join any of these without being on the main committee.
Stella declared the meeting closed
Date of next AGM: Autumn term 2025

TREASURERS REPORT

Income and Expenditure Report downloadable here
We commenced the year with a membership of 60 and during the year we
have kept the numbers of choir members at the same level which is an
indication of the strength and success of the choir and the enjoyment of
taking part in a thriving team.
The income from subscriptions in the year was £7,720, an increase of
£1,300 on the previous year.. In addition to that we raised a further
£1,249 from Gift aid, and a further £917 from the Quiz night. Also, we
have increased the earnings from the bonus ball to £550. Thank you
Fiona for continuing to manage this and thank you all for your
contributions to all of these fundraising incomes which are vital to
provide the necessary support to the choir.
The cost of the hire of the London Road Church was up by £120 this year
to £1,539.
The library costs in the year are considerably less than the previous year,
at a net figure of £1,096 which is £239 less than last year and this is
because some choir members have purchased their own copies.

Concert income from the two concerts was £3,254 and the costs
amounted to £5,560.. This is fairly consistent as we have not had large
orchestra numbers, but obviously if we do then the costs will multiply
while the income does not increase very much because the audience
number that we can fit into the church is restricted. Also, if we charge too
much then fewer people may attend. However, the income from the
December concert, Vivaldi’s Gloria, was the highest we have ever had.
Probably the most significant cost in the year is that we had to purchase a
new digital piano, because the old one decided enough was enough. This
cost was £1,139. Also, regrettably, the workshop that we planned had to
be cancelled due to a lack of interest. We will have to reconsider what we
do in the future.
Apart from increased rent, all costs are steadily increasing. The fees for
our Music Director and Accompanist have risen, quite rightly, and
although we have been fortunate to acquire talented soloists and
musicians at fairly lowish costs, there is ongoing pressure for their fees to
be increased. So, this will put further pressure on our income.
Subscription costs rose from £40 to £45 in the year and I know some of
you are paying £50, which is very generous.
We have two concerts ahead of us in the next 12 months and the costs of
these will test the resources, both of the management and the finance. The
concerts I am sure will be very enjoyable and challenging. There will
always be changes in the circumstances in the year and these need to be
managed by everybody.
I hope we have a very successful year both musically and financially.
Malcolm Butcher – Treasurer

MUSIC DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Another year has flown by – a year packed with musical achievements
and triumphs for the society. Casting our minds back to December 2023,
we delivered a blistering version of Vivaldi’s Gloria which rightly
received rapturous applause. Other highlights included Stella doing
sterling work on percussion in “Do you hear what I hear?” ,Tony on flute
and my thanks to Ivan, Brenda and Fiona-Catherine for their solos within
the concert. Audience numbers were up and I think the general feeling
was a wonderful evening all round.
The choir worked very hard during the spring and summer months on the
double bill of Saint-Saens Requiem and Dvorak Mass in D. I know some
of the choir found the music challenging at times but come June, and
even with a sizable number unwell on the night, the choir delivered
singing of high quality combined with commitment and confidence. The
reception at the end – including cheering, was testament to all your hard
work and I thank you so much for this. We were very fortunate to have
our quartet of soloists back for this and they are all returning this
Christmas for the Haydn Missa Sancti Nicolai.
I’d like to thank Karen for her humour and unswerving determination to
make rehearsals fun and informative. I would also like to thank John
Witchell for stepping in and playing the rehearsals Karen was unable to
do earlier in the year. The choir is growing in number and quality, which
brings me neatly on to my next point….
So, 2025 is the 25th anniversary of the formation of Harleston Choral Society. As you already know we will begin the year’s
celebrations with an event towards the end of January. But what about the
music we will be singing next year? Well I can now reveal the concert in
June is going to be Carl Orff’s masterpiece Carmina Burana. I used to
sing this every year in the children’s choir and it was the piece that started
my parent’s interest in “Classical music” so it’s very dear to my heart. The
piece is epic, bonkers but a lot of fun to perform.
Christmas 2025 we will be performing Messiah part 1. The Messiah was
the first full length work performed by HCS so it seems very appropriate.
As this anniversary belongs to all of you – I would like you all to get
involved in choosing the numbers in the second half of the concert. If
everyone in the choir sends in their 3 favourite pieces, I will collate them
and the most popular will be included! Details on voting will follow in
due course.
It only remains for me to say a big thank you to our ever hard working
committee, without whom the society simply couldn’t exist and a VERY
big thank you to Stella who has steadied the ship this year and provided
me and the committee with invaluable help, support and advice.
Thank you all so much for making Harleston Choral Society what it is
today – fun, committed and boy do we pull it out of the hat come
performance day!

