Our summer term will celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee with a programme of music which has been performed at Coronations. We will learn music from the 16th to 20th centuries, including some of Handel’s uplifting Coronation Anthems.
Tickets are only available online via this link (order online and then pay by BACS once your order is acknowledged).
Our term will run from Wednesday 27 April and, after a half term on 1 June, will finish with an end of term event on Saturday 18 June which will include our end of year party.
In person rehearsals
We are intending to carry on with in-person rehearsals and to offer a Zoom alternative.
We will also be continuing with our precautions against infection. A simple set of guidelines on behaviour has been developed intended to protect all attendees, which we are asking all participants to respect and can be found here.
Online rehearsals
Over recent terms we have been running hybrid rehearsals, with some singers participating via Zoom. This has proved to be a (surprisingly) successful approach.
For the last two years, we have subsidised Zoom rehearsals from the choir’s resources. We feel that now is the time to bring this to an end. Although we will continue to provide a Zoom alternative for regular rehearsals – for those who are shielding or perhaps are prevented from attending by testing positive for the virus – we will no longer offer a reduced rate for those participating this way.
Signing up
Existing members should have received an email which provides a link for you to register if you are interested in taking part.
If you are not on our mailing list and would like to sing with us (either in person or online), please contact us via this website.
Obtaining music
Simon will be preparing a booklet containing all the music for this term so there will be no need for you to source the music yourself. To cover the costs of production, we are suggesting that singers contribute £10 towards the costs of production.
Subscription
The subscription for the term, which will comprise eight rehearsals, is £50 (of which the tuition element will be £20) plus a £10 contribution for this term’s music. There will be an additional charge of £10 for those who wish to attend our traditional summer party after the concert on 18 June. The overall cost for the term including the party, is £70. A request for payment will be sent to all participants after the first two weeks of try-out rehearsals is complete.
Rehearsal Schedule
A full rehearsal schedule is available here.
Learning aids
There are many learning sites available but they do not all have shorter pieces such as the ones in this programme. The best site we have found which covers nearly all our programme is the following:
- John F’s Rehearsal Files – John Fletcher has an extraordinary range of music on his site, with individual files for each voice part or for all parts together. You need to set up a membership – this is free for out of copyright music. There is a paid for option if you want to access copyrighted music – there are various options, but the individual rate for one year is £10.
In addition, Simon has prepared learning aids for his arrangements of the Handel anthems we will be singing – they are available here.
How does Hampstead Chorus Online work?
There will be plenty of help on hand but most members have found it quite straightforward:
- download ‘Zoom’ to your computer in advance of the session – it’s free video conferencing software
- each week you are sent a link via email from Hampstead Chorus, which you use to join that week’s Zoom session from 7.15pm for 7.30pm start
- a point worth emphasising is that, when you sing in Zoom sessions the only person who can hear you is yourself.
If there are two of you in the same location, unless you are the same voice part, you may wish to sign in from two devices so that you are put in the right breakout room. If you are sitting near each other, please ensure both devices are kept on mute otherwise there will be a horrible feedback noise.
Further information on setting up Zoom and what to expect can be found here.