Spring 2014 (7 January 12 April 2014) Term Starts Tuesday 7 January 2014 Soloist Audition Workshop Saturday 1 March 2014 Thursday Rehearsal Thursday 10 April 2014 Spring Concert Saturday 12 April 2014 Summer 2014 (22 April 12 July 2014) Term Starts Tuesday 22 April 2014 Music Festival - Tuesday 6 May 2014 Thursday Rehearsal Thursday 10 July 2014 Summer Concert Saturday 12 July 2014 Autumn 2014 (2 Sept 20 December 2014) Term Starts Tuesday 2 September 2014 AGM Tuesday 7 October 2014 Thursday Rehearsal Thursday 6 November 2014 Autumn Concert Saturday 8 November 2014 Christmas Concert Saturday 20 December 2014 Spring 2015 (6 January 24 March 2015) Term starts Tuesday 6 January 2015 Summer 2015 (14 April 24 July 2015) Term starts Tuesday 14 April 2015
1 Registered charity No. 293997 Enfield Choral Society Members Handbook 2014 2 Contents Introduction 3 Rehearsals and Performances 3 Repertoire 4 Professional Personnel 4 Musical Director Assistant Musical Director Rehearsal Accompanist Expectations of Members 5 Attendance Practice between rehearsals Providing and updating contact details Concert Participation and Informing the Committee Concert Dress Opportunities for Members 7 Solo/Ensemble Singing Other Performance Opportunities Using Making Music Resources Volunteering to help run ECS Finances 9 Membership fees The Ticket Levy Gift Aid Selling concert tickets Friends of Enfield Choral Society Fund-raising events ECS Easy Fund Raising Account Grants Running the Choir: Who does what? 12 Role Descriptions and Contact Details 14 Membership/Committee Contact 18 If you do not use email ECS Suggestions Book The Annual General Meeting Website 19 Key Dates 2014-15 20
19 The Annual General Meeting The AGM is usually held at the beginning of a rehearsal in October. This is when Committee members are elected and it is a chance for members to ask questions and raise issues about the running of the society. If you are interested in being nominated for a committee position please speak to one of the current committee members. We are always looking for people to stand.
Occasionally it is necessary to hold an Extraordinary General Meeting to consider a specific issue that requires the membership's vote before the next AGM.
Website: www.enfieldchoralsociety.org.uk It is planned to redesign the ECS website during 2014 to include a Members Section and to enable individual committee members to update information concerning areas for which they take responsibility. 18 Programme Committee Voice Part Representatives Soprano: Justine Marlowe Tel: 020 8245 6910 / 07768 924161 Email: Justine.Marlowe@virgin.net Alto: Edel McGinley (Contact details under Voice Part Leads, above) Tenor: Roddy Elmer (Contact details under Voice Part Leads, above) Bass: Mike Seignior (Contact details under Chair, above) Membership/Committee Contact The main methods of contact between the ECS Committee and members as a group are by announcements and notices at rehearsals and by email. Circulars to the whole choir are sent by the Secretary, Penelope Williams. On occasion, Voice Part Leads may send circulars to their section.
If you do not use email Please link up with someone in your voice part who is prepared to pass on copies of emails and attachments and let the Secretary know who your link is. The Membership Secretary or Your Voice Part Lead will help you find someone if necessary. The ECS Suggestions Book This can be found at back of the rehearsal hall each week. It can be used for your ideas on any choir-related matters. Examples might include ideas for: publicity; new possible concert venues for the committee to check out; future programmes; new ECS initiatives; constructive criticism relating to rehearsals, concerts or other aspects of ECS activi- ties/management. The book is checked frequently and your ideas and comments will be considered as appropriate. We now have a standard item From the suggestion book on the ECS committee agenda to ensure that we review it regularly. 3 Introduction Enfield Choral Society (ECS) was founded in 1938 and has grown in stren gth over the years. The ECS constitution can be viewed on our website .www.enfieldchoralsociety.org.uk. We have a reputation for maintaining a high standard, whilst at the same time remembering that singing should be fun and enjoyable.
