What do we do?
The u3a Choir is a friendly, informal group with about 30 members that sings a wide variety of music, usually in four parts (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) and while it is helpful to be able to read music, some of our members cannot and they enjoy themselves just as much.
An audition is definitely not required!
As an example of the range of music we sing, this term’s repertoire includes:
Cantique de Jean Racine, Faure
Ave Verum, Elgar
Linden Lea, Vaughan Williams
Deep River, African-American Spiritual
A medley of songs by George Gershwin
It was a lover and his lass, Morley
We rehearse on Wednesday afternoons and give a concert at All Saints Church twice a year, plus one or two performances in care homes and sometimes a recital of carols at the u3a Christmas social gathering.
We each pay £10 per term to cover the cost of hiring the rehearsal room, although new members can ‘try us out’ for free for their first session.
New members are very welcome and should contact John Catlow.
1st JULY 2022, REVIEW OF u3a CHOIR CONCERT by Pam Nicholson
It was a great pleasure to see, and hear, the u3a Choir back in action at their concert on Friday, 1st July, at All Saints Church, under the direction of John Catlow, Director of Music, with Brenda Cerhan playing the piano.
They sang a selection of songs, old and new, including
- Now is the month of Maying, written by Thomas Morley
- As Torrents in Summer, written by Edward Elgar and some perhaps more familiar songs such as,
- Wild Mountain Thyme and Deep River
After the interval there was a medley of songs by George Gershwin and the concert ended with Linden Lea, by Vaughan Williams.
Following the concert, I chatted with one of the members of the choir and she said
“As a choir member for many years, it was a delight to sing at Friday’s concert. After an absence of more than two years, because of the pandemic, it was wonderful to sing in front of an appreciative audience again. We were all a little apprehensive, but with John, our conductor’s encouragement, we felt the concert was a success”.
All in all it was a most enjoyable evening, with refreshments at the interval provided by both the church and by members of the Choir.