Notes from Committee Meeting
On Monday 15th September 2025
Treasurer’s report (The full report will be sent out and received at the AGM)
Jenny proposed a vote of thanks to Malcolm for all of his work and John Awty seconded this.
MD’s report
Summer concert -Justin reviewed the summer concert saying that “Carmina Burana was an unqualified success on every level”. As well as praising the soloists, pianists and percussion group, he congratulated the choir for its “tight, flawless unfolding of number after number”.
Christmas concert – We are now looking ahead to Messiah at Christmas and have all the orchestra and soloists in place.
Attendance – We have got off to a slow start in terms of attendance this term. Although a number of people know Messiah well, they are still needed at rehearsals to help and encourage those who do not. Justin hopes this will improve and that the confidence gained in the summer will return. He explained that time is always tight to meet the concert deadlines, particularly in the autumn term, even when working through half term.
Voice Reps – Justin wondered how we could make better use of our voice part reps to support members, especially new ones as we are a fast-growing choir. We discussed:
- Meeting and greeting new members, showing them where to sit and introducing them to existing members.
- Pointing out the various key members and explaining what they do.
- Listening to concerns or comments and taking them back to the relevant people.
- Encouraging people to get up and circulate during breaks.
This very important topic will be discussed further.
Rehearsal Accompanist – Justin announced that he would be auditioning potential accompanists over the next 2 weeks.
25th Anniversary Events
Review of summer concert
We all agreed that this went very well and that the venue was good. Some issues were brought up:
- It was quite cramped on the stage and the unusual heat didn’t help. We agreed that this would not be such a problem for any future concerts as the percussion and pianos took up a lot of space as well as the children’s choir.
- Stella has been overseeing a lot of the concert arrangements up to now, including Front of House and this is very difficult whilst also singing in the choir. We discussed the idea of a Concert Manager. This would ideally be a non-choir person with knowledge of how our concerts work and what is involved. This will be put to choir members to see if they know of anyone suitable
.
Garden Party
Julia reported that this went well with about 30 attendees. People enjoyed the opportunity to socialise, with some commenting that we should have more events like this.
Singing Workshop
This went well with 61 attendees and we made £354 profit. We decided to hold another next year.
Christmas Concert
See MD’s report.
Harleston Christmas Lights
Stella, Jo and Caroline had been speaking to people from the council regarding our performing at this event. As it would only be a 10-minute slot, we wondered if many people from outside Harleston would attend. It’s also very close to our concert and Justin felt people might catch colds from standing around. We agreed not to take part this time.
Replacement and Recruitment for Committee
We again, discussed having more accessible meeting times such as evenings and weekends to try to attract new members that may be working.
Jenny and Heather will be standing down so there will be 2 vacancies.
Progress with the Making Music Platform.
This will go live after Christmas and choir members will be able to access parts of this on a mobile phone just like the website.
Nikki will be the Webmaster.
Rehearsal Rules
There is still too much talking in rehearsals, especially with people asking about page numbers. Justin pointed out that everyone receives the schedule and should refer to that.
Feedback from Sub Committees
Music
Music copies – Justin suggested that music copies are signed for when given out so that we know members have received them.
Malcolm asked if we need to order any more black folders. Ideally, we will use them as people have different colour copies of Messiah but they are then quite heavy. Some people photocopy the carols to make them lighter. It was decided we have enough.
Joint concert – There has been a suggestion for a joint concert with Wymondham Choral in 2027 – This might be either Carmina Burana or Verdi’s Requiem (the latter would require a large orchestra). Again, we discussed possible venues and wondered how far people would travel. We agreed to put this to choir members and see what interest we get.
Publicity
Posters – Heather will no longer be designing posters etc although she is happy to print what is sent to her. Justin’s friend Nick is happy to design logos etc for us if we wish.
New Member – The SC welcomed Helen Bennet who has recently joined. She will help with a variety of publicity tasks.
Social
Caroline has booked the hall at St James for the quiz on 21st March 2026.
No member’s feedback.
No AOB
Next meeting TBA after the AGM.