The NORTH CAMDEN CHORUS is an amateur choir in the true sense: we sing for pleasure. We have weekly rehearsals during two or three "terms" each year.
Membership of the choir is open to anyone with or without choral experience. You don't have to be able to read music, and there are no auditions (if you're not sure whether you are a soprano or alto, just ask our director to make the call). Students are particularly welcome.
We're now in our summer break and will get together again for an "Autumn 2009" session, on a Tuesday in September. We'll be welcoming new members then: contact us to join our mailing list and get a reminder sent to you.
Our choir is friendly. Our musical director is Ian Gibson. But we remain true to the philosophy of our former director Neil Bowman, who instructed us: "If you can make your mistakes loud enough, you'll get better..."
We sing a rather eclectic mix of "classical" music —
here's a
list of past Concerts. We do
a short summer season of less-classical pieces.
Where are we and how to get there?
We're based in North London. We meet at William Ellis School, which is on Highgate Road, London NW5 1RN (click for map), between Kentish Town and Highgate (Tufnell Park is the nearest tube).
Or get a map from google. On foot or by car, come in through the school entrance opposite Croftdown Road. Follow the drive up until the school main entrance is on your right. Go in, turn right and immediately up the stairs. On the first floor you'll find the school hall in front of you, and that's where we'll meet.
If you come by car there is parking in front of the school and some more to be found by turning right just before the school buildings.
We've moved only this term from Parliament Hill School, where we
met for many years — William Ellis' site adjoins
Parliament Hill School's, to the north. PHS have installed
computers in the room we were using up to Summer 2008, and won't
now hire it out for evening use. Negotiations for another room
did not go well, and we were fortunate to find William Ellis so
helpful.
When, how to join and how much
We meet to rehearse on Tuesdays from 7.30-9.15pm. But we start at 7pm on the first week of a new program to allow time to pay your fees and get your music.
There is a per-term subscription: for 2009's short summer term it was £20 for non-student members (free to full-time students).
To join, just turn up at William Ellis school on one of the first two Tuesdays of any term (third Tuesday OK in "long" spring and autumn terms). Please download, print and fill in a registration form — there's one for old members who sang with us last term, and one for anyone else. Filling in the form in advance saves a lot of time and queueing.
We learn each piece of music thoroughly. Sectional rehearsals (you never have to sing on your own) help you to learn the music one part at a time; then we come together as a full choir to put it together.
We put on two public performances a year, at the end of our spring and autumn terms, usually accompanied by a small orchestra. The evenings are informal and great fun but it's real music done well. We often mix the choral pieces with performances from local students, and end the evening with food and drink.
In addition to our two major concerts we have a social evening in
the summer where we eat, drink and do some singing. Many choir
members take part in an annual evening of carol singing in
Hampstead, raising money for the children's Christmas party at
the Royal Free Hospital.
Autumn term — September 2009
Rehearsals will be on Tuesdays from sometime in September (most likely starting on the 15th, but watch this page or contact us for confirmation), for a concert to be held towards the end of the school term. 27th October is in half-term week, and there won't be a rehearsal then. We don't yet know what we're singing...
Ian Gibson has been our musical director since 2006, and was our accompanist and occasional conductor for the previous decade.
Ian's interest in singing began as a chorister at the Parish Church Choir in Enfield. He was educated at the Latymer School and was a Junior Exhibitioner at the Royal Academy of Music. Ian studied music at St Catharine's College, Cambridge where he was President of the College Music Society and a Choral Exhibitioner. Here, he conducted the College Orchestra and was soloist in Shostakovich's Second Piano Concerto.
Ian is Assistant Director of Music and a Year Head at University College School, Hampstead where he conducts the Symphony and Chamber Orchestras. He is also Director of Camjam, a Saturday morning music centre run by Camden LEA.
Ian plays in the Enfield Chamber Orchestra and aside from his musical interests enjoys foreign travel, watching football and playing tennis.
Mark Denza is our regular rehearsal pianist and section director (which seriously understates his remarkably wide range of musical skills).
The North Camden Chorus was formed about 30 years ago to allow
parents and students of William Ellis and Parliament Hill
Schools to perform major choral works. We're less connected
with the schools these days and don't have many school-age
members, but local school students still perform solos in our
concerts.
The choir has benefitted from a sudden surge of interest in
choral singing (TV programmes may have helped) and we have 110
members registered this term. We have an age range from under
twenty to over seventy (we're pleased to have many more younger
singers than a couple of years ago).
Previous conductors have included Colin Durrant,
John Madden and Neil Bowman. Soloists have included Andrew
Carwood, Mark Wilde and Michael Palin!
Getting in touch
Call or email our secretary on 020 7226 0032 or
email us. Or you could
join our facebook group, which is also called "North
Camden Chorus".
Links
music&friends
run choir festivals and international meetings.
RunBySingers set up
musical holidays, which always sound very tempting.
The London
Sangerstevner is a series of choral festivals.
Small Choirs Website
claims 200+ free pieces of music for church choirs, and
occasional festivals.
Philip Norman Music
Services do a lot of internet/email promotion of
amateur music events — several of the above are from them.
Marije Rommes runs
individual and join-in group singing courses.
Debora Collister runs a singing group every Wednesday 7pm-8.30pm at Kings Cross Baptist Church, Vernon Square, London WC1X (close to Kings Cross Station). To book call Debora on 07985-439-657.
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