A typical Wednesday evening

The view from the basses

Forthcoming news

I have been asked by occasional visiting singers who lack map reading skills to quote the school postal code, something about GPS navigation; it is M20 1JG. No excuse for getting lost. What's wrong with my map?

As we rehearse in the Cavendish School, dates when we will not rehearse are the school half terms and holidays. Tony has devided to year into six sessions. They are; session 1, Jan 4 to Feb 8; session 2, Feb 22 to Mar 28; session 3, Apr 18 to May 30; session 4, Jun 13 to Jul 18; session 5, Sep 5 to Oct 24; and session 6, Nov 7 to Dec 19.

The Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle is the major work for the spring. The concert will be Saturday 24th March 2012 at 1930. The location is the Didsbury Baptist church on the corner of Beaver Road and School lane. Currently we are spending half the rehearsal tme on this fabulous work. It's worth coming just to hear Bill play the accompliment.

The summer session will be to revisit Hiawatha's wedding, text by Longfellow and music by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. It's a controversial work evoking strong likes and dislikes. Natalie is very fond of it.

In the recent committee meeting, the discussion about next year centred around two pieces. I am forbidden to mention them by name but I'm sure gentle hints would not go amis. In one piece the composer died halfway through the Lacrimosa; the other piece was composed when the composer was employed by Count Eszterhazy.

Only this section, Forthcoming News, can be edited directly from my computer, hence its occasional spontaneity. All the rest requires an email to our guy at Micait which is an onerous task to a lazy person like me.

Great to see more tenors on the horizon. Apparently they have been seduced by the website. Let's hope the relationship does not go sour too quickly. Long may they remain!

The school has become more strict with keeping the doors secure. Do try not to be more than five minutes late as the front door will be locked. If you are late, call 0750 328 9931 and ask to be let in.

Singing in a choir is one of THE great human experiences. As said elsewhere, there are no auditions for this choir, all are welcome (especially tenors), either turn up on any working Wednesday evening at 1930, and/or give Natalie a ring first.

Who are we?

We are a group of between forty and sixty singers who come together on a weekly basis and sing for pleasure. We also give two or more public concerts a year.

History

The choir has been in existence since 1985 when a group of parents with children at the Cavendish Road Primary School got together to sing.

What do we sing?

We have a very wide repertoire ranging from the English madrigal tradition, the Mozart and Fauré Requiems, the Rossini Petite Messe (with harmonium!), Bach, Handel, Brahms, English composers of the 19th and 20th century, village carols at Christmas, Gershwin and Jerome Kern.

Who can join?

We are always happy to welcome new members if you have time to commit yourself to regular weekly rehearsals. There is no audition but it certainly helps if you can sing in tune.

When and where do we rehearse?

We meet on Wednesday evenings at 7-30 for two hours during school terms in the Cavendish Primary School, the main (West) door, which is on Cavendish Road in West Didsbury, near the junction with Burton Road. Cavendish Road becomes Lapwing Lane and then Fog Lane which is one of the major east west crossings five miles south of Manchester city centre.

How to contact us

The Musical Director is Natalie Marshall. Ring her for further information on 0161-445 4872 or just turn up!