#ensemble singing

Wishing you a very Happy Christmas! Enjoy this festive time with friends and family. Have a wonderful time!

To feed your festive mood, visit our 'Camaraderie at Christmas' Just Giving page and support our Great Ormond Street Hospital appeal, which remains LIVE until 31st December. As tenor Stephen Hope wrote to fellow Camaraderie Singers earlier this week,

" We have been absolutely over-awed by the wonderful generosity and support we have received in raising such a fantastic sum for the GOSH Charity £580 at the last count! Amazing!! I think that we all enjoyed performing our virtual concert, the culmination of much hard work and also enjoyed the final result."

Watching the video on YouTube (special link available via our Just Giving page) is the complete experience and with it, you get the sense of how hard everyone worked to pull the programme together. I am sure all the singers have accolades to share!

Such a wonderful feeling, as with any performance, being a part of something, a team - a group, and the expectation of making and sharing music.

Our watchers/audience commented many times about how professional the virtual performance is. As soprano Susan Lewey shared post-premiere performance,

"What a fantastic experience that was! Last year, I never thought we would have had to record a virtual concert again! But here we are, we did do it and I think it was a wonderful learning curve for all of us, (in different ways!). I truly hope it was enjoyable for our audience last night and those to come. I have received some lovely personal messages of support and delight. They highlight the lovely singing, the professionalism and an appreciation of all the hard work. Let’s do it again!"

You have to remember, we were mostly separated geographically and all performers sent in their recorded audio files and video for mixing and collation accordingly. It was quite a challenge - and everyone executed it perfectly. A fabulous end result and I am so very grateful to everyone who took part. Heartfelt thanks.

If you'd like to take a look at our virtual programme, here's the link you'll need.

Last year, in the wake of COVID-19 and the uncertainty that it created for singers getting together, I decided to make 2020 my year of delivering my regular workshop courses online. They were a resounding success.

I had the wonderful experience of attending another of Gillian Wormley's events this last weekend 10th to 12th October Sing Joyfully focussing on ensemble singing. This would normally be at lovely Dartington Hall in Devon, but COVID19 rather put a stop to that especially with 2 of our number living in Spain. However, Gillian brilliantly turned this into a virtual weekend but cleverly named the virtual meeting rooms names which were familiar from Dartington rooms and places especially meeting in the White Hart afterward although the real wine in my hand was rather nicer than the virtual one 😃

Steve Hope

Residential weekends at Dartington Hall, have in recent years formed part of my teaching year structure. Situated near Totnes in South Devon, the Dartington Hall ethos provided the perfect vibe for such valuable learning exchanges to happen. The workshop weekends typically ran in March (Love Your Voice) for solo singers, and October (Sing Joyfully) for ensemble singers.

Since March 2020, thanks to the pandemic, I’ve been on a learning curve of my own, reconfiguring my music studio, learning more about the tech requirements for teaching, and leading online. Little did I know how eerily on-point my post of January that year, where I welcomed applications for my ‘Love Your Voice’ course at Dartington Hall. This is how I opened the post:

“Teaching is more than imparting knowledge, it is inspiring change. Learning is more than absorbing facts, it is acquiring understanding.”

William Arthur Ward

and ...

Where the mentor provides a thought-provoking, boundary-busting structure to learning practices, so the student is encouraged to open themselves up to new ideas and patterns of work.

There is co-operative freedom to inspire. Magical when you experience it.

I like the idea of boundary-busting and inspiring change. 

There is always a buzz of excitement in the months leading up to each of these events. It is very rewarding to watch returning singers, who in the normal turn of events, have allowed Dartington’s beautiful surroundings to feed their soul with each repeated experience, to hear their voices GROW in confidence and enjoyment in what they can do.

This year, right now, I anticipate that Sing Joyfully 2021 may offer singers two modes of participation; in person AND (for those who cannot travel easily) online. I rise to the challenge of taking on both initiatives to offer the whole music-making/ensemble-collaboration experience, in equal part.

My workshop weekends are immersive, by design. The best experiences are those borne out of an eagerness to learn. Good preparation is key - only then can each singer give wholeheartedly to the group as a whole.

