VIVACE CHORUS
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held at the
Millmead, Guildford on Monday 29 June 2015
Present
94 choir members - James Garrow (Chairman), the remainder of the
committee (except Lesley Scordellis) plus Jeremy Backhouse and Francis
Pott.
Apologies for Absence: Philip Beastall, Mike Bishop, Jo Bolam, Mary
1.
Broughton, Bob Cowell, Margaret Dentskevich, Jo Glover, Carol Hobbs, Isabel
Mealor, Alison Palmer, Lesley Scordellis, Marjory Stewart, Anne Whitley,
Frances Worpe.
2.
Minutes of the last meeting: the Minutes of the last meeting, held
3
Matters arising: there were none.
on 29 June 2014, were approved and signed by the Chairman.
Treasurer's Report: the Statutory Accounts have been examined by
4.
Tony Garrood and he will sign them tomorrow. Our income has increased
from £97,000 to £164,000, mainly due to the Verdi concert. Our costs rose
from £71,000 to £134,000 and the overall surplus increased from £26,000 to
£30,000. On the balance sheet the stock increase is mainly due to the
recent purchase of choir folders, sales of which have only just started. Cash
at bank has increased from £107,000 to £135,000. Creditors have reduced
from 45,000 to £7,000 due mainly to the considerable up-front costs of the
RAH concert.
Turning to the Management Accounts the membership income has dropped
from £27,000 to £24,000 as a Gift Aid claim has not yet been made for this
financial year. Fundraising income: a huge thank you to all who raised funds
for the Verdi concert. Overall income was just under £100,000 and, after
costs, this gave a surplus of £35,000. There was a deficit of £2,500 on the
Bach concert, and of £7,000 on the Mendelssohn: Tasmin Little’'s fee was
actually reasonable considering fees charged by other professionals.
Thank you to Michael Taylor (ticket sales). He does a superb job and has
sent me a weekly spreadsheet so I know exactly where we are. Also to
Christine Medlow (librarian) who does a terrific job and I also know where we
are there as she sends me termly accounts. Thank you also to the
committee, especially James, who puts in a huge amount of effort.
Simon opened the floor for questions: can Gift Aid still be claimed for this
year? Yes, up to 3 years.
The
adoption
of
these
accounts
was
proposed
by
Margaret
Parry
and
seconded by Jeremy Johnson and passed unanimously.
S
Music Director’s Report: Jeremy Backhouse addressed the meeting.
Firstly a very brief review of the year ...
The main concentration of the Autumn was Bach’s glorious B minor Mass in
the cathedral on Saturday 15 November - my all-time favourite work, so
obviously I was hoping that my inner concept of how this should sound was
not too far from the actual reality! Mercifully and genuinely, the two were not
too far apart! It's unusual these days for larger choirs to tackle such works
and I was at times during the rehearsals period nervous about whether I had
made the right decision to take on such a massive and complicated work.
Masses of notes and a lot of them pretty rapid! But I was thrilled by how we
rose to the occasion and gave a really confident, accomplished (for the most
part accurate) and certainly a moving performance. The soloists were fine
and the orchestra, the Brandenburgers, were in their usual brilliant form.
What an amazing performance that was!
Our usual Mayor of Guildford’s Carol concert in December, was well attended
and contained its usual mix of new and old carols which seem to be well
appreciated
by
the
audience.
We travelled again to London and St Martin in the Fields on 15 January for a
concert containing the Vivaldi ‘Gloria’ — a change from the Mozart ‘Requiem’!
Good fun to do and, as ever, a privilege to sing there to a capacity audience.
On
24 January
people came and
sang for the annual ‘Come and
Sing’,
looking at Mozart’s sublime ‘Mass in C minor’ and the ‘Solemn Vespers'.
These are always terrific days:
intensive and tiring, but always rewarding
and popular, as is amply demonstrated by the numbers who always attend!
Or is it just the soup they come for?!
On Saturday 7 March we were back at G Live where the programme was all
Mendelssohn in the first half: *Hebrides Overture’ (‘*Fingal’s Cave’), ‘Hear my
Prayer’ (including “O for the wings of a dove”) and the Violin Concerto. In the
second half we sang the Delius ‘Sea Drift’ and Stanford’s ‘Songs of the Fleet'.
