Dear All,

Please could you let let me know if you are interested in coming on the Rainforest weekend Friday 29th 7PM JUNE – SUNDAY 1ST JULY 4PM … it’s going to be Improvisation based, working in a big group, smaller groups and trios and learning one new piece which Ive been working on for a while, which we will sing as an Impro chamber choir. You don’t need to make a commitment to Borneo as that’s still up in the air but just to playful music making , with good food, laughter and lovely people in the woods! Many of you have expressed an interest but before I book a space Id like to have an idea of numbers. Ideally it’d be Friday evening – relax, eat drink sing and learn a little more about each other, sing all day Saturday and Sunday work towards an improvised performance -if we feel so inspired… Chris and I are going to look at a new residential site on Friday and Id need to get an idea of whether it can happen … depending on how many come, its gonna cost around £100 all in – that’s 6 meals – accommodation for 2 nights and a fee for me .. the site is only a few miles from the last tube so easy to get to but still looks pretty wild with a lake and lots of amazing trees. Our Songlines Impro weekends are the highlight of my musical year …they feel so fresh and liberating after months of set repertoire and I know many people feel the same.

Thanks for a couple of great rehearsals this week. Really feel like the show is taking off now ..
Sweet dreams all.

Dear All

some really good new for some …

1) Had fantastic uplifting day of rehearsal and theatre with Unal and we have a couple of new things to add to the rich mix…he will be with us on the next two Mondays and for the Chapel rehearsals , baby popping dependent! No3 is due in a fortnight .

2) CHAPEL DATES … as I think Ive explained to you before , we cannot get reasonably priced rehearsal at the Chapel until a month before events as they will not hire it out if they are hopeful of getting a full paid event which brings in around £3000-£4000 with the bar.
Hence my inability to confirm Chapel dates until TODAY … GOOD NEWS ( I hope )

SUNDAY JUNE 10TH 4-6PM UPSTAIRS BAR 6-8 ON THE CHAPEL STAGE ( 4-6 music 6-8 staging , entrances and exists )
MONDAY JUNE 11TH 6.45 -9PM full COSTUME run through on stage ( IF MUSICIANS CAN MAKE IT COULD ALSO BE THE PRESS NIGHT? )
THURSDAY 14TH FULL DRESS RUN … I realise this is not a normal choir night and some of you may have other abligations BUT this was the only free evening that week for a run …would be so brilliant to be able to do this date so close to the show in situ PLEASE PLEASE TRY …

This means that i dont think we need to do a second joint rehearsal on wednesday 30th, 7 people couldnt do that date anyway so it would have been very patchy … SO itd be great if the musicians could confirm dates they can / cant do out of the Chapel events and cancel the 30th … sorry .

MONDAY 21ST HARECOURT AS USUAL
WEDNESDAY 23RD ( with Nick, and Patrick )
weds small group ( Kate, Jill, Di, Janette, Sara H, Marcia) from 6.15 pm, usuals at 7.15
MONDAY 28TH MONDAY ( and as many weds who can ) 6.45-9 HARECOURT
WEDS 30TH Weds as usual ( NOT JOINT AFTER ALL …. V SORRY )
JUNE 4TH BANK HOLIDAY NO CLASS
JUNE 6TH WEDS AT HARECOURT
JUNE 10TH 4-8PM CHAPEL
JUNE 11TH 6.45 – 9 JOINT AT CHAPEL
JUNE 14TH 6.30 -9.30 DRESS REHEARSAL AT CHAPEL
JUNE 17TH PERFORMANCES … tech run at 3pm performance 8pm
no class june 18th … joint feedback class at Nave 6.45-8.45 bring drinks
JUNE 25/27TH normal Harecourt classes
RAINFOREST IMPRO RESIDENTIAL 29TH -JULY 1ST ( MAXIMUN 20 PEEPS )
JULY 2ND /4TH NORMAL
JULY 9TH FINAL CLASS OF TERM JOINT AT NAVE

do hope thats working for you . Im so delighted we have got the time in the Chapel to get used to it . Hope you spend some of this weekend flogging tickets, contacting press etc!

love Sarah
XX

Dear All,

What a wonderful weekend . THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. A lot of great singing and fresh ideas came out of it and I’m VERY hopeful…
Many of you pledged to contribute some time to selling and publicising . I do hope you will follow through with that.
i am intending to write the press releases this Wednesday and send them out along with an email flyer for distribution.