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
It is with pride and great achievement we can look back on the
year just gone. We have continued to develop all the different
areas of the choir renewed after Covid – membership numbers,
musicality and most important of all friendship.
The year started with our Christmas concert under the direction of
Justin – Vivaldi’s “Gloria” with old friends Jo Westaway and
Joanna Gamble joining us for the evening. The rest of the
programme contained so many lovely items both known and
unknown. (Berlioz, Rutter, Whitaker, Holst to name a few.)
The new venture of the previous year – hampers for the raffle –
was repeated, making another substantial profit.
Quiz night held its usual position in March. Such a well attended
evening. Thank you to John Formston for the even more frustrating
questions, to Fiona for the raffle and to Julia and her team for the
exquisite food.
Our Summer concert at the end of June really tested all our brains,
memory and ability to connect sight to sound. Part I was Dvorak’s
Mass in D Major and Part 2 Saint-Saens’ Requiem. A few weeks
beforehand our much loved friend and Membership Secretary
Joanna had died and everyone agreed we should dedicate the
concert to her memory. Her husband Paul was overjoyed at this
decision. He attended the concert and told me afterwards she
would have loved the music.
Our Garden party was held in July, lovely weather, quizzes and
finger food. What more could we want. A further development this
year was a quiz to identify trees and plants around the garden.
Thank you to Caroline for hosting and to members who brought
food.
Our projected workshop planned for August unfortunately had to
be cancelled due to lack of numbers. Difficult decisions had to be
made at the last minute before money was spent. Thank you to
Amanda for dealing with all the contacting of prospective
attendees.
Also, as you have already heard from Justin about next year’s

work we are involving the High School with singing and hosting the
event. Contact is now very much in hand and several of the
committee have paid fruitful visits.
All this doesn’t happen, as you realise (or perhaps not) without a
great deal of hard work behind the scenes. First of all, thank you to
the Committee as a whole for their support and willingness to help
whenever there is a challenge. Justin had commented to me
earlier this year he had never worked with such a pro-active
committee. Thank you to Amanda for all her organisation and
minute taking. Thank you to John Awty for all his hard work as
Assistant Membership Secretary, sending out reminders for
everything from Schedules to dress code. My grateful thanks to
Julia for all her amazing work as librarian (and to Fiona and
Sharon who have helped her on handout days) It is important that
you listen to her requests and abide by them. Thank you to them
both for lending a listening ear when I needed it. A very big thank
you to Malcolm for his continued, amazing management of the
Society’s money and to Nicky for agreeing to help in that area.
Thank you to Heather for all her work devising the programmes
and posters, to Jenny and her team for dealing with publicity, to Jo
for all her work behind the scenes, to Caroline for being so
generous with her house, garden and time and to John Formston
for quizzes and banners.
Thank you to Fiona for all her help with bonus ball and raffles.
Thank you to Justin for all his encouragement, and hard work over
the last year. He has introduced us to such wonderful music we
didn’t know existed. And thank you to Karen for all her hard work
over what has been a very difficult period for her.
Last year we initiated Sub-committees to help with the working of
the Society and cut down on the length of the main meetings.
These are Archives, Publicity, Music, Social, Workshop. Please
consider joining one of them to learn what goes on and bring your
expertise to the Society.
Finally, I did say last year I was stepping down. Circumstances
slightly changed within the Committee but this year I do mean it
and the Committee have accepted my decision.
However, next year will be an amazing time, much to celebrate
and giving and experiencing the joy of singing.

