(“Hannibal” Smith, The ‘A’ Team)
October marks the choir’s AGM and last year our chair, Caroline Lees ended her report with three wishes – that we could get together for a Christmas event, that we could move to in person rehearsals and that we could have our Tour in 2021.
Twelve months later, at this years meeting, on October 19th, she was able to report that they all came true!
But wishes rarely come true without a bit of help – they need pre-planning, preparation and perseverance and a lot of hard work. Rufus Frowde, our Musical Director, paid tribute to Caroline and the committee for having made it possible for the choir to keep going, with some interesting innovations. He said that the upside of the prolonged lockdown had meant his IT and technical skills had made massive leaps forward in keeping his various musical groups involved.
As well as a time to reflect on the past year, it was time to look forward. Happily, our in-person rehearsals have continued. They’re slightly different from before, but the joy is palpable. We’ve attracted 11 new members this term and as we break for half term, things look full of promise.
Rufus reminded us that we’ve always been the ‘can do’ choir with our production of Jonathan Dove’s community opera, Tobias and the Angel in 2013 being a prime example. He is hoping that we’ll soon be able to plan for the ‘next big thing’. He congratulated the choir on their ability to put on a forty-minute performance in the community and in care homes and clubs for the elderly at very short notice. We love these performances and welcome requests from groups*. Rufus’ wish for the immediate future was that we would soon be able to return to full ninety-minute choir rehearsals.
The meeting ended with thanks to all the members who’ve supported and stayed with us so loyally through these difficult times.
We have events in the calendar for the rest of the term. Our Christmas concert this year will be on Saturday December 11th, from 6.30pm at St John’s Church, Boxmoor. Before that, on Saturday 4th, we will be hosting a ‘Come Along and Sing’ morning of Christmas songs and carols, open to all, from 11am to 12.30pm at Warners End Community Centre. Full details of both events will be in our next month’s BD page. We also have two community events in the pipeline.
Sadly, we need to make the proviso that some or all of these events may be affected if Covid restrictions return
If you’d like to join us or book us to sing for your group you can find more information on www.dacorumcommunitychoir.org,
www.facebook.com/dacorumcommunitychoir, or speak to Sally on 07402 181182