Membership is open to everyone over the age of sixteen and there are currently approximately 80 members. We are a local choir in that most members live within the London Borough of Enfield, coming from many different parts of the borough. You dont have to live in Enfield to belong, however, and we have a few members living further afield. We aim to be inclusive and accessible. No auditions are required, but a good singing voice and enthusiasm are essential.
Rehearsals and Performances ECS meets every Tuesday evening during the school year, in Trinity Church Hall, Church Street, Enfield EN2 6AN from 7:45 pm to 9:45 pm. During rehearsals we stop for a short break at approximately 8:45 pm. In the break refreshments are available (organised by the Social Sub- committee) for a small charge. The year runs from September to July.
We perform four concerts a year, on Saturday evenings in November, December (Christmas Concert), March or April, and July at venues in the London Borough of Enfield. There are usually additional rehearsals at the concert venue during the week before a concert. These generally take place on the Thursday before the concert and on the Saturday afternoon. These extra rehearsals enable the choir to rehearse with organ or orchestral accompaniment and guest soloists.
Music for the concerts is hired for the Society by the librarian. ECS music folders are usually used for concerts. These are obtainable from the Treasurer to purchase or hire. 4 Repertoire We perform mainly classical choral works, recently including works by Verdi, Durufl and Vaughan Williams. The summer concert is usually much lighter e.g.: Pink Champagne, extracts from Gilbert and Sullivan and Songs from the Shows. Over the last few years we have also sung pieces composed by a member of the society, works arranged by our Musical Director, in conjunction with a childrens choir, and with a jazz band. The Christmas concert generally includes a number of short seasonal pieces, with traditional carols and more unusual music. Our repertoire is selected by the Musical Director in consultation with the Programme Committee. This committee normally meets annually in January or February to plan the programme for the following year (i.e. 2014 meeting plans for 2015). Each voice part has a representative on the Programme Committee. All ECS members are welcome to suggest programme items, either through their representative or via the Suggestions Book available at the back of the rehearsal hall.
Professional Personnel Musical Director Mark Sproson has directed ECS since 2004 and is an extremely talented and experienced musician. He has been responsible for directing a number of ambitious works with ECS such as Rachmaninovs Vespers and Rutters Mass of the Children. He has sung with a number of high-profile choirs, performing regularly in Londons major concert venues and on BBC radio and television, and now specialises in choral conducting. Mark founded his chamber choir HELIOS Voices in 1999 and has since gone on to direct numerous choral societies and workplace choirs and professional groups. His choral compositions and arrange- ments have been performed by some of the UKs top choirs.
Assistant Musical Director The committee has recently decided to appoint an Assistant Musical Director, who will take rehearsals in the Musical Directors absence. This will also facilitate rehearsals of different voice parts at the same time, using the church as well as the church hall. 17 Vivien Taylor (Friends Secretary) Tel: 020 8366 4997 / 07793 082 991 Email: vivienjtaylor@btopenworld.com Vivien deals with enquiries about joining the Friends of ECS scheme. She ensures that Friends receive their complimentary concert tickets and have reserved seats, regarding which she liaises with the Concert Manager. She invites Friends to ECS AGM and social events. She collects Friends application forms and subscriptions and passes these to the Treasurer.
Rosie Turvil (Facebook Page Manager) Email: rosieturvil@gmail.com Rosie has constructed the ECS Facebook Page, which she maintains, and has opened our Twitter account.
Voice Part Leads Contact your Voice Part Lead about any concerns re learning/singing your part and other section-related issues. They set up additional rehearsals for their section as required.