I loved conducting the wonderful Brandenburg Sinfonia in the Overture: they
are always so responsive to what I try to convey and we always seem to
make music together rather than just play the notes! The choral singing in
‘Hear my Prayer’ was stylish, well disciplined, and full of commitment; also it
was well able to be projected over the orchestra. The treble soloist was
fabulous: confident, totally reliable and with a lovely voice. Tasmin Little was
amazing in the Concerto: a lovely person to work with (no airs and graces)
and I felt there was again a really strong rapport between her and the
orchestra and me. I think it made for rather a wonderful performance. For
the second half we were joined by the baritone soloist for the Delius and
Stanford.
A
number
of
singers
who
had
guests
in
the
audience
have
mentioned about the acoustic in the hall: how the soloist was very difficult to
hear,
how
the
orchestra
dominated.
There
is
only
so
much
I,
as
the
conductor can do to keep the orchestra playing piano, but anyway it seems
to me that that is not the problem, as, from where I am standing the balance
is
generally good
orchestra.
The
between
problem
choir and
lies
in
the
audience
acoustic
and
of
between
the
hall.
soloist and
There
are, I
understand, technical means to the staff in the hall to help to combat this; it
is just a question of them being able to use these means to our benefit when
we need them. James is on to that! Despite these acoustical tribulations, it
was a lovely concert and the choir showed itself off really well in all three
works, even the Delius! I hope that, by the concert, those Delius-haters were
more convinced by the work. I love it ... and one of the great things about
being your conductor is that I get to choose the programmes!
Next up was the big concert of 2015 - The Concert for Rowan on Saturday
23 May. A huge amount of planning and head- and heart-ache went into this
concert, but I think you will all agree, the concert itself was outstanding and
moving; something very special. Many thanks indeed to Gill Perkins and her
team for all the incredible amount of time, thought and energy they all put
into making the day so memorable in so many ways, not least performing to
a full house. The whole thing looked and sounded unbelievable! I really hope
you enjoyed singing with the SCC and Vasari alongside you. For me, of
course, it was an extraordinary and unique experience, to see and hear all
my choirs there in front of me! Will and Rowan’s involvement was
unforgettable, as perhaps, was my wardrobe malfunction! I sincerely hope
you have taken away from that day some deep-rooted and profoundly happy
memories.
That was our season and I think a hugely successful and enjoyable one!
Traditionally this is the moment when I announce the repertoire for the
coming season to the accompaniment of blazing brass fanfares ... but these
days we work much further ahead, so you will all already know that on:
10
October
CHASE
Charity
concert
Carmina and the Rutter Gloria
at
Holy
Trinity;
movements
from
14 November we sing Orff's Carmina Burana and the VW Five Tudor
Portraits (a set of touching and somewhat bawdy Elizabethan portraits great fun!);
13 December for our usual Mayor of Guildford’s Carol Concert;
23 January for the Come and Sing, looking at the Duruflé Requiem and his
motets;
5 March 2016 another of our popular Night at the Opera shows at G Live and we have a dramatic selection of operatic extracts that I think will make
for a fabulous evening’s entertainment!
21
May again in G Live, we sing the Fauré Requiem plus various other
delicious French delights, both lightly religious and secular, that I know you
are going to enjoy and have great fun with!
The most significant change to the choir, which has of course affected our
musical life, is the new venue. Now this church may not be as beautiful as
Holy Trinity, but, for me, in every other way, it is far preferable. I can now
hear what the basses are getting up to! I can hear exactly and clearly what is
going on rather than hearing your singing through a washy filter. And I think
that you can hear me too, which is also quite important! So, all in all, I think
this has been a great success.
Deborah Miles Johnson continues to be fun and useful to us on her visits. Her
technical expertise and especially her encouragement in making a focussed,
projected
sound
that
will
carry
over
an
orchestra,
is
invaluable.
THANKS
First and foremost, thanks to James, for his continued, tireless work on our
behalf
To all the committee for its terrific support.
Especially this year, personal and sincere thanks from me to Christine; she
has been remarkable and unstintingly selfless in the time and effort she has
put into the librarian’s job
To Prue for her support
at
auditions
and
many
other
non-committee
members.
Last but not least, massive thanks as ever to my friend and musical mate
Francis for his ever-brilliant playing!
Finally,
many thanks to you for your continuing support,
commitment.
