The Greenstede Singers have been busy this Summer preparing for a performance of Purcell's Birthday Ode for Queen Mary (1694)on October 28th. The choice of work was inspired by the text 'in honour of the Jubilee', which seems to fit in to our current UK festive mode.
We will be joined by the Martin Sonneveld Orchestra for the occasion.
The choir will also be singing some madrigals and some more up-to-date partsongs by Alan Bullard and Philip Lane.
Marion Shuster will conduct the performance.
The venue is the Peredur Centre for the Arts, West Hoathly Road, East Grinstead. the concert starts at 4.00pm. Tickets available from 
(01342)312 824 or Bullfrog Music in Ship Street. (£8, £6 concessions including refreshments)

We very much enjoyed singing in June at the Felbridge Country Fair - a very jolly occasion with lots of creative stalls and fun games. 

Look out for us on December 1st, as the Rotary club will switch on the lights on their Xmas tree in the East Grinstead High Street. We will be there singing some carols to cheer them on.
We will also be in the East Grinstead library on December 15th, singing carols to help them celebrate their special day 'A Taste of Christmas' - linking in with the town's Wencelas week celebrations.

Do come and join us on on December 8th, when the Greenstede singers and the Singing Circle will be hosting a Christmas Tea and Carols Concert at the Peredur Centre for the Arts, West Hoathly Road, East Grinstead. The concert will start at 4.00 and will include plenty of opportunity for audience to get into a festive mood and join in with the carols. Tickets £8, £6 concessions including Christmas tea with home-made cake)


Music Studio News: Belated congratulations to my Summer exam students! All passed with Merit or Distinction - well done.

Our Summer Students' concert at the Peredur Centre for the Arts was very well received by an appreciative audience. We now have a long tradition of such events and it is really nice to see students' confidence and performance skills developing. As usual we had a wide range of experience, but everyone produced high level performances, not least those students performing for the first time in front of an audience.    

exam success

Congratulations to all the students who took exams in the Spring session. All students passed with high marks. The Music Theatre candidates all achieved Distinction.
Tips for exam success - choose your songs early, and get the memorising done. Then you can concentrate on really producing a tip-top performance. Plan your costumes and props well in advance.
I recommend The Pocket guide to Musicals by Maureen Hughes - you can research the information easily for your discussion with the examiner.

Greenstede Singers success

The Greenstede Singers enjoyed taking part in the East Grinstead Music and Arts Festival in March. We were proud to take home the Terence Kennedy Shield and lovely comments from the adjudicator. "A smart and musical choir - colorful in sound and vision"

At the end of March we  sang in a charity concert organised by the local Soroptimists, which raised £1500!
Our mix of classical, folk and popular songs was much appreciated by the audience.

We have two upcoming Jubilee dates -

Felbridge Country (Jubilee) Fair June 16th
Jubilee Celebration concert featuring Purcell's Come Ye sons of Art (Birthday Ode for Queen Mary 1694) -October 28th at the Peredur Centre for Arts, dunnings road, East Grinstead .

Greenstede singers will be spreading Christmas cheer on December 4th

Look out for a merry band of singers during the afternoon of Sunday, December 4th in East Grinstead. To help raise the Christmas spirit for the Town Family Day and all day shopping, the Greenstede Singers will be visiting shops and singing traditional carols. Look out for a few surprises!

Greenstede Singers concert, Peredur Arts Centre October 1st

The Greenstede Singers gave their inaugural concert last Saturday at the Peredur Arts Centre in East Grinstead to a delighted audience. The concert included modern arrangements of traditional folk songs such as My Boy Billy, Pretty Pollie Pillicoate, Eriskay Lovelilt, The Ash Grove and settings of well-known poems - Five Eyes, To Daffodils, It was a Lover and his Lass and Linden Lea.
There were delightful solos from Glynda Rendell and Marion and daughter, Kathleen.
One of the favourite items of the evening, raising a cheer from the audience, was the Nun's chorus from the operetta 'Casanova'. Another favourite was Bob Chilcott's haunting setting of an anonymous 16C poem - the Lily and the Rose.
The concert ended in more popular style, with Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah', Bernstein's 'I Feel Pretty' and Bob Dylan's 'To Make You Feel My Love'.
Money raised from the sale of raffle tickets was donated to the East Grinstead Christmas Lights. Chairman, Melvyn Phillips, said that this support from the community was much appreciated.

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