St Mary's Music News July 2024 

The younger members of the choir were much in evidence at Choral Evensong on 12 May. 3 members of the Junior Choir – Chrissie, Hoi Hoi and Nam Nam – received their surplices and Harry (a former Junior) was commissioned as a Choral Scholar. Harry, and Junior chorister Poppy, sang solos in the service, and Organ Scholar Ziyi played a significant amount of the musical accompaniments. Poppy has become the new Head Chorister for a year. Congratulations all round.

In April the choir and congregation took part in the Listening Exercise. The many pages of data accumulated have been analysed into a draft report which is now being considered by Jeremy Trew and the PCC.

Meanwhile, although the period from Easter to the end of August is relatively quiet for the choir, the SMMA is very busy. The spring coffee concert series has given way to the 8 summer lunchtime concerts which started on 5 June, where the music is always uplifting, and the “meal deal” available from 12.30pm is as economical as, and probably more delicious than, any other available in the town. On Wednesday 3 July Arwen Newband and Anna Le Hair will be performing on violin and piano, on 10 July there will be a piano concert by Nigel Foster and Elizabeth Mucha, on 17 July Benjamin Carnell will give a cello concert, and on 24 July the indefatigable Oli King will be playing the organ.

Before then, we shall have enjoyed Jonathan Scott’s organ concert, and many of the choir – and, we hope – the congregation, will have attended the Come and Sing workshop and performance of Dido & Aeneas at Abbey Lane, masterminded by Philip Sunderland. On 23 June St Mary’s will have hosted 5 organists over 3 hours for the Fete de la Musique, and members of the choir and the brass group will have participated in many of the pop-up musical events during the day. Oli King and Martin Huggett will have rounded off the June festivities on 29th with a Musical Entertainment.

Of course, when I say “relatively quiet”, the choir will still be singing at Sunday worship every week, including choral evensong, and other services such as Ascension Day and Corpus Christi. A recruitment video for younger members of the choir is in preparation, and new adult choristers are also very welcome to apply to Oli King. St Mary’s remains a “no audition” choir, and we are a friendly bunch, so come and talk to him if you enjoy singing and feel you could help to support worship at St Mary’s.

The draft Minutes of the April AGM will be published on the church website very shortly. Meanwhile, very best wishes to everyone from the SMMA for the summer break.

Ottilie Lefever