1 st Sopranos: Helen Seignior Email: helenwilshaw@gmail.com Tel: 01992 764172 / 07533 994613 2 nd Sopranos: Sandra Leah Email: sandra.leah@btinternet.com Tel: 020 8363 2739 / 07946 481857 Altos: Edel McGinley Email: mcginley.edel@gmail.com Tel: 020 8245 1688 / 07948 979756 Tenors: Roddy Elmer Email: roderickelmer@talktalk.net Tel: 020 8363 1390; Basses: Ian Mackenzie Email: ian.mackenzie28@gmail.com Tel: 0208 360 8517 / 07736 613846 16 Sue Jeffreys (Social Secretary) Tel: 020 3231 0049 / 07973 427799 Email: sue_jeffreys@yahoo.co.uk Sue and the Social Subcommittee are responsible for organising refreshments for concerts and for weekly rehearsals. She leads the Sub- committee in arranging our social and fundraising events. Lesley Jordan (Membership) Tel: 020 8360 3356 / 07905 815959 Email: membership@enfieldchoralsociety.org.uk Lesley handles enquiries from prospective members. She organises collection of membership application forms and subscriptions, liaising with the Treasurer. She takes and responds to applications to the Hard- ship Fund, in consultation with the Treasurer. She maintains the ECS membership database, including the Register, and deals with any membership queries. After consulting the Musical Director, she produces the choir seating plan for each concert with the Concert Manager. Philip Elmer (Gift Aid Secretary) Using information supplied by the Membership Secretary, Philip completes and submits the ECS application to HMRC for Gift Aid money due.
Cheryl Humphreys (Email Audience Circulation List) Email: cheryl_humphreys@btinternet.com Cheryl has taken on the construction and maintenance of the email circulation list for people wishing to be informed of forthcoming ECS con- certs. Circulates flyer for each concert. Please let Cheryl have any names and e-addresses for this list. Frieda Rodwell (Concert tickets) Ticket Hotline: 07856 793434 Email: tickets@enfieldchoralsociety.org.uk Frieda handles concert ticket orders from choir members and the public. She keeps a record of each members take-up of Levy Tickets. She also liaises with the Front of House team regarding ticket sales at the door. 5 Rehearsal Accompanist Caroline Soresby studied music at Goldsmiths College and followed this with a postgraduate year studying piano accompaniment at Trinity College of Music. During this time she also studied harpsichord with Valda Aveling. She now divides her time between teaching and performing; she has taught for the London Borough of Redbridge for a number of years and now has a busy private teaching practice. Caroline performs regularly as an accompanist and chamber musician and has worked as an accompanist with the North London Festival for the last few years. Caroline has been playing with the Enfield Choral Society since 2007. She enjoys singing with the altos when not needed for our concerts as a pianist. Expectations of Members Attendance Regular attendance at rehearsals is expected. You are asked to mark weekly attendance on the register placed at the back of the rehearsal hall. If you have to miss several consecutive rehearsals a message to the Membership Secretary and/or your Voice Part Lead would be appreciated. Please also let us know if another member is absent due to health problems. Practice between rehearsals All members are expected to practise between rehearsals. This is essential if we are to achieve high standards of performance in the limited time available. Where possible, links will be provided for programme items to on-line voice part rehearsal resources. Websites that offer free rehearsal files in which the part is played on an instrument include:
John Fletcher Music www.johnfletchermusic.me.uk Choralia www.choralia.net Cyberbass www.cyberbass.com Cyberbass also produces rehearsal CDs 6 Another rehearsal aid already used by some ECS members is Saffron Choral Prompt www.saffronchoralprompt.co.uk. This is run by Quintus Benziger, who provides CDs for different voice parts. As each part is sung these CDs (unlike the free resources listed above) help with words and pronunciation as well as the music. There is a charge per CD, which is reduced for multiple copies. Voice Part Leads will establish the number of CDs required for their part so that a single order can be made.
Such resources enable singers to practise their parts easily and accurately, whether or not they read music and without the need for a piano. In addition, Voice Part Leads are prepared to organise part- specific rehearsals where needed. Please let your Voice Part Leader know if you would like such extra group practice.
