Category Archives: choirs

don’t pass remarks!

Posted on September 26, 2006 by vhk10

So I was often told – but not everyone in a choir follows this rule. Singing develops certain skills which may have their uses outside performance. One is the ability to control volume precisely, and this can allow someone to … Continue reading →

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walking away

Posted on April 9, 2006 by vhk10

I can be pretty tenacious but I’ve recently been thinking about two situations I’ve been in with regard to singing when I would have done better to back out, admit to myself that I’d made a mistake and do something … Continue reading →

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failure

Posted on January 12, 2006 by vhk10

This entry is an attempt to explain further one of my musical New Year’s resolutions. From time to time, there’s been something in my choral life that didn’t work out as I’d have liked. E.g. being dropped from a choir … Continue reading →

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2005’s and 2006’s resolutions

Posted on December 30, 2005 by vhk10

2005 was bound to be a pretty quiet year for singing and I didn’t make many resolutions. So I didn’t get to any new cathedrals, or sing anything from the wishlist (though I did sing several pieces new to me). … Continue reading →

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how conductors react to this blog

Posted on December 20, 2005 by vhk10

There are two main responses: some can’t wait to read my writeups of performances and tell other choir members to read them too. Others aren’t so keen on any potential source of publicity for the choir that isn’t under their … Continue reading →

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what’s the choir called?

Posted on December 2, 2005 by vhk10

From time to time I’m recruited to a performance at a sufficiently late stage that I don’t find out the name of the group I’m singing with till the day! This happened last Saturday when I joined the Marshfield Bach … Continue reading →

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choir folders and keeping a place

Posted on November 2, 2005 by vhk10

I’ve had to take time out from choirs for the birth of children and each time this has raised the questions of whether I should return to the one I was in before, or indeed whether I would be able … Continue reading →

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the missing church choirs of Manchester

Posted on September 16, 2005 by vhk10

In a previous post I described what happened when I tried to join a chamber choir in Manchester in the mid-1990’s. To summarise, there seemed to be a great shortage of places in such choirs, at least for sopranos. Now … Continue reading →

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Places where I’ve sung: Corpus, Cambridge

Posted on March 10, 2005 by vhk10

For a few years until I moved to Manchester in the early 90’s I was a resident member of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where I did a PhD. degree. Part of the reason for continuing my studies at Cambridge were … Continue reading →

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an 18th century poster

Posted on January 19, 2005 by vhk10

Bath Baroque advertises its concerts with posters in a pastiche 18th century style and I shall be singing in their next concert on Saturday, currently promoted here. The billing for the Mexican carols is particularly entertaining. Meanwhile, our conductor’s daughter … Continue reading →

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2004’s and 2005’s resolutions

Posted on December 31, 2004 by vhk10

Time to revisit my musical resolutions for 2004 and see how I did. a) singing items on the wishlist. Priory Voices provided two of these: Purcell’s Jehovah, quam multi and Howells’ St. Paul’s Service. In addition there were other things … Continue reading →

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places where I’ve sung: Merton College chapel

Posted on November 30, 2004 by vhk10

A recent visit for a retirement dinner and some interest from a visitor to this site prompts me to write about my time at Merton College, Oxford, and in particular about the Chapel Choir there (I was also involved in … Continue reading →

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