Hopefully,
you
are all
still
enjoying
all
hard work and
that is Vivace:
our
ambitious aims and our wonderful, connective music-making, both weekly in
rehearsal and, most especially, in concert. Long may it last - thank you.
6.
Chairman’s Report: James Garrow addressed the meeting.
I feel honoured and humble to be standing here after such an incredible year
for
the
choir.
We've
done
amazing
things
none
of
which
would
have
happened without you. We came up with the ideas, and you jumped into
action
ready
to
make
a
success
of
anything
and
everything
that
we
proposed.
Few choirs outside London could boast to filling the Albert Hall. Thanks to
your efforts and a bit of help from our marketing team 5,000 people trooped
into the Hall to hear us sing.
Without your efforts we wouldn’t have filled the Cathedral for the B minor
Mass or get 638 to come to the Concert for Rowan.
And then you went and raised £14k for the Rainbow Trust cycling from Paris
to London. Whether this marketing ploy actually got anybody into the Albert
Hall - one of the objectives — I somehow doubt, but it certainly raised the
profile of the charity.
What your enthusiasm for the events we propose gives us, is so much more
confidence to take on major projects such as the Albert Hall where
something like £65,000 might be at stake. You simply rolled up your sleeves
raised huge amounts of money and invited more people than ever before.
Hard work. But fun!
What I love about this choir is the buzz we create. To me, it's so much more
than just driving through the rain on a Monday night to learn a new piece of
music. Jeremy and Francis give us true professionalism and you give us your
enthusiasm and support and the confidence to take on large-scale projects.
Performing no fewer than 8 concerts this year: the Albert Hall, SMiF, the
Cathedral, GLive, Holy Trinity, the cathedrals of Verona and Mantua and in
front of Monteverdi’s tomb in Venice. Checking on the websites of some of
the major London choirs I cannot find one that has had such a variety of
concert venues in a single year. It is incredible what we have been up to.
Cycle groups, walking clubs, summer parties, fundraisers such as DID, tours
abroad, cook books, choir calendars, Christmas puddings, the list just goes
on and on. Is there no end to your skills and support for the choir?
Another new venture is the ‘Friends of Vivace’ open to those who have been
associated with the choir for any length of time, has had to leave for one
reason or another and yet doesn’t want to lose touch.
Sometimes ending one’s singing career after perhaps 30 or 40 years can
leave people wondering what to do on a Monday night. We hope to fill that
void and maintain a link with you.
You might want to get involved with publicising a concert or stewarding or
going on a theatre or concert outing or a canal trip. Michael Jeffery is looking
after this for us and has lots of good ideas for the future.
I want to thank every one of you for your fundraising — whether providing
cake and refreshments, pencils, calendars, small change or using
Easyfundraising — and for stepping forward to take over when somebody has
to drop out or to fill a new niche and so much more. Running the book stall,
the orchestra library, the choir library, helping with the Treasurer and a
myriad of other vital things is so appreciated. It is a thriving community and
I so appreciate it. Thank you.
We now have 154 paid-up members of the choir and growing inexorably.
This is a very healthy position to be in, especially considering how numbers
stood at 117 just 6 years ago.
As
you probably know, the Cathedral is closing for concerts
September, depriving us of one of our major concert venues.
from
this
As Jeremy
mentioned, we have planned a Vivace Series at GLive of 3
concerts. This is a difficult venue to fill. It hasn’t yet got the reputation for
really good, classical choral music and so we are having to be creative with
our programming. CB, for instance, might not be to everybody’s taste but
the concerts I have sung this work in have always been spectacularly good
and very well attended.
Good rehearsal venues in Guildford for a choir of our size are really hard to
come by; we have searched high and low, visiting over 25 halls and churches
but there always seems to be something wrong with each. It was hard to
leave Holy Trinity, but Jeremy not being able to hear the individual sections
and we not able to hear him, was a serious problem and we just had to scour
the region afresh.
It is hard getting used to a new place, but the feedback we have had about
Millmead has, so far, been encouraging. One thing is clear: however dowdy
the interior may be, the acoustics for all of us are very much better than
anything we have previously had.
I sincerely hope that those of you who still have reservations will stick with
us and in time, get to enjoy the facilities as a rehearsal base. We believe we
have found the best available. The only alternative might be to have a whip-
round at the end of the AGM and build a purpose-built hall of our own!
The 3-concert tour to Austria now officially known as “Get schlossed” (thank
you Carol!) has finally taken shape with 118 signed up. First instalments of
£100 will be due on the first day of next term. I am waiting to hear
confirmation of the cost of the flight. The total won't be higher than £725,
but am hoping that I will be able to reduce it. The room lists are up; if you
are still seeking to share a room with somebody rather than pay the single
supplement, please contact the person with a blank against their name. The
sooner the better.
After almost a year of negotiations, we have finally managed to secure a
date for our concert at the Royal Festival Hall. With the closure of the
Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room, the pressure on the Hall is enormous and
we are so lucky to have managed to get a Bank Holiday. Mayday 2017 when,
hopefully most won’t be at work and there will be crowds thronging the
Southbank waiting to come to our concert.
Most of you will know that we have commissioned our internationally
acclaimed composer, Francis, to create a choral work for us; this we will be
performing at the Southbank along with Brahms’s Requiem. We are engaging
the Philharmonia Orchestra to play with us and will be joined by another
London choir.
Be warned that we will be looking for a team of May pole dancers to publicise
the concert outside the Festival Hall on the day!
As you know Simon Browning took on the role of Treasurer a year ago, just
as he was taking up a new position at the Yehudi Menhuin School. He has
done a great job for the choir keeping the finances under control and it is
really sad that, because of work and family pressures, he is unable to
continue.
Thank you so much Simon for burning the midnight oil for Vivace. We know
the pressure you have been under and so appreciate all that you have done
in the last year.
The date is 1990 and the Guildford Philharmonic Choir is in a desperate
position of not having a librarian, when who should offer her services but the
young and well-respected Maths teacher, Christine Medlow.
There are a very few people on this planet for whom there simply aren’t
enough superlatives to describe their talents, and Christine is one of this rare
breed. Efficient, organised, hard-working, thorough, energetic, conscientious,
self-deprecating, charming, friendly, strong, exceptional.
Christine has been the choir’s librarian for a remarkable 25 years and has
fulfilled this role impeccably.
Not only did she organise the music for every singer and orchestral player,
but she rubbed out markings, drove to the lending libraries to fetch and
return dozens of scores, logged the scores in and out, brought in extra
copies on the day just in case somebody had forgotten theirs and ran the
entire operation with military precision. She must have had many
opportunities to moan at our inefficiency or chaos-causing ability, but who
has ever heard her moan or seen a smile disappear from her face?
As you know, she has decided to relinquish the post and has handed over to
four marvellous successors, Catherine and Sarah, and Martin and Mary. She
has been meticulous in transferring her in-depth knowledge of all that is
required to ensure that every singer has exactly what they need for every
concert, and has noted everything down on paper for posterity. Knowing her,
she will be hovering around in the shadows ready to help out at a moment’s
notice if needs be.
Christine you have been outstanding and are much loved by all of us. As a
token of our appreciation we would like to give you three gifts: This Galaxy
tablet, a Vivace album recalling almost from the start of your reign as choir
librarian and some gardening vouchers. All of these should keep you busy
now that you have no more scores to settle.
Thank you a million times for all you have done for the choir.
We now move on five years to 1995, another huge milestone in the history
of the Vivace Chorus - or Guildford Philharmonic Choir as it then was - the
year that Maestro Jeremy Backhouse was appointed as our Director of Music.
I don’t need to tell you what a phenomenal job Jeremy has done for the
choir. His true professionalism in all he does for us, whether preparing wellbalanced concert programmes, challenging us to sing beautifully or having
the confidence in us to let us sing complex pieces like the B minor Mass. Or
simply making Monday evenings such a joy.
Jeremy, it is noticed and appreciated how well prepared you are each and
every Monday. It makes such a difference. You make Monday evenings so
enjoyable with the perfect balance of cajoling and humour that combine to
get the very best out of us.
We had a little whip round following your disaster at the Concert for Rowan
when your trousers almost came down, to commemorate your birthday and
we managed to find a new pair of braces for you.
Digital book of concert flyers dating back to 1995.
Who is your favourite conductor? Not C Abbado by any chance? Presentation
of signed drawing
By pure coincidence we have found a hand drawn illustration by ‘George
Krishizki of 1987 of Abbado conducting the Vienna Philharmonic. It is a
beautiful piece of work, admired so much by Abbado that he has signed it
himself. This letter and on the back guarantee its authenticity.