Providing and updating contact details New members are asked for their contact details when they borrow musical scores from ECS, and complete the Application Form when their subscription becomes due after attending three rehearsals. Continuing members complete the Application Form annually at the start of the Autumn term when paying their subscription. The Membership Secretary should be informed of any change to your contact details during the year, so that the membership database can be updated. The Application Form also enables confirmation/change of Gift Aid status Concert Participation and Informing the Committee Members are normally expected to sing in each concert, but it is understood and accepted that there may be occasions when this is not possible. The Musical Director and Committee need to know not only numbers of singers for each concert, but also the number in each voice part and who to include in the seating plan. The easiest way of providing this information is to put a tick (or a cross if you cant participate) in the concert date column, on the register. It is helpful if you can indicate whether or not you intend to sing in the next concert at least 6 weeks in advance. It is each members responsibility to ensure that this is done in good time, and that your intentions are clear.
15 Jayne Buckland (Publicity) Tel: 020 83634282 / 07572464708 Email: jaynesaid@hotmail.com Jayne has established and maintains contact with the local press and handles press notices and ongoing liaison. She is concerned to maximise other publicity and would be happy to receive your ideas regarding possible outlets.
Diana Butler (Music Librarian) Tel: 020 8882 7737 / 07702 563346 Email: dianaviv.butler@hotmail.co.uk Diana locates musical scores and borrows/hires/buys them. She is responsible for distribution of scores to choir members, for their collec- tion after concerts and for their safe return. Assisted by Jane Bunting.
Roger Dean (Concert Manager) Tel: 020 83608223 / 07951 954088 (No e-mail) With the Chair, Roger researches new venues and agrees venue for each concert in consultation with the Musical Director. He is responsible for booking venues and for all concert arrangements, including agreeing staging plan for choir and instrumentalists and co-ordinating the transport, erection and dismantling of staging, helped by an ad hoc team of volunteers. With the Membership Secretary, he devises choir seating plan. He organises Front-of-House, including any reserved seating. Assisted by Graham Davis. Margery Dey (Making Music Rep/ Concert Assistant) Tel: 020 8366 7267 / 07966 274503 Email: margery.dey@btinternet.com Margery liaises with Making Music (see above under Opportunities for Members) on behalf of ECS. She assists on concert days by taking responsibility for looking after visiting soloists, instrumentalists, etc.
14 Role Descriptions and Contact Details Mike Seignior (Chair) Tel: 01992 764 172 / 07930 372804 Email: mailto: chairman@enfieldchoralsociety.org.uk Mike is the public face of ECS. He is responsible for contacts between ECS and other organisations. He chairs ECS committee. With the concert Manager, he researches possible concert venues. Mike also designs concert poster/flyer, programme cover, tickets.
Mark Sproson (Musical Director) Email: director@enfieldchoralsociety.org.uk Mark is responsible for all musical aspects of rehearsals and concerts
Penelope Williams (Secretary) Tel: 020 8366 0678 / O77582680029 Email: secretary@enfieldchoralsociety.org.uk Penelope organises committee meetings, circulates information to members, and produces the concert programme. She also organises the AGM. Please let her know if you would like her to send round informa- tion to members.
Maria Mitchell (Treasurer) Tel: 020 83666101 / 07788 437914 Email: maria.mitchell@blueyonder.co.uk Maria budgets for concerts. She pays professional staff, soloists, instrumentalists, etc. and all other costs. She banks subscriptions, concert takings and any other incoming monies. 7 If you do not use email, please phone or text Lesley Jordan (numbers in Role Descriptions and Contact Details section below). Your call or text will be acknowledged (by a text message if possible). Lesley will then take responsibility for informing the Musical Director. If the Membership Secretary is unavailable, please contact Penelope Williams (Secretary) instead. Concert Dress Usually the dress code is as follows, but may vary according to the works being performed and the season:
Ladies: Black long sleeved/three-quarter length sleeved blouse. Long (i.e. full length) black skirt or black trousers. Men: Black suit White evening shirt with black bow-tie.
Opportunities for Members Solo and/or Ensemble singing ECS aims to assist and promote members musical development both collectively and individually. To this end soloist and small group parts are recruited from the membership where appropriate. In the past members have been invited to audition for particular concerts, but this reduces choir rehearsal time. We would also like to offer opportunities to local singers outside ECS wishing to engage in solo work. A new departure for 2014 is an Audition Day, to be held on Saturday 1 st March 2014 between 11am and 3pm at St Pauls Winchmore Hill. Following these auditions, the Musical Director will invite the most suitable soloist etc. for each part available for a given concert.
