Dear All,
Huge thanks to Penny for leading us on such a poignant evening last week. It was a lovely tribute to Ben and I know he will remain in our thoughts when we come together again to sing.
Many people have asked about his funeral arrangements. We are in touch with his dear friend Claire Filer, through Claire Michelet, who has kindly promised to let us know as soon as she has a date. Unfortunately, they have to wait for a postmortem. Claire F was very touched to hear about our evening last week and the affectionate gestures like the crocs.
We will have our first rehearsal proper this Tuesday 24th Sep. The pieces we will cover are listed below.
I’ll bring the scores for anyone who has ordered (& paid for!) music but not yet received it. If anyone missed out on the order let me know. There are scanned copies of all the music being covered this week on the repertoire page of the website where you will also find links to practice tracks and a recording. Note – some scores have been delayed so you may need to print off some of the Gjeilo.
The rehearsal and concert schedule for the year is copied below. The Beethoven’s 9th performance in February with Lambeth Orchestra is an extra concert for us and came about because Ben was due to sing tenor at it. After hearing the sad news about Ben, the conductor, Peter Selwyn will be dedicating the performance to Ben’s memory which will make it all the more special.
There is another opportunity to sing Beethoven’s 9th, with Kew Sinfonia & Chiswick Community Choir on 16thNovember. Details below. This is open to anyone who is able to make the weekend rehearsals and is a free to enter event. A measure of self-preparation will be necessary as SGC will not be rehearsing this until January, but it would be fantastic preparation for those interested. There is a connection with Ben here too as he had been hoping to sing the tenor part. The choir director, Zac Moxon, would love as many members of SGC as are able to take part. He asks that everyone interested signs the google form in the link below.
We are looking for a volunteer from the choir to take over the bulk ordering of scores – it’s a neat, limited job that should only require time ahead of Autumn and Spring terms, but I’d be super grateful for the help if there’s anyone who thinks they’d have time to do it :):)
Just to confirm for those not present on Tuesday: we are postponing the Come & Sing and will revisit this once we have settled into the new term.
Don’t forget subs! £90/term to be paid into choir bank account.
Music for next week 24/9:
- Vivaldi, First movement I, Gloria in excelsis Deo (p1-6)
- Vivaldi, Movement X, Quonium tu solus sanctus (p45-46)
- Vivaldi, Movement II, Et in terra pax hominibus (7-14)
- Ponniah, Seeing the Star
- Gjeilo, Ecce Novum (if there’s time)
Repertoire for 15th Dec Concert:
Gloria (whole work), Vivaldi, Vivaldi – Gloria
The Rose Gjeilo, The Rose – Gjeilo
Ecce Novum Gjeilo, Ecce Novum – Gjeilo
Across the Vast Eternal Sky, Gjeilo, Across the Vast Eternal Sky – Gjeilo
Seeing the Star, Ben Ponniah, Seeing the Star – Ben Ponniah
Ukranian Bell Carol, Leontovych
List of music is also on music and media library page (yes I know it’s still showing spring/summer….), with recordings, and some with links to scans & practice tracks.
Beethoven’s 9th – Chiswick Community Choir, Chiswick Voices & Kew Sinfonia:
Chiswick Community Choir, Chiswick Voices and Kew Sinfonia are putting on a performance of Beethoven’s 9thon Sat 16 Nov. Zac Moxon, head of music at Chiswick School, has invited members of SGC to join the (already 100 strong) chorus for the concert. Zac would be absolutely delighted if members of SGC joined the performance. He passed on his condonlences to us and plans to include a tribute to Ben at the concert.
The rehearsals will be held at weekends together with Chiswick Community Choir. 4 rehearsals remain (the first one took place today, but Zac is happy for our members to join from the next one). He would like us to attend the remaining rehearsals if we are going to perform in the concert.
He has asked all interested members to sign up on his google form. Link here.
The form has further information about the rehearsals and concert but key points are:
Concert date: 16 November, sometime in the evening
Concert venue: Chiswick School Sports hall
Rehearsals:
Saturday 21 September 3-5pm at Gunnersbury Baptist Church
Sunday 6 October 4-6pm at Gunnersbury Baptist Church
Half Term
Saturday 2 November 1:30-3:30pm, Chiswick Voices and Kew Sinfonia in the sports hall.
Weekend of 9/10 November. TBC – we will decide collectively at the end of the 6 October rehearsal
Saturday 16 November – rehearsal sometime in the afternoon and concert in the evening.
Music:
Every singer should bring their own score. Any edition will do. SGC plan to use the Barenreiter edition on 8th Feb which may be purchased here from Presto Music who are currently offering 25% discount on this piece! It might also be worth checking the library in case they have copies in stock.
Choir Staging:
Zac made a big plea to help source choir staging enough for the 100+ singers. He has organised for a van to do a huge collection of various stages across london on Friday 15th. If you know any churches/schools/community that could lend their stages to us for the weekend, he’d be most grateful.
Schedule for Autumn Term – back at Christ Church:
17th Sep – 10th Dec, except 2 week half term 22nd & 29th Oct.
- LVB9 Kew Sinfonia: Sat 16 Nov, evening, Chiswick School Sports Hall
- Holly Lodge: Thu 5 Dec, 7pm, Christ Church
- SGC Concert: Sun 15Dec, 6pm, Christ Church
Working Schedule for Spring/Summer 2025:
Summer term dates are planned around doing the concert with Richmond Orchestra again and they have requested an earlier date of 7th June
Spring Term:
7Jan-1April except 1 week half term 18 Feb, 12 weeks
- Sat 8th Feb LVB9 Lambeth Orchestra
Two week Easter break (not the usual 3 weeks) 8/4 & 15/4.
Summer Term:
22 Apr-10 Jun except 1 week half term 27 May, 7 weeks
- 7th Jun Summer Concert, Brahms Requiem & RB performance (Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue)