SING WITH US
From February 2023 we will be running a series of monthly open rehearsals on the following Mondays 20th February, 20th March, 17th April, 22nd May and 12th June.
Discover what it is like to sing with NCS and prepare a selection of choral favourites, including works by Handel, Mozart, Lauridsen and Hagenberg, for our Summer concert. You will be able to join the choir in performance at Trinity Church in Gosforth, at 7.30pm on 24 June.
Contact enquiries@newcastlechoralsociety.org.uk for more details and to book a place.
ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR OPPORTUNITY
Newcastle Choral Society is looking for an Assistant Conductor to join our musical team and work under our Musical Director Mark Anyan.
The Assistant Conductor will support the Musical Director and choir when learning new repertoire by leading sectional rehearsals, taking occasional rehearsals as required, leading warm-ups and singing in the choir at rehearsal. There will also be potential for public conducting opportunities.
We are keen to receive a wide range of applications from people of all levels of experience and backgrounds in choral leadership, from students who want to develop their skills in choral conducting to those with more experience of choral direction.
Ideally, the candidate will possess or be developing conducting skills, have good knowledge of choral repertoire, and be a confident musician and play their part in helping the choir to maintain high standards in all its performances.
The Assistant Conductor will be remunerated at the rate of £500 per term.
Please send your C.V. to enquiries@newcastlechoralsociety.org.uk.
Closing Date for applications 20th February 2023
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to come and work with the choir on Monday 27th February at St Johns Church Kingston Park, Newcastle NE3 2HB from 7.30pm
Our compilation of seasonal images and happier times singing together replaces what would usually flag up our upcoming concert. Not so, at least not in person, a YouTube virtual offering is in hand and Live streaming is on the cards for 2021. What a year for NCS and so many other choirs! We were thrilled to resume live rehearsals in September and managed 7 sessions in accordance with the Government guidance, before restrictions set in and we reverted to weekly Zoom sessions. Nothing can compare to singing alongside others, even whilst wearing a face covering, so we hope for better things in 2021. In the meantime NCS wishes our supporters as good a Festive time as is possible. Keep safe and we hope to see you in...
read more#Bring back my Choir #Bring back my Band This is a major campaign launched by Making Music. Working on behalf of amateur musicians in the UK, they are extremely proactive in representations to Government for a route back to performance. ‘Government guidance on reopening the performing arts published on 9 July has caused widespread disappointment, prohibiting amateur groups or groups with amateur participants – unlike professionals – to play or sing together, except in the numbers of people currently allowed to meet in public. It goes further to say that singing and playing wind and brass instruments isn’t even allowed in those numbers. The guidance (England only) will only be reviewed when the results of just commissioned research into droplet and aerosol transmission of Covid-19 are available. The devolved administrations are expected to issue similar guidance shortly (Wales: this week, Scotland: next two weeks, NI: n/a). Many groups, before the guidance came out, were looking forward to meeting again, even with strict risk management measures, and were already hard at work creating a new normal, just as pubs, hairdressers and gyms are doing – considering small sectionals outside, inventing new ways of making music together in socially distanced ways, planning some sort of future. Now, not even groups of 6 outside are permitted if you are singers or wind or brass players; and still only groups of 6 outside if you play anything else. There is no explanation why amateurs are being treated differently to professionals in this guidance.’ Extract from Making Music’s campaign. The music industry is currently being significantly supported by amateur musicians. Newcastle Choral Society along with many other local choirs, employs freelance professional music teachers, many professional singers, pays rent and purchases performance materials, as well as hiring concert halls and other venues. So until things change significantly, we must rely on our Zoom sessions on Monday nights. We had a surprise guest recently! Will Todd popped into give us a quick run through of Benedictus from his Mass In Blue. What a treat! Our great achievement this year while in Lockdown was our 2 videos released on YouTube https://youtu.be/BWrFwA-0dEs and https://youtu.be/TxbOUeBSiGs Views exceeded 3000 over the 2 clips. Members of NCS and the Hertfordshire Chorus sang excerpts from James McCarthy’s Codebreaker which we would have sung in Sage Gateshead on 3.5.20 but now rescheduled for 16.5.21. All fingers crossed for that performance. The second video released on the day of VE75, featured footage of the ‘Forces sweetheart’ Vera Lynn who died recently aged 103! Poignant wartime images as a backdrop to the hauntingly beautiful ‘Sing me at Morn’. Both videos featured recently on Star & Shadow Radio(https://www.starandshadow.org.uk) Star & Shadow Cinema is an entirely volunteer run community arts organisation supporting local artists, minority groups and disadvantaged people. It has recently moved online into the radio world. One of our members is a volunteer there and recently co-presented a programme called ‘Virtual Music-Making in a Virtual World’ about virtual music performances in the northeast. It featured NCS/HC performing Codebreaker and an interview with Mark Anyan our Musical Director.You can listen again here. It featured on 7th July 2020. The programme also included contributions from several local bands and another choir, as well as interviews with Mark and other directors and performers. Part of the purpose was...
