Our Newsletter

We at Hastings Philharmonic Choir would like to wish all of our friends and supporters a very happy Easter!

Just one week until our Spring Concert - Bach's glorious St Matthew Passion, sung in the beautiful setting of Christ Church, St Leonards. We hope to see you there!  Tickets are selling fast, so don't delay - get yours today!! 

Dear Friend of Hastings Philharmonic Choir

It already feels a long time since we last sang for you at our Christmas Carols for All concert.  We were delighted to see so many of you escaping from the hurly-burly of Christmas preparations to enjoy our festive singing.  Once again, with the support of Penbuckles' Delicatessen, we held a raffle during the interval.  The hamper of delicious goodies was won by Keith Waymont, who told us that he and his wife travel down every year from Tunbridge Wells to attend our carol concert - well done and thank you to Keith for his faithful support of our choir!

Despite the current grey, damp weather, spring is in the air and the garden is beginning to bloom with seasonal flowers.  With less than a month to go now, we're rehearsing hard for our April concert. We're sounding in great voice at the moment, having gained some new choir members this year, and with several visiting members having joined us especially for the April concert.

Read on for further news ...

 

Dear Friend

With the festive season almost upon us, we'd like to wish all of our Friends a happy Christmas and all the very best for the New Year!  For us, Christmas begins this coming Saturday, 16th December, at 5pm, when we present our annual Carols for All concert.  Read on for further information about this concert, some reviews of our November performance of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, and a look ahead to next year's concerts.




 

Dear Friends

Our new season has got off to a busy start, with rehearsals for our autumn concert commencing in early September.  We're tackling Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, one of the peaks of the Classical choral repertoire, and a real challenge for us!  But, under Marcio's patient and insightful direction, we're beginning to make headway, and are looking forward to performing it for you in November!

Before that, though, there's an opportunity to hear us revisit some of our favourite choruses from Mendelssohn's Elijah when we take part in the 'Big Sing' this coming Saturday, 7th October.  This annual fundraising event for St Michael's Hospice brings together twenty local choirs in a whole day's worth of singing at St John's Church, Brittany Road, St Leonards.  We have the 5.30pm slot - why not drop in and listen to us?  
The Big Sing - St Michael's Hospice (stmichaelshospice.com)

Read on for more information about our season's concerts ...

Welcome to this late summer round-up of news!  We've had a fantastic year, and have so appreciated your continued enthusiastic support. Our last concert of the season is taking place later than usual this year.  Read on for further information about it, and a sneak peak at what we have in store for you next year.

Dear Friends

As the days grow longer and lighter, we're looking forward to our spring concert, which this year will take place just after Easter, on 15th April.  Read on for more information, and for news about our exciting summer project!

Dear Friend

Our first concert of the season will take place this coming Saturday, 5 November, 7.30pm at Christ Church, Silchester Road, St Leonards.  We'll be performing a colourful programme of celebratory Baroque masterpieces - why not come along and let us lift your spirits on a dark November evening?

Hastings Philharmonic Choir with Poppy Shotts and Rachel Allen (sopranos), Maya Colwell (contralto), John Twitchen (tenor), Jack Lawrence-Jones (baritone),  Ensemble Orquesta, conducted by Marcio da Silva

Tickets are still available - book yours today!
https://www.hastingsphilchoir.org.uk/autumnconcert2022 

Dear Friends,

Our new season has got off to a flying start.  Rehearsals for our first concert are well underway, and we were delighted to be able to sing at The Big Sing last Saturday, in support of St Michael's Hospice.

We have some real treats in store for you this season.  Our concerts will cover some diverse and exciting repertoire.  There's something to suit everyone's taste, starting with glorious Baroque choral masterpieces next month.  Further details are given below.  Despite rising costs, we've managed to maintain ticket prices at last year's level, with standard tickets starting at £12.50, and a cheaper option for students and under-18s. 

We hope to see you at one - or more - of our concerts!

 

Dear Friends

Welcome to our first Newsletter of 2022!

We are thrilled to have been able to rehearse and perform uninterruptedly throughout the winter this year.  Our first major performance of the season – our Mozart and Lauridsen concert in November, with full choir and orchestra – was a sell-out success.  It is clear that, after the enforced silence and cancellations of 2020–21, the choir is enjoying a period of regeneration, with keen new members joining and further exciting repertoire planned for the remainder of the season.  We do hope to see you in the audience for our March concert.

 

This Sunday!  Don't miss it!  Come and enjoy your favourite Christmas choral music and carols, plus the brilliant Cromwell Brass, and, of course, Marcio's wonderful performance of 'O Holy Night!'  And there'll be mince pies and mulled wine on sale at the bar during the interval ...

Dear Friends,

Our new season has got off to an excellent start, with regular, uninterrupted rehearsals, five new singers joining us, and several 'old' faces rejoining after a period away from choir.  Although we've come to appreciate the fragility of our plans over the last eighteen months, things do feel a little more settled.  As you'll see from this newsletter, we have an exciting season to look forward to, and we hope to see you soon at one of our concerts.  Tickets are now available for our autumn concert (see item 1 below) - buy yours now to avoid disappointment!

Dear Friends of Hastings Philharmonic Choir,

We are delighted to announce that, after so many months without singing, we finally began rehearsing again on 17 June!   This decision followed clarification from the Government that covid-secure indoor rehearsals to prepare for concerts with a paying audience were allowed within the guidelines.  We are immensely grateful to Bishop Peter and the team at Christ Church, St Leonards, for supporting and facilitating our safe return to rehearsals. 

It's been wonderful (and exhausting!) to return to singing together.  We're especially pleased to welcome some new members to our choir, several of whom have patiently waited for months to meet us since making their initial enquiry about joining.  Many of them were attracted by our shiny new website, which is proving to be an excellent resource for the choir and our supporters. 

We are currently preparing for our summer concert - read on for more information!

Dear Friends of Hastings Philharmonic Choir,

First, I want to thank you for your ongoing support of the Choir during these difficult times. It's not been an easy twelve months.

Now that the Government have announced some dates for the lifting of lockdown, we are finally able to make some (provisional) plans for the way forward, so the time is ripe for our first full newsletter of 2021.

Our first full choir rehearsal of the year is planned for Thursday 20 May. Despite lockdowns, our choir membership stands at a healthy 85 strong, and in addition we have five new members who we hope to welcome at this first rehearsal, with a further three who have expressed an interest in joining.

We are excited at the prospect of giving some performances in the summer – our first since December 2019. You’ll find further details of these, and other choir news, within this newsletter.

Thank you again for your ongoing support. Finally, I can safely say that I look forward to seeing you all again shortly. Continue to keep safe!

Best wishes,

John Rycroft

Chairman
 

 

This is the first of series of newsletters to keep you informed of what the choir is up to and our forthcoming events.  Full details our on our new website.