Come And Sing

Our annual ‘Come and Sing’ days are a great opportunity to join with the Tan House Singers to spend a full day exploring interesting and popular choral works under the guidance of our Music Director or a guest conductor.

Come and Sing October 2023

Hot off the press from our most recent Come & Sing day…

We welcomed a goodly number of singers to our ‘in-house’ Come & Sing event at Minsterworth Village Hall. Hearty singing of Vivaldi’s ‘Gloria‘ under the direction of our Music Director, Lee Wiltamuth, made it a very enjoyable day. Copious refreshments provided by choir members helped things along!

Huge thanks to Lee and our visitors for a lovely way to spend a Saturday!

Come and Sing March 2023

Duruflé Requiem

Saturday 19th March 2022, Dene Magna School, Mitcheldean

We are pleased to announce that our Come & Sing day – with Paul Spicer leading us through Duruflé’s Requiem at Dene Magna School in Mitcheldean – was definitely a success. A band of around 90 enthusiastic singers joined together for a day of ‘choral immersion’ with Paul Spicer, ably accompanied by Paul Charman.

A few photos of the day… Massed2

What people said…

“I think I can speak for all singers from Monmouth Choral to say how much we really enjoyed yesterday’s workshop. Paul Spicer is an incredible talent, very empathetic with any shortcomings yet aiming to get the best from us! It was a delight to perform the Duruflé.”

“Thanks for all the team’s hard work and congratulations on a very successful day.”

“Congratulations to everyone involved in the planning and execution of yesterday’s event.”

“Wonderful cakes!” “I really enjoyed it.”

Paul Spicer began his musical training as a chorister at New College, Oxford. He studied with Herbert Howells and Richard Popplewell (organ) at the Royal College of Music in London. Paul is best known as a choral conductor, partly through the many CDs he made with the Finzi Singers.
He conducted Bach Choirs in Chester and Leicester before moving to conduct the Birmingham Bach Choir in 1992. He taught at the Royal College of Music between 1995 and 2008, and now teaches choral conducting and directs the acclaimed chamber choir
at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. He also teaches at Oxford and Durham Universities.

Come and Sing 2022

Schubert’s ‘Mass in G’ and Lauridsen’s ‘Lux Aeterna’

Saturday 19th March 2022, Dene Magna School, Mitcheldean

The hall was alive…with the sound of music!

We met up for a day of singing under the direction of one of the UK’s best known, best loved choral conductors, Brian Kay. The accompanist was distinguished organ and keyboard musician, Robin Baggs

We had around 80 singers joining together under Brian’s direction – not so many as for our 2020 event but we were thrilled to welcome such a group at this time. Brian’s approachable and entertaining manner and Robin’s accompaniment skills once again made the day hugely enjoyable and rewarding.

Most of the morning was devoted to learning Schubert’s Mass in G, composed in six days in 1815 when he was a mere 18 years old. In contrast, the rest of the day was spent getting to grips with the equally beautiful but more complex Lux Aeterna, written by American composer Morten Lauridsen and premiered in 1997.

After a break for tea and cakes, the choir-for-a-day gave a performance of both pieces to a select audience of family and friends.

Feedback from singers at the end of the day included praise for Brian Kay’s conducting skills, delight at the unusual mix of classical and modern music, appreciation for the spaciousness and acoustic quality of Dene Magna’s main hall and the Tan House Singers’ organisation of the day and our attention to their comfort.

We would also like to thank Dene Magna School for providing an excellent venue for our event. The staff were most helpful and professional in their dealings with the choir and our visitors and we look forward to holding a similar event there in the future.

Here are a few pics of our enthusiastic participants…