Attached is a new set list with some bits of staging and some cues . Having seen the show through I believe we need some extra bits of narrative in the form of extracts from letters. They will be researched and added over this week.

TONIGHT and for the next 2 weeks we will all be rehearsing at HARECOURT … the space has the best acoustic for refining the music . From the 28th we will be back at The Nave to practice ON STAGE … WEDNESDAY 30TH is a joint class for MONDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS as we will be missing a week over half term and we cannot afford not to have run the show as a full choir until a week before the event! . You will not be able to use words at this session but you can have pieces of paper to have stage directions down. This class will have all the musicians present and will be a full run through with poetry and whatever costumes you have – it will be an extra long class 6.30 -9.30 … staging and refinements and then musicians at 7.45 . I do appreciate that this is an intensive week but I promise you will thank me for it come the night and we are finishing term a couple of weeks earlier than usual !

TONIGHT IS PAYDAY …there are 10 sessions before JULY 9TH our final joint class – 6 before the show that includes the DRESS REHEARSAL ON JUNE 10TH … 2-6pm . I have divided it into 6 and 4 weeks – £54 and £42 tonight . CLASS CHEQUES TO ME …
CHEQUES FOR TICKET MONEY MUST BE MADE TO SONGLINES ( as this is a public event) NOT TO ME .

PLEASE DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT SKIPPING CLASS TONIGHT . WE HAVE SO MUCH TO CONSOLIDATE THAT WILL FADE IF WE LEAVE IT A WEEK .

LOADS OF LOVE SARAH XX

Dear ALL

HOPE YOU ALL HAD A GOOD BANK HOLIDAY BREAK. I spent most of mine snorting like a walrus and staying off the computer . Tomorrow I will be going through the whole website to check everything is correct and ready to learn ( I know there’s a few discrepancies )

Class this week is A JOINT AT THE NAVE …6.45 -8.45 (Mondays ) weds will carry on till 9.15 PM .. to give parts of before the dawn in preparation for Saturdays residential. Please bring the balance of your payment £28 on WEDNESDAY preferably in cash .
NO GIG GANG COS KEEPING WEDS ON BUT WE WILL DO GIG GANG ON SATURDAY EVENING AT COLDBLOW

We will be concentrating on THE OVERTURE , COLD IS THE DAWN , 100 years and THIS LAND IS OURS . Please guys could you make sure you make time before class to re-learn the parts of NEW YEARS DAY … If you haven’t focused on it before please learn the 2nds part as we have lost 2 men who sang it previously .

RESIDENTIAL … www.coldblow-camping.co.uk/ this link gives you details and directions .
Please let me know if you have any special dietary requirements – Ill take a head count on Wednesday of vegetarians and vegans etc
If you are driving it’s be great to offer spare places for lifts but please hitchers make sure you share petrol costs.
The nearest train station is BEARSTED …

TRAINS FROM LONDON VICTORIA TO GET YOU THERE ON TIME 9.37 /10.07/10.37 ( JUST!) 1HR

Address for Satellite Navigators:
Coldblow Farm, Coldblow Lane, Thurnham, Maidstone, Kent ME14 3LR

.
BRING

DUVET/SLEEPING BAG, PILLOW CASE ( sheets provided)
slippers for indoors and spare thick socks ( the ground is very very muddy ) waterproofs!
speciality foods\teas etc . Cafetiere for real coffee
all song sheets and recording equipment

The accommodation is in 8 room dorms with 4 bunks and a large and excellent double kitchen. The showers take 20p’s so bring a few . The rooms are warm . YOU CAN CAMP INSTEAD if it’s not too wet !