The Dartington ethos, learning by doing, fits the bill completely. The magic will still weave its spell.

Come and join us; click the link and discover more. If you know you’d like to sing with us, here’s an application form link: Sing Joyfully 2021

You’ll find more info/details about planned SJ 2021 activities emerging on the event page in coming weeks and in early September I will share final timetable & ensemble details with participants sharing what to expect from the weekend as a whole.

Workshop weekend fees: £200 with a £75 deposit to pay on application, with deadline for action being Friday 20 August 2021, latest.

The application deadline for this weekend treat for singers is almost upon us (3 August 2018) - but there’s still time! We don’t mind a few stragglers!

Did you miss all the course info? Find out more PLUS application details here: www.littlesoprano.co.uk/courses

I have known Gillian for a long time and I have attended these wonderful weekends! They are fantastic! You would not be disappointed if you joined this wonderful band of people in these fabulous fun and professional weekends.   

Sue Lewey

Here’s a taste of our wonderful venue and the vibe ... we would LOVE to have you join us in October.

The answer is simple: anyone who wants to learn the skill and connect with what's required to do it well.

Notice my use of the word connect. It means stepping forward and being willing to absorb, learn, feel and recognise. And that's across the board. 

At any level of development, whether a complete novice or a more accomplished singer, there is much to learn about stepping back and taking another really good look, and to notice new things about The Journey.

This was always the view for me as I waited for a session with my vocal coach in his studio in Notting Hill. Always nervous, even after thirty years of the same routine.

I couldn't even begin to guess the number of times I've sat in that same spot on the landing, waiting in trepidation of what would be required of me on the other side of that door! I've passed some very famous faces as they've come down those stairs and I've felt dwarfed by the glorious sounds drifting out of the studio, as I sat humbly waiting. 

Stepping through the door I had to again allow myself to make mistakes, accept criticism, absorb information, rethink where I was coming from, persevere BUT above all focus and ENJOY my journey as a singer.

It's all part of the JOY - isn't it? How is it for you?

In October 2019 I'm hosting the 3rd ‘Sing Joyfully’ weekend mini-retreat workshop at Dartington Hall in Devon, UK.

The focus is to create opportunity for singers, no matter where they are in terms of their skill base - to meet and embrace learning and singing in a sympathetic and nurturing environment, in the company of like-minded people.

Two full days will offer sessions and advice from me on good basic vocal technique, through solo 1:1s and ensemble singing. 

In addition to a multitude of domestic chores that you might expect a wife and mother of four to have to do, most of my Tuesday afternoons back in October 1998 were spent preparing for the weekly rehearsal with 'Class Apart'. 

Only six months into its existence, I was guiding the group toward its first official public appearance, as guests in a concert I was hosting, and beyond that towards a Christmas concert of their very own.

In the programme notes, I explain about my guest singers:

Class Apart was formed in April 1998 as a direct result of the love of singing. Its members mainly incorporate former adult education students who simply want a more challenging involvement with every aspect of singing.

First steps with repertoire included April Is In My Mistress' Face (Gibbons), Weep O Mine Eyes (Bennet), Home Sweet Home (Bishop), The Long Day Closes (Sullivan), The Bluebird (Stanford), Music When Soft Voices Die (Quilter), Tenor and Baritone (Lane-Wilson) for the men and 'The Ships of Arcady' (Head) for the ladies.

Of the membership 17 were women and 7 were men. I had asked for volunteers to help with organisation and promotion - a 'marketing team'.

Among those that stepped forward was  Ann Needham, one of the altos, whose artistic skills provided the witty Class apart logo, made up of caricatures of some of the singers.

Easily identifiable (can't think who might be the person waving their hands about in the air during a concert) the programme for 'We Wish You A Merry Christmas' on Saturday 19th December 1998 was festooned with these happy, smiling faces.

It was a great concert - full of festive musical goodies: 

The First Christmas SATB (Fricker), Ceremony of Carols excerpts SSA (Britten), The Messiah excerpts (Handel) 

... as well as a generous handful of traditional carols and songs offered in smaller ensembles and solos.