Stella Brownsea
7 th October 2024

Downloadable here as a Word document

Notes from Committee Meeting

Tuesday 6th August 2024

Present:  Stella Brownsea, Fiona Bartlett, John Formston, Jo Curry, Malcolm Butcher, Heather Butcher, John Awty, Julia Awty, Caroline Rodbourne, Jenny Hyams

In attendance:  Justin Bindley

Apologies for absence:  Amanda Fletcher

  1. Matters arising from the last meeting

Music donation

Stella had reported that we had been offered a collection of music from an HCS supported in Long Stratton.  Julia confirmed that this has now been collected and will be stored at her house, along with other donated music, including that from Joanna.  This will all eventually be catalogued.

  1. Treasurer’s Report 

The Committee thanked Malcolm for his report, which overall showed that a healthy bank balance has been maintained.  He will do a full financial report for the AGM on 7 October.  Malcolm and the Committee congratulated Fiona for achieving the best Bonus Ball income ever, at £550.00 for the year.  Fiona explained that she will not be doing the Bonus Ball on the first Monday of the new term, but will pick this up on 9 September.

  1. Music Director’s Report 

The Committee thanked Justin for his report.  John A reported that he had received several emails after the concert, one saying that it was the best amateur performance of the music they had ever heard.  Justin said that there were professional singers in the audience who endorsed this, including singers involved with setting up a choir in Fressingfield.

  1. Feedback/reports from Sub Committees
  1. Music Sub Committee – main points
  • Workshop weekend:  it was reluctantly agreed that despite all the publicity, direct contact with last year’s attendees, canvassing at the Garden Party, and numerous emails from John A, the low number of people who had booked did not make this year’s workshop financially viable.  Various options were discussed, including a further possible email to all members, and scrapping the Saturday morning session, but in view of the limited timescale, and the possible loss of £400 overall, there seemed to be little option but to cancel.  Malcolm pointed out that in 2023, £700 was taken for the workshop which 40-50 people attended.  Justin expressed his disappointment at this turn of events and the Committee thanked him and Karen for all his and Karen’s hard work preparing for the workshop.
  • Christmas concert:  Julia reported that the choir now knows the running order. She has collected the music, though not ‘Bethlehem’ which will be photocopied.  
  • Rehearsal attendance: Justin reiterated his concern about the extent of absenteeism last term.  It was agreed that John A will send out an email to all members at the beginning of the new term, asking them to notify him of all rehearsal absences, whether planned or unexpected, and to confirm their availability for the concert.
  • Hiring out HCS catalogue: Julia reported that 55 copies of the Ronald Corp “Christmas Mass” have been hired out to Wymondham Choral Society for the sum of £68.75 
  • Carol Service in aid of Guide Dogs for the Blind: Stella had been approached by the charity’s local fundraiser asking if we could sing at a “Celebration of Christmas” at St. Nicholas Church, Diss, in 2025, which would consist of choir-only numbers and to support the congregation/audience.  Justin pointed out that Christmas is the busiest time of year for himself and Karen and he is reluctant to commit to it.
  • Sectional rehearsals: These have proven to be extremely useful and should be encouraged to continue.  Basses and altos have met at members’ houses; sopranos and tenors have held short sectional rehearsals prior to the main Monday evening rehearsals.  It was also thought that, as they are such a large section, Justin’s involvement with the sopranos would be very helpful.
  1. Publicity Sub Committee – main points
  • New outlet: Sarah Veness, Editor of ArtsEast, has agreed to put copy and a photo re our Christmas Concert 2024 in the Autumn issue; there will probably be an opportunity to publicise our future concerts too
  • HCS website: After Joanna’s death, Paul said that he would continue maintaining the website, for which we are very grateful.  Immediate updates were sent to him re the Summer Concert, and then further updates re the August Workshop.  Jenny will continue to send him updates as and when necessary
  • Basil Abbott: Jenny reported that Basil has now reviewed our last three concerts and these reviews have been posted on the HCS website, but not in the Diss Express, which used to be where his reviews appeared.  As he said in an email after our Summer Concert, ‘Nothing in the Diss Express, Jenny, even though I put a note in saying how much the reviews mean to local groups. I feel bad that I am accepting free tickets from you, but you get nothing in return . . . I can still put reviews on social media, which has greater coverage than the circulation of the newspaper, but it is not the same. You can decide whether you want me to continue writing something about your concerts’. Jenny will assure Basil that we are happy for him to post reviews on social media and that the free tickets are a small price to pay.  She will also contact Diss Express to seek an assurance that future press releases will be published.
  1. Social Sub Committee