TIMETABLE
Saturday 12-1.30 full show run through
1.30-2.30 please bring picnic lunch ( all food/drink/snacks/fruit etc provided thereafter
2.30 – 6.30 rehearsals
6.30-7pm Men
8pm DINNER AND GIG GANG
NOISE CURFEW MIDNIGHT
SUNDAY
10AM -11.30 FULL RUN THOUGH
11.30 -12 MEN ONLY ( NEW YEARS DAY )
11.45 -1.15 PM WEDNESDAYS ONLY WITH NICK (Mondays to help Chris with lunch )
1.15 PM LUNCH ( and pack up)
2.15 -4PM … JOINT PIECES REHEARSAL… full run through
finish and out by 4.30

Next Monday 14th /weds/16th classes return to HARECOURT for 1 month

See you tomorrow xx

Dear All, ALL CLASSES TILL FURTHER NOTICE WILL BE HELD AT THE NAVE

Hope you have had a good break and have spent countless hours learning your words and parts for the Cantata. Classes begin on MONDAY 16TH for everyone at the NAVE ( for 3 weeks ) at 6.45-9.15 .This Monday we will be concentrating on getting the OPENING OVERTURE and the CLOSING PIECE together ( 5 days into Hunger Strike TOGETHER) and we need all weds and all Mondays there to make that happen.

The following WEEK ( 23RD) is MONDAYS ONLY ( weds very welcome of course if they have the time ) on Mon and weds ON WEDS 25TH to prepare for the NAVE BENEFIT on THURSDAY 26TH APRIL. All welcome . Weds Women are performing and I’m compereing the evening – its a brilliant line up and RANDOLPH MATTHEWS is performing too. More details on MONDAY …

Third week, musicians coming on APRIL 30TH when we will attempt to run whole show … no class Mon 7th- bloody bank holiday -joint class WEDS MAY 9TH at the Nave 7-9pm … we cannot afford to miss this week before the residential and its Weds turn to host a joint . half term 4th -9th June . I’m aiming for SUNDAY 10TH JUNE for the dress rehearsal at Chapel – HAVEN’T HAD THIS CONFIRMED BUY THE CHAPEL YET . If we cant use the chapel we will be in the NAVE . REGULAR MON /WEDS CLASSES 11TH /13TH

MAY 12TH RESIDENTIAL 12PM SAT -4PM SUNDAY … very glad to hear that all but 4 of you can make that so far. VERY IMPORTANT

CHRIS AND JANETTE be taking payment for that in combination with class money on MONDAY 16TH , as there is so much to sort out I will not be dealing with physical CANTATA tickets till APRIL 23rd/25th …but tickets will be advertised through Union Chapel and the WEBSITE from weds 18th . PAYMENT WILL BE £ 56 full and £48 conc ( = 4 classes and £20 deposit for residential ) please bring it on Monday as Ive already paid out for COLDBLOW for the 12th May)

CAN I really impress upon you that we need to aim for full attendance until the show – with 2 bank holidays MAY 7TH AND JUNE 4TH … we have very little time to get the show polished and a full team makes such a difference to everyone’s confidence and enjoyment … if you feel like pants you still gotta be there , even if just to listen ….New pieces worked with musicians is sounding GLORIOUS!

LOTS OF LOVE SARAH

Dear All,

Tomorrow’s rehearsal will begin at 1.15 for the Wednesdays to consolidate the overture sections we didn’t quite nail on Wednesday in order to give clear cues for the Monday Chorus
Main rehearsal begins at 2pm -please try to be on time so that we can have a proper break at half time
Please bring snacks to share AND YOUR OWN MUG (only tiny tea cups at Harecourt ) – I will bring tea/coffee/milk/herbals/fruity ones.
FINISH 6PM and then on to The Alywne Castle to talk about the show with potential members of the gig gang … this will be an informal meeting for those of you who are interested in helping make this performance the best EVER! … you are not committing to anything by joining the discussion and you may have some great ideas but no time so PLEASE come if you can. If you don’t have words for any of these they are all on the website .
Nick will be joining us at 3.30 . Please respect that time with him is very precious and don’t chat while he’s playing like last time!!