read moreNewcastle Choral Society Musical Director Mark Anyan Mozart Requiem and Vivaldi Beatus Vir Bethany Partridge: Soprano Sarah Lucy Penny: Alto Richard Pinkstone: Tenor Greg Link: Bass Orchestra North East Saturday 1 February 2020, 7.30pm BANQUETING SUITE, NEWCASTLE CIVIC CENTRE We were very proud of this (almost) sell out concert! Super soloists, powerful Orchestra North East and masterful Mark Anyan driving us on to give a really exhilarating performance. Lots of great comments from the orchestra ‘brilliant’, our regular audience members ‘world class singing’, and those new to NCS. ...
read moreOur festive offering this year was in Trinity Church Gosforth on Saturday 7th December 2019: Christmas at Home and Away Musical Director Mark Anyan Special Guests : Mouthful The exciting 4-piece a Cappella vocal group who gave us 2 sets of really unusual and exciting singing! Warren Smith accompanied us in style on the magnificent organ and piano. He had his own solo spot playing Toccata by Georgi Mushel Lucy Anyan, the 8 year old daughter of Musical Director Mark Anyan, sang the treble solo for the first verse of Once in Royal David’s City. Lucy was very confident and sang beautifully! ...
read more‘Come and Sing’ Mozart’s magnificent REQUIEM with members of Newcastle Choral Society Musical Director: Mark Anyan SATURDAY 14 SEPTEMBER 2019 10 TILL 3 TRINITY CHURCH GOSFORTH We had an amazing day on 14th September! Under our Musical Director Mark Anyan’s command, a choir of 104 singers in total, made up of guests and members of NCS, worked hard all day – the powerful attraction of Mozart’s Requiem without a doubt! Thank you to everyone who came and the appreciative audience of family and friends plus some passers by, who came in at the end of the afternoon for an informal performance! ” It really was a very good performance” from an audience member. Warren Smith, Director of Music at St Mary’s Church Ponteland was our superb guest organist. Our guest soloists were a delight; Emma Anyan Mezzo, Nerys Angel Soprano, Luke Busbridge Bass and multi tasking Mark Anyan as Tenor and Conductor! Trinity Church is a marvellous venue and our thanks go to the team of staff and volunteers who manage events such as ours so immaculately. Rehearsals now continue for the Feb 1st 2020 performance of Mozart Requiem in the Banqueting Suite at Newcastle Civic Centre at 7.30pm. We will also be squeezing in a festive concert on Sat Dec 7th 2019 at Trinity Church again. Diary Date: SUNDAY 3rd May 2020 at 3.00pm SAGE ONE GATESHEAD NCS are delighted to be collaborating with Hertfordshire Chorus and their Musical Director David Temple in a blockbuster concert in Hall One. https://www.hertfordshirechorus.org.uk/ They are a very impressive choir and it is a privilege to be joining forces with them! In the first half, the combined choirs of around 200 voices will be performing the North east premiere of James McCarthy’s Codebreaker’– an oratorio about the life of Alan Turing, the “father of computer science”, commissioned by Hertfordshire Chorus in 2014. It’s a terrific piece! This will be conducted by Mark Anyan In the second half, David Temple will conduct Vaughan Williams Sea Symphony It’s all go at NCS! Come and join us!! ...
read moreOn SATURDAY 29 JUNE 2019, 7.30pm TRINITY CHURCH GOSFORTH NEWCASTLE CHORAL SOCIETY and NCS CHAMBER CHOIR Musical Director MARK ANYAN A bit of Awakening and Toe Tapping went on in our FEEL THE SPIRIT concert last month, the final one of the 18-19 season! RUTTER Feel the Spirit TIPPETT Five Spirituals BRITTEN Rejoice in the Lamb The audience enjoyed the varied programme and particularly the guest organist Louise Reid who accompanied the choir for the Britten piece Rejoice in the Lamb. Louise’s son Christopher, a chorister at Newcastle Cathedral, sang the Treble in the same piece. Members of the choir took solo roles in the Britten and the Tippett and were declared a hit! Sara Louisa Parry mezzo soprano delighted us with 3 pieces by Harold Arlen. Sara, combines a professional singing career with a busy teaching practice. She is a member of vocal trio Closer performing mainly in Switzerland, and in the UK with the Neil Sedaka tribute show Oh! Carol Our own Eileen Bown accompanied the choir and Sara on piano NCS Chamber Choir had their own section in the concert singing Charles Wood’s Full Fathom Five and Irving Berlin’s Blue Skies. ...
