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. Students are particularly welcome.
In our "Summer 2008" session we're rehearsing a mixed programme of short non-classical pieces for a friends-and-family performance on Friday 13th June. To join our mailing list, contact us.
You can look at a (very old) introductory letter (or you can print it from here).
Our choir is friendly. Our musical director is Ian Gibson. But we remain true to the philosophy of our founding 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 - see "Past Concerts" below for what we've done recently. In 2007, we tried a short summer season of less-classical pieces: we'll do it again this year.
We're based in North London. We meet at Parliament Hill School, which is on Highgate Road, London NW5 1RL, between Kentish Town and Highgate (Tufnell Park is the nearest tube).
Or get a map from google or Streetmap.co.uk. We generally meet in the new music department, located behind a snazzy glass-and-yellow front at the RH (north) end of the main building. If the automatic doors don't open for any reason, you can make your way around the back (walk round the building and find the entrance behind the "Octagon Centre", then turn right.
We meet to rehearse on Tuesdays from 7.30-9.15pm during autumn and spring terms, and a short summer season. 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 of £25 for non-student members (which currently includes free coffee and biscuits)!
We put on two public performances a year, at the end of our
spring and autumn terms. They're held in
St Mary Brookfield church (opposite the reservoir
on Dartmouth Park Hill, NW5 1SL), or this map.
Our performances are informal and great fun but it's real music
done well. We usually mix the choral pieces with performances
from local students, and end the evening with food and drink.
Summer 2008
We start rehearsals on Tuesday 29th April and will perform them for the choir, friends and family on Friday 13th June. We're doing a mix of short pieces from Elizabethan motet to a King's Singers version of a pop song. You're too late to join in this term, but we'll always put you on our reminder list for next term: please get in touch.
Our last few concerts include:
Spring 2008: Finzi's Lo, the Full, Final Sacrifice and Mark Denza directed Rutter's song cycle Psalmfest.
Autumn 2007: Part I of Handel's Messiah, Buxtehude's Das Neugeborne Kindelein.
Summer 2007: Verdi Triumphal Scene from "Aida", a setting of the Gershwins' S'Wonderful, Gilbert & Sullivan A British Tar from "HMS Pinafore", and a folksong setting, The Waters of Tyne.
Spring 2007: Vivaldi's Gloria and some other pieces.
Autumn 2006: Mozart's Requiem.
Spring 2006: Vaughn Williams' Five Mystical Songs and a Bach cantata.
Autumn 2005: "Five Spirituals" from Child of our Time by Michael Tippett, and Duruflé's Requiem.
Spring 2005: Britten's Rejoice in the Lamb, and Purcell's Come Ye Sons of Art.
Autumn 2004: Rutter's Gloria, and Four folk songs by Vaughn Williams.
Spring 2004: Handel's Messiah.
Autumn 2003: Schubert's Mass in C, with Christmas songs by Rutter, Warlock and others.
Spring 2003: Mozart's Coronation Mass and Ave Verum Corpus, the Easter Hymn from Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana, and some unaccompanied part songs by Elgar and Finzi.
Autumn 2002: Britten's St Nicholas, Fauré's Cantique du Jean Racine and some Christmas music by John Taverner, including The Lamb.
Spring 2002: Handel Zadok the Priest and Poulenc's Gloria
Autumn 2001: Charpentier Messe de Minuit pour Noel, Rutter Five Childhood Lyrics
Spring 2001: Janacek Our Father, Haydn Little Organ Mass, Brahms Lieberslieder Waltzes.
Autumn 2000: Vivaldi Magnificat, Britten A Ceremony of Christmas Carols.
Spring 2000: Bach St Matthew Passion
Autumn 1999: Britten Choral Dances (from Gloriana), Haydn Te Deum
Spring 1999: Fauré Requiem
Ian Gibson is our musical director, and has been with us for
many years (originally as accompanist and assistant).
Mark Denza is our regular rehearsal pianist and section
director (which seriously understates his remarkably wide range
of musical skills).
Neil Bowman was our founder director; Neil used to
be head of music at Parliament Hill School, but (getting younger
every year) is no longer tied down...
Getting in touch
Call or email our secretary on 020 7226 0032 or email us. Or you could join our facebook group.
A "webring" which links different, related pages. Follow "hub", "next" or
"random" below to find other sites:
|
||||||
Website by ClunkWeb, 2007.