Caroline thanked everyone who had helped at and/or sent food to the Summer Garden Party which had been a huge success.  The Committee thanked Caroline for hosting such a lovely event.

  1. 25th Anniversary

There was considerable discussion about the 25th Anniversary concert (summer 2025) as well as possible celebratory events throughout the year, leading up to the Christmas concert 2025.  Ideas will be further developed at the next meeting.

  1. AGM 

There was a discussion about who is due for re-election onto the committee this year and other changes.  Details will be confirmed on the agenda for the AGM on the 7th October.

  1. Choir members’ feedback

To be carried forward to the next meeting due to lack of time.

  1. Date and time of next meeting

TBC

Signed ………………………………… Date ………………………………

Printable Word file here.

SCHEDULE MARCH 2024

Here as printable pdf file

HARLESTON CHORAL SOCIETY
MARCH 2024 REHEARSAL SCHEDULE

MONDAY 4TH MARCH

DVORAK MASS IN D
Sop and Altos with Karen
Tenors and Basses with Justin
CREDO – pages 31 – 37 (to Figure D)
2015 – all back together and Run pages 31 to 37
BREAK
SAINT SAENS – REQUIEM
HOSTIAS – pages 46 – 49
ORO SUPLEX – pages 38 – 45 (recap)
REX TREMENDUS – pages 27 – 37 (recap)
CALL ENDS

MONDAY 11TH MARCH
DVORAK MASS IN D
Sop and Altos with Karen
Tenors and Basses with Justin
CREDO – pages 39 – 45
2015 – all back together run pages 39 – 45, then from 31 – 45
BREAK
SAINT SAENS – REQUIEM
SANCTUS – pages 50 – 54
HOSTIAS – pages 46 – 49 (recap)
KYRIE – pages 3 – 13 (run)
CALL ENDS

MONDAY 18TH MARCH
DVORAK MASS IN D
Sop and Altos with Karen
Tenors and Basses with Justin

CREDO – pages 46 – 52 (to letter L)
2015 – all back together run pages 46 – 52, then from 31 – 52
BREAK
SAINT SAENS – REQUIEM
AGNUS DEI – pages 70 – 75
DIES IRAE – pages 14 – 26 (run)
CALL ENDS


MONDAY 25TH MARCH
DVORAK MASS IN D
RUN PAGES 1 – 52
BREAK
SAINT SAENS REQUIEM
RUN WHOLE WORK
CALL ENDS

Harleston Choral Society

AGM 9th October 2023

Chairman’s report

It is with great pride and fulfilment we can look back on the year
just gone. In last year’s report I described the Society as
blossoming again after the pandemic. We have really continued
that development to almost rival Kew!
The year started with our Christmas concert under the direction of
Justin, the first concert with us for which he had chosen the
programme. The main work, Ronald Corp’s “A Christmas Mass”
was so enjoyed by the audience (and eventually by the singers!) In
the words of the critic we created Christmas sparkle, a concert to
lift the spirits, helping to forget for a while the troubles of the world.
A new venture with the raffle was tried – hampers, the contents of
which were provided by members. Thanks to two of Neil’s
daughters it made a substantial profit.
Quiz night was held in March – a very well attended evening.
Thank you to John Formston for the frustrating questions, to Fiona
for the raffle and to Julia and her team for the exquisite food.
Our Summer concert at the end of June developed us even
further, the main work being Haydn’s “Stabat Mater” and a
selection ( or as the critic put it – “a bean feast”) of choruses, soli
and duets from Mozart in the second half – a concert of massive
contrasts. We welcomed back Laura Morgan and Aleksi Kaponen
who were joined by David Menezies and Joanna Gamble – four
soloists who didn’t just sing, they performed. Will we ever forget
Aleksi and Laura singing “La ci darem”? We sang in five different
languages- thank you to those members who gave us tuition in
pronunciation and to Caroline for looking after David and Aleksi for
the weekend.
In July, Caroline kindly hosted a garden party. It was quite a windy
afternoon – would be an understatement! Marquees and gazebos
had been erected and taken down in the previous few days, but
again a lovely, friendly afternoon was enjoyed, not many games
were played, two musical quizzes had been prepared by Julia and
Caroline and the food was great.