read more‘Sing Gospel’ workshop Come find your joy with Sharon Durant at our ‘Sing Gospel’ workshop. Join in with uplifting gospel songs, beautiful harmonies and John Rutter’s ‘Feel the Spirit’ for a great day of singing together. Hosted by Newcastle Choral Society Musical Director Mark Anyan Saturday 15th June 2019 10 till 3 St Lukes Church Hall, Claremont Road, Newcastle upon Tyne All voices welcome Cost £10 Tea and coffee available – bring your own lunch or use food outlets nearby Parking available on Claremont Road Contact enquiries@newcastlechoralsociety.org.uk Mobile 07980 484598 or 07707 621312 Sharon Durant is a freelance vocal teacher, performer, choir leader and composer. She works with singers of all ages leading workshops and singing projects within a wide variety of settings including schools, where she trains teachers on the use of singing in the classroom. For many years, Sharon worked at Sage Gateshead as Vocal Strand leader, delivering a diverse collection of large-scale singing projects. She has also worked with organisations such as Music in Hospital and Care, British Lung Foundation (Singing for Lung Health), Sunderland Music Hub and Concordia. Sharon directs, composes and arranges for several community choirs including Customs Voices, Urban Chorus and North East Gospel Choir and performs as part of Mouthful, a four piece ensemble who push the boundaries of vocal possibility and successfully devise new vocal...
read moreOn Saturday 23 March 2019 7.30pm at the Banqueting Suite Newcastle Civic Centre Newcastle Choral Society and the NCS Chamber Choir Musical Director Mark Anyan had a blast with Carl Orff’s ‘Carmina Burana’ Our soloists were stunning! Austin Gunn Tenor Lisa Swayne Soprano Philip Smith Baritone David Murray and Eileen Bown provided the accompaniment, on two pianos, and also performed Lutoslawski ‘Variations on a Theme of Paganini for two Pianos’ which was breathtaking! We were joined by a choir of schoolchildren from St Godric’s RC Primary School Durham and St Stephen’s RC Primary School Longbenton. They behaved impeccably, sang their own pieces beautifully in the first half and gave that extra lift to Carmina Burana. Lovely comments were received from the Head Teacher of St Godric’s: ‘A great experience that will inspire the children for years to come! We were so well looked after and everyone was so kind to us.’ and from the Deputy Head of St Stephen’s ‘It was a pleasure to be involved and such an experience for all of the children and their families.’ From an appreciative audience member: ‘Carmina was amazing, a ‘tour de force’ and the children’s input to the whole concert, brilliant’. We were all very happy! David Whetstone, former Culture Editor of the Journal was kind enough to give us a lovely review. This can be viewed here ...
read moreOur Christmas 2018 concert was held on 15 December, forecast to be dire weather later in the afternoon and sure enough it was! Arctic blasts transformed the roads and pavements into sheets of ice! Singers living in farflung places and prospective audience members decided it was safer to stay at home. Nevertheless, for the hardy folk who turned out undeterred, we thank you! It was a super night, much appreciated by the audience. NCS Chamber Choir, newly formed in the summer,sang an Appalachian Carol which was well received. ‘ A cappella group Quintessential Voices brought traditional and modern elements to the concert in their own inimatable way. The pay bar and the complementary mince pies went down a treat. Trinity Church Gosforth is such a great venue and we were, as always, well looked after by their staff and volunteers....
read moreBRITTEN ‘WAR REQUIEM’ Newcastle Choral Society (NCS) was delighted to be the guest choir of Cleveland Philharmonic Choir (CPC), along with Northern Spirit Singers for this magnificent performance held in Sage One on Saturday 10th November 2018. We joined the Choristers of Durham Cathedral and St Peter’s Church Stockton, Cleveland Philharmonic Junior Choir, and the Mowbray Orchestra. The acclaimed soloists were the magnificent baritone Roderick Williams, his voice deemed by an audience member to be ‘like melted chocolate’ wonderfully expressive tenor Mark Padmore and thrilling soprano Rachel Nicholls who sat amongst the choir. The Conductors were led by the commanding John Forsyth MBE, Gary Matthewman, and Daniel Cook, Master of the Choristers, Durham Cathedral. The details of the concert can be viewed here A wonderful evening and a thrill to perform alongside CPC! We sang to a hugely appreciative audience totalling 1111 and received rapturous applause as well as many post concert plaudits! …“fantastic, marvellous performance, most impressive, never boring. Well done! ...Astonishing’ ‘Astounding’’ A triumph’ ‘Magnificent’… ...
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