Voucher for hotel and show in London for Sally and you.
We sincerely hope that we can celebrate again in another 20 years when
you're still at the helm, making singing such fun for all of us and getting the
very best out of this motley crew.
On Thursday 24" September we are holding an open committee meeting to
which all are invited.
Do consider coming and contributing as to how we
might celebrate our 70" anniversary in 2017, and concert programmes
amongst other things. Details will be on Notice Board next term.
As you will have noticed, I have not singled out individuals in recognition of
their hard work and dedication this year; I sincerely hope that each of you
knows who I am thinking about and realise how very much each of you is so
appreciated. It really has been a team effort. I seriously believe that this
choir can stand up to any in the land for its professionalism in all it does, the
concerts
it
membership.
promotes
and
the
tremendous
support
and
strength
of
its
I cannot end without mentioning the choir's management committee who
have been unstinting in their efforts to make this choir the success it is and
to support me. I am indebted to each and every one of them. They work
inordinately hard and we are lucky to have them.
As I said at the start, it is a great honour to lead such a talented, busy and
happy choir. Thank you for being such a wonderful chorus and making my
job so easy.
7.
Election of Officers: under the Constitution all Committee members
are obliged to resign at each AGM and, if they so wish, offer themselves for
re-election. The following were unanimously re-appointed:
Proposed by
James Garrow, Chairman
Jane Brooks, Hon. Membership Secretary
June Windle, Hon. Secretary
Seconded by
Michael Taylor Christine Wilks
Ann Smith
Kay McManus
Penny Muray
Prue Smith
Simon Browning has resigned from the committee.
8.
Election of Additional Committee Members: the following were
unanimously re-appointed:
Jackie Alderton
Mike Dudley
Liz Durning
Lesley Scordellis
Joan Thomas
Hilary Trigg
Proposed by
Seconded by
Mike Golden
David Ross
Penny Muray
Prue Smith
Margaret Parry
Bob Cowell
Elaine Chapman
Penny Muray
Val Garrow
Prue Smith
Christine Wilks
John Thornely
On the proposal of Joan Thomas, seconded by Maggie Woolcock, Carol
Sheppard was appointed unanimously, as was Anne Whitley (proposed by
Hilary Trigg, seconded by Michael Taylor).
9.
Appointment of Music Director: the meeting expressed warm
appreciation for the work done by Jeremy Backhouse and he was duly
appointed as Musical Director for the coming year.
10. Appointment of Accompanist: the meeting expressed warm
appreciation for the work done by Francis Pott and he was duly appointed as
Accompanist for the coming year.
11. Appointment of Independent Examiner: on the proposal of Simon
Browning, seconded by James Garrow, Tony Garrood was unanimously
appointed to continue in this role.
12. Any Other Business: Sylvia Chantler asked whether it was the
intention that the format used for staging our previous NatO concert would
be followed for our March 2016 NatO concert, ie the choir moving about the
stage clutching folders.
The Chairman conceded that a concert like this took
some singers out of their comfort zone but moving around the stage made
the concert more visually interesting.
projected images of the operas.
narrators.
Plans are afoot for a 24’ screen with
Jon Long has produced ‘opera bites’ for two
The choir would be off-stage during the solo items.
In response
to a question from the floor, Jeremy said that he agrees with this approach
and likes this movement, which lifts the concert performance.
The women
would probably be asked to wear their coloured concert T-shirts.
would
be 2 screens in the wings,
higher than
greater visibility and the stage would be raked.
some items from memory.
There
last time, to give singers
It was proposed that we sing
Jeremy agreed to consider this.
Mary Broughton had asked that Jeremy’s views on the balance of voices,
with particular respect to the large number of altos, be sought.
Jeremy was
reassuring. While admitting that the alto section is numerically larger, that
doesn’t translate into them being louder.
good
altos,
sopranos.
he
would
rather see
us
Rather than potentially turn away
being
proactive
in
recruiting
more
Michael Taylor commented that, as an audience member at the
Mendelssohn concert, he had felt that the balance was good.
John Thornely proposed a vote of thanks from the choir to Christine Medlow.
The meeting closed at 20.20
JW