We held a 2 day workshop in August, learning to read music,
voice production, and studying pieces to perform. It was open to
non-members and lunch was available to purchase. Six members
formed a sub-committee and what an amazing success it was.
Thank you to the never tiring sub-committee Julia, Fiona, Caroline,
Joanna and Amanda and to Justin and Karen for the musical
organisation. There were 52 attendees in all many of whom came
to more than one session. It was a terrific atmosphere, people
chatting over lunch, registration and catering went smoothly and
we made a profit!
All this, as you realise doesn’t just happen without a great deal of
hard work behind the scenes. First of all, thank you to the
Committee as a whole for their support and willingness to help
whenever there is a challenge. Thank you to Amanda for all her
minute taking and organisation. I don’t know how she does it.
Thank you to Joanna and Paul for organising the website and
keeping it up to date. Thank you to John Awty for all his hard work
as Assistant Membership Secretary. He’s the chap behind the
reminders, helping with anything on computers. My grateful thanks
to Julia for all her amazing work as Librarian. You all must have
seen the piles of music she sits behind and always smiles when
she hands you yours. Thank you to them both for lending a
listening ear when I need it. A very big thank you to Malcolm for his
continued management of our money. He has finally succeeded in
changing us over to a non-fee paying bank and getting all our
transactions on line.
Thank you to Heather for all her work with devising the
programmes and posters, to Jenny for dealing with the publicity, to
Jo for all her help behind the scenes especially when anything
needs moving. Thank you to Caroline for being so generous with
her house, garden and time and to John Formston for his sensible
advice.
Thank you to Fiona for all her help with the bonus ball. I think
Malcolm’s report will tell you how much this has raised over the
year.
How do we say thank you to Justin and Karen? Their
encouragement and musical knowledge over the last year has
been phenomenal. Justin is always searching the airwaves for
new, interesting and inspiring music for us and our audiences.

We have welcomed 4 completely new members this year and had
6 returnees.
We have also initiated sub-committees to help with the working of
the society and cut down on the length of the main meetings.
These are Archives, Publicity. Music, Social, Workshop and
Concert Admin. Please consider joining one of them to learn what
goes on and bring your expertise to the fore. We can promise the 3
Fs – fun, friendship but most importantly FOOD.
Finally, I did say last year I was stepping down. Circumstances
have slightly changed within the committee so I am happy to
continue but really must next year. So please have a think
We have great concerts to prepare over the next year when we will
be giving and experiencing the joy of singing.

Stella Brownsea
9 th October 2023

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 – September 2023

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 Joanna Barfield, 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 £40.00 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 and – if available – we provide practice CDs for each voice part: soprano, alto, tenor, and bass.  The first CDs are free to new members and thereafter there is a small charge. 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.

Our Christmas concert will be on 9 December 2023 and will include Vivaldi’s Gloria and shorter festive pieces by Saint Saens, Holst, Rutter and more. 

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 our Chair, Stella Brownsea, or our Acting Membership Secretary, John Awty, either during a practice session or as below:

Stella Brownsea heidihouse@btinternet.com 01379 854720                

John Awty saintsjandj@btinternet.com 01986 782302
 
Or please visit our website: www.harlestonchoralsoc.org.uk
 

These notes can be downloaded as a printable pdf file here.

 

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