SONGS TO CONCENTRATE ON
OVERTURE
YOU AND I KNOW
NEW YEARS DAY ( men)
MY DARLING
GALLOPING FULL TILT ( four difficult lines … This land/heaven/cry/longing is ours)
I LOVE MY COUNTRY …
THE BEST SEAS … in that order

DONT FORGET MONDAY IS RECORDING DAY FOR SALAAM/THANDA/SHALOM at the NAVE NOT HARECOURT 6.45 ( first hour only , then we will begin the final section of the show)

very much lookingforward to it

Dear ALL,

Thanks for the lovely good nature Ive experienced in the choir over the last few practices . Its reflected in your singing and interpretation of the more uplifting new pieces Ive written to enhance the original Cantata – I think we are sounding good and Im genuinely hopeful for this show. Ive hired a brilliant camera man to make a film of it ( chap who did video for Occupy Citzenship song on my Facebook page ) and we have Adrian and Les Mompsen ( the brilliant in-house sound man at the Chapel ) working with us so we are in good hands . BUT as always happens at this time of year we have had pretty flakey attendence at class and a few dropouts of lovely, valuable people. I cant afford to let that happen in the run up to the show. I want committed and positive people to sing with us, as a community and that’s undermined by people thinking it doesnt matter if they turn up or not . It really matters. On Monday Ill be running through everything so far in preparation for our SATURDAY 2-6PM run though with Nick . Could you make sure you’re up to speed over the weekend on the stuff thats up on the website . This is your choir – let me know if Im doing things wrong or where I could improve the experience for you . Im open to hearing your thoughts and working with them . Note date change of gig gang meet .
On MONDAY 19TH we have been asked to record SALAAM/THANDA/SHALOM for a massive interfaith documentary for schools – the filmakers requested a church setting so MONDAY 19TH Ive booked the NAVE -6.45-9PM for that . It would be BRILLIANT if as many wednesdays as possible could come along to that for the first hour so that we sound wonderful and not overbalanced with chaps. I think this is important work and an honour . Parts will be going up on the website today. Will send reminders re venue change closer to the time !

DATES
SATURDAY 17TH MARCH 2-6 PM ; 6.15-8pm GIG GANG MEET and eat? IN ALWYNE CASTLE after rehearsal
APRIL 2ND -15 Easter holidays
APRIL 16TH / 23RD /30TH JOINT MONDAY AND WEDNESDAY CLASSES FOR 3 WEEKS
CLASSES BACK TO NORMAL MAY 7TH / 9TH
MAY 12TH residential starting at 12PM sat till 4pm sunday . Venue TBC … Im really struggling to find somewhere that will book a big group for just one night …. suggestions very welcome … help!!!
JUNE 17TH -GIG … followed by a joint weds class on 20th
NEW RAINFOREST CANTATA residential 29th JUNE - 1ST july COLDBLOW ( camping possible ) music will be part structured part improvisation … will be awesome!
last class of the year JULY 9TH JOINT .

SEE YOU NEXT WEEK LOVELY MELODIC FRIENDS . XX

THE NEW FULL CHOIR REHEARSAL DATE IS MARCH 17TH at Harecourt 2-6 and the Cantata performance DATE IS CONFIRMED FOR JUNE 17TH at The Union Chapel.

DEAR aLL,

THERE was general agreement to putting Saturday’s cancelled session onto MARCH 17TH … and I’ve only had one person so far say they can’t do that -and as there were quite a few who couldn’t do Feb 4th I am hopeful that we should have a good turn out and at least we are unlikely to be snowed of. SO THAT IS IS GOING IN THE DIARY

2. VERY URGENT REQUEST FOR IMMEDIATE REPLY …
I have felt a sense of urgency re the Cantata which I feel may be detracting from our enjoyment of it and that’s missing the point of SONGLINES so I made a well received proposal to do the main show ONE MONTH LATER ON SATURDAY JUNE 16TH … the Chapel is CURRENTLY unbooked on that day BUT they will need a payment from me to secure it before FRIDAY as there are other enquiries for that date… I was loosing 3-4 singers for MAY 12TH due to student exams and other commitments – many people felt that JUNE suited them better and gave us the opportunity of doing a RESIDENTIAL in MAY ( weekend of 12th ) which is likely to be better weather – so we’d keep the APRIL 21ST day as a London based day of full run throughs.

please let me know ASAP if you can commit to JUNE 16TH

IF IT TURNS OUT THAT MANY CAN’T I’LL STICK TO THE ORIGINAL DATE .

Sarah xx

Sarah would like to propose SATURDAY 17H MARCH as the alternative get together date … could you check your diaries and let her know if that’s possible.