Welcome! Welcome back to everyone after the long summer break and a particular welcome to those who have joined us this term. We have some exciting concerts lined up over the next few months, which will stretch us as a choir, but which we hope both audience and choir will enjoy. Forthcoming Concerts The following dates for concerts are confirmed: VOICES FOR HOSPICES Sat 6th Oct at 7:30pm, Speen Church, Newbury We are organising and promoting this concert ourselves, so please ask friends and family to come along. Posters are available for you to take and display. Christmas Concerts Sun 25th November 6:00pm, St James Church, Eastbury Thurs 29th November 7:30 pm, Fairclose Day Centre, Newbury Sat 1st December 7:30pm, URC Hall, High Street, Hungerford Summary of AGM – Sept 11th 2007 The following members were elected to the Committee:
Chairman Secretary:	Alison Mawdsley
Secretary:	Gayle Penrose
Treasurer:	Alan Hobbs
Concert Secretary	Gwenda Hutchinson
Librarian	Lynne Salt
Membership Sec	Murrie Jackson
Soprano Rep	Liz Robbins
Alto Rep	Monica Lewendon
Tenor Rep	Jim Clark
Bass Rep	Bob Willis
In addition, Jim Clarke was appointed as Choir Marshall, to help improve our concert presentation, and Jim Turner was appointed as Independent Examiner of the accounts. Replacement Conductor At the AGM, David formally announced to the Choir that he will be handing over the baton and resigning his post as Choir Conductor after the Spring concerts next year at the latest. If we find a replacement before then, he would be prepared to leave after the Christmas concerts. It will obviously be a difficult task to replace David. He has done such a lot for the Choir over the years, both out in front and behind the scenes. There will be a special committee meeting on Thurs Oct 4th specifically to discuss how to find a successor. Ideas are welcome from Choir members: please talk to a Committee member who will bring your ideas to the meeting. 2007/2008 Fees These are now due. At the AGM the choir agreed they would remain at £36 per annum (as they have been for several years), payable in 2 equal instalments if necessary. Please give your cheque to Alan as soon as possible. A potentially significant financial implication of David’s departure is that we may need to remunerate our next Musical Director. As we are currently breaking even on our subscription rates, we may need to increase them if we do incur this additional expense. Until the situation is clear, the Committee recommended that the subscription rate should remain at £36 p.a. Replacement Conductor At the AGM, David formally announced to the Choir that he will be handing over the baton and resigning his post as Choir Conductor after the Spring concerts next year at the latest. If we find a replacement before then, he would be prepared to leave after the Christmas concerts. It will obviously be a difficult task to replace David. He has done such a lot for the Choir over the years, both out in front and behind the scenes. There will be a special committee meeting on Thurs Oct 4th specifically to discuss how to find a successor. Ideas are welcome from Choir members: please talk to a Committee member who will bring your ideas to the meeting. 2007/2008 Fees These are now due. At the AGM the choir agreed they would remain at £36 per annum (as they have been for several years), payable in 2 equal instalments if necessary. Please give your cheque to Alan as soon as possible. A potentially significant financial implication of David’s departure is that we may need to remunerate our next Musical Director. As we are currently breaking even on our subscription rates, we may need to increase them if we do incur this additional expense. Until the situation is clear, the Committee recommended that the subscription rate should remain at £36 p.a. Membership details When I tried to contact the entire choir during the summer, it was made quite difficult because many members’ details were not correct. Please would ALL members, both new and returning, complete the form below and return it to Murrie who as Membership Secretary will maintain the membership database. Please provide an e-mail address if at all possible, even one at which someone can receive e-mails on your behalf, as printing and telephoning are time consuming and expensive. Attendance register At the AGM it was agreed that we should have an accurate record of attendance, for which the Voice Reps will be responsible. If you have planned absences, please let your voice rep know. The reps will enquire about any prolonged period of absence. Concert procedures We were very pleased that Jim Clarke volunteered (!) to take on the exciting role of Choir Marshall and look forward to better organisation behind the scenes and on stage. Concert Dress Code Ladies, long sleeved white (not cream!) blouses or shirts (not T shirts), long black skirts or trousers, black shoes. Gentlemen, black dinner jacket and trousers, white shirt and black bow tie, black shoes. Many of our venues are chilly, so layers beneath your smart attire are fine, even essential! The choir has green music folders which we will all be using for concerts. Please ask David if you don’t yet have one. Please don’t stick anything on the outside of the folder, as their purpose is to present a smart, unified look! Inside each folder you will find a summary of concert guidelines. These are also available separately: please ask if you would like one. Please ask if you have any questions about the guidelines. That’s all for now, folks! Alison & Daphne, Editors

 

 

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