If you then have to withdraw from participating in a concert you should: Email the Membership Secretary, Lesley Jordan, as soon as possible at membership@enfieldchoralsociety.org.uk (or at her personal e-address if easier) with a copy to Mark Sproson at director@enfieldchoralsociety.org.uk Lesley will acknowledge your email. If you do not hear from her, please resend or follow instructions for singers without email access. 8 Workshops The Musical Director occasionally includes short workshops during rehearsals, with the aim of enhancing the choir's musical skills and appreciation of the works we are performing. Ideas are always welcome for subjects to be covered in these workshops; if you feel there is an area you'd like to know more about please speak to the Musical Director or the Chairman, or write a note in the Suggestions Book. Other performance opportunities The Christmas Concert generally includes several short readings chosen and presented by members of the choir. Instrumental groups comprising choir members are also welcome to offer an item. Members are invited to put forward suggestions at the start of rehearsals in November. Using Making Music Resources Enfield Choral Society is affiliated to Making Music, a national organisation which promotes and supports amateur musicians and music groups. Visit their web-site www.makingmusic.org.uk to discover more. Volunteering to help run the choir Most of you wouldn't believe how much work goes into running a choir like ours! The Committee is responsible for all aspects of organising rehearsals and concerts and for managing our finances. It would help enormously if your committee could draw more on members' wider (i.e. in addition to singing!) talents, skills and experience. We realise that everyone has other commitments and we dont want to stress anyone out, but there may well be a contribution you can make. Volunteering can be rewarding in its own right and is a good way of getting to know other choir members, something we accept is difficult during rehearsals for a tight schedule like ours. For members in/seeking employment it can provide a useful addition to your CV! Some of the skills etc needed to manage ECS are: shown in the table on the next page. 13 Other Roles Voice Part Leads: 1 st Sopranos Helen Seignior 2 nd Sopranos Sandra Leah Altos Edel McGinley Tenors Roddy Elmer Basses Ian Mackenzie Assistant Concert Manager Graham Davis Assistant Librarian Loan of Scores Vacant Concert Assistants: Looking after visiting musicians Margery Dey Props Vacant E-Mail Audience Circulation List Cheryl Humphreys Facebook Page Manager Rosie Turvil Friends Secretary Vivien Taylor Gift Aid Secretary Philip Elmer Ticketing Frieda Rodwell Web Master/Mistress Vacant Programme Committee: Diana Butler, Jane Bunting, Roddy Elmer, Edel McGinley, Justine Marlowe, Mike Seignior, Mark Sproson (Chair)
Social Subcommittee: Janet Champion, Sue Jeffreys (Chair) Geraldine OHara, Geraldine Orfeur 12 Running the Choir Who does what? Musical Director Mark Sproson Assistant Musical Director: To be appointed Rehearsal Accompanist Caroline Soresby President Albert Waite
Committee
Chair Mike Seignior Secretary Penelope Williams Treasurer Maria Mitchell Music Librarian Diana Butler Publicity Jayne Buckland Assistant Librarian Jane Bunting Concert Manager Roger Dean Making Music Rep Margery Dey Social Secretary Sue Jeffreys Membership Secretary Lesley Jordan
The Musical Director is an ex-officio member of the Committee The Committee generally meets about six times during the year on a Monday evening, with additional pre-concert meetings held a few weeks before each concert on Tuesday evenings before rehearsal. 9 Accountancy
If you would be prepared to take on a specific task for the choir and/or are interested in standing for the Committee please speak to/email our Chair Mike Seignior in the first instance. The Social Subcommittee would always welcome help in providing refreshments at rehearsals and at concerts and arranging social and fundraising events. Social Subcommittee meetings are held as needed (infrequently!) at Trinity on Tuesday evenings immediately before rehearsals. All members who travel by car to rehearsals are invited to take their turn in taking our 5 litre flask and teabags home and making the tea for the next weeks rehearsal break. Contact Sue Jeffreys. Finances ECS has considerable ongoing expenses, notably remuneration for the professional services of our Musical Director and Accompanist, hiring our rehearsal facilities and the hire or purchase of music. In addition, putting on a concert can cost thousands of pounds - a great deal more than can be recouped through sale of tickets. Expenses include venue hire, payment of professional soloists and instrumentalists, publicity and the production of tickets and programmes. Membership fees Members currently pay 132 per annum full membership and 117 per annum concession (over 60 or unemployed). These rates include 3 free concert tickets per year (see under Ticket Levy below). Full time students pay 60 per annum. New members are entitled to attend 3 10 rehearsals before they decide to join. Subscriptions are decided by the committee during the Summer term and become due at the start of the Autumn term. Fees are reduced on a pro-rata basis for members joining mid-way through a year.
