Choral Union and Choral Scholars
Choir rehearsals recommenced for the new term on Wednesday 10 September. We are delighted to welcome back lots of returning members, as well as a few new ones. The choir is a friendly, diverse and welcoming group, and so if you would like to lend your voice to leading the music at our Sunday services and special occasions, please do get in touch with me by email (doshea3@gmail.com).
People often tell me that they can’t join the choir because they don’t think they have a good enough voice, or they don’t have any experience of singing, or that they can’t read music. None of these things should stop you joining the choir. In fact, lots of the members of our choir probably have made some of these excuses themselves in the past! If you decide to come along, even for one rehearsal, you will be given a warm welcome.
This year we have lots of exciting projects planned, including a choir tour to Westport at the end of October, performances of the Fauré Requiem, performances in Holy Week of Charles Wood’s beautiful and moving St Mark Passion, and events to commemorate Sandford’s 200th anniversary in June. Aside from these special events, our main purpose is to maintain a high standard of liturgical music in our churches, by leading congregational singing, with hymns in harmony, chanted psalms, and all the musical parts of Morning Prayer and the Holy Communion service. I am grateful to all the members of the choir who give up their time every week to make this possible.
Choir Open Evening
Whether you are a budding choral singer or not, if you’d like to come along to see what it is we do as a choir during our Wednesday rehearsals, please pop along to our open rehearsal in Sandford Church on Wednesday 24 September (any time during 6.30 and 8.30pm). No need to book in advance—please just come along and have a listen for as short or as long as you would like.
Choral Compline
Our weekly service of Compline on Friday evenings recommenced on Friday 5 September. Compline will take place every Friday at 6pm from now until the end of November. All are welcome to attend this service, which lasts for about twenty minutes and is sung throughout. Members of the congregation are invited to join in with the singing, or simply to be still for a short while in a prayerful atmosphere.
Our Organs
Sandford and St Philip’s are each blessed with excellent organs, thanks to many years of stewardship and investment by both parishes. The primary function of these organs in our liturgy is to provide varieties of tone to lead singing and reflect different moods and colours. The organs are also used to provide organ music during services, including the closing voluntary, which is both a musical bookend to the service and an offering of praise to God (according to the instruction of Psalm 150). In order to provide more opportunities to hear our organs in action, I am planning to give more frequent informal organ recitals in both Sandford and St Philip’s over the next few months.
The first of these took place in September in Sandford Church with a short organ concert featuring a selection of light and accessible music, followed by an opportunity for people to have a closer look at the organ with its almost 2000 pipes.
Community Choir Taster Day
As part of our musical outreach to the local area, the parishes are hoping to establish a new Community Youth Choir, for children aged between 8 and 13, run by Em Ormonde and Aodh Quigley, both of whom are experienced music educators and members of our parish choir. There will be a taster day for this new choir, which will take place in Sandford Church on Saturday 4 October from 2pm – 3pm. The taster day is free of charge, and will give the opportunity for prospective members to sing in a relaxed and fun environment. Information about the choir will be available on the day. Booking is necessary; to reserve a place please contact David O’Shea on doshea3@gmail.com.