Our policy is to keep membership rates as low as we can so as to make the choir as accessible as possible. ECS rates compare very favourably with those of other local choirs. We have also recently introduced a Hardship Fund, comprising unused levy ticket money. Any member experiencing difficulty in paying their membership subscription can have a discrete word with the Membership Secretary, who will consult about any awards with the Treasurer. The Ticket Levy The full and concessionary membership rates quoted above include a levy of 30 that entitles each member to three tickets to be used over the current choir year. To use your levy tickets simply inform the ticketing officer, Frieda Rodwell, how many levy tickets you require for a particular performance. Frieda maintains a record for each member of levy tickets used/available. Members are free to recover the cost of their levy tickets by selling them to friends if they so wish. Gift Aid As a registered charity, ECS can claim Gift Aid at a rate of 25% on subscriptions minus the 30 ticket levy, i.e. 102 for full and 87 for concessionary members. If the amount of tax you pay qualifies you for Gift Aid, please ensure that you have delivered an enduring declaration to the Membership Secretary. Members are required to confirm their Gift Aid status annually on the membership Application Form. Selling concert tickets ECS relies on members to assist in the selling of concert tickets, by getting posters displayed in prominent positions locally (which might extend beyond the London Borough of Enfield, especially for concerts taking place near borough boundaries), distributing flyers and selling as many concert tickets as possible to family, friends and acquaintances.
ECS has taken out Affiliate Membership of the Enfield Over 50s Forum. This entitles us to free publicity for our concerts in the Forums widely- distributed newsletter. 11 Fund-raising events The Social Secretary and Social Subcommittee organise fund-raising events from time to time. Members are requested to support such events., principally by attending and selling tickets. Recent events have included quiz evenings and a music hall evening. These events may pro- vide an opportunity to get to know other choir members better. How- ever, they are not restricted to ECS members. If you have an idea for a fund-raising event, please contact the Social Secretary, Sue Jeffreys. ECS Easy Fundraising Account
You can raise funds for ECS when shopping online from Amazon, M&S, Argos and many other companies by going through our ac- count, which can be accessed at: http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/ enfieldchoral/?u=1FV1DG
Grants During 2013 ECS benefitted from two grants from the Enfield Residents Priority Fund. The first of these enabled ECS to buy much needed staging, which has been in use since Summer 2013. The second was towards our 75 th Anniversary Concert in July. Without such grants it would have been impossible to maintain subscriptions for 2013/14 at the same rate as for 2012/13. Please contact the Treasurer if you have any information about other grants for which ECS could apply. Friends of Enfield Choral Society Regular members of our audience are invited to join the Friends scheme. Annual membership currently costs 30, which entitles the Friend to a free ticket and a reserved seat for each of our four concerts, plus an additional half price ticket for each concert. Friends are notified in advance of concerts and of social (including fund-raising) events. They are invited to attend the AGM but do not have voting rights. The Friends subscription does not qualify for Gift Aid purposes. Since Autumn 2013 we have a dedicated Friends Secretary, Vivien Taylor.