Our Newsletter
Eclectics Community Choir creates a newsletter periodically to keep our friends, supporters and followers up-to-date with the activities and events of the Choir. It is delivered via our friends email mailing list.
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Below is a list of all past issues...
Our summer 2025 finale
Tue, 15 Jul 2025Printable version
We are so lucky to have Emily Renshaw-Kidd as our soloist, performing four songs of her own as well as leading some of ours. Body noises of the politest kind became important as we imitated trains with our Ssshhoooo and Tff and Chipa, chichipa. This segued into a short percussion ‘train’ - complete with whistle - and Emily leading us into: ‘I can hear the train a-comin’’, marking the start of our train-themed set.
Emily sang ‘Alto’s Lament’ which resonated with that section of the choir. (The altos DID have the tune occasionally though, notably in ‘Downeaster Alexa’ and ‘Nellie the Elephant’!) Her other solos paid tribute to ABBA, The Carpenters and John Rutter. As always our highly accomplished accompanist Stefan Catto, played for Emily and sometimes for us. Other distinguished solos came from our own Tim Offord & and David Rance.
Body percussion in the shape of enthusiastic foot stamps accompanied ‘The Wellerman’ in our set of sea related songs and finger clicks and claps appeared in our last set, ‘Beatles Classics’. Vanessa wisely avoided introducing ‘When I’m 64’ knowing various members (men) longed to yell out ‘you should so lucky!’ or ‘you wish!’
So that’s it. I doubt any of us are in the choir for the concerts. We turn up regularly for the joy. The concerts give us the opportunity to stick it all together, to share that joy, to recruit a few more members and to prove to our relations that we have learned something (Zulu, Bulgarian etc) when we disappear some Saturday afternoons.
Our members don’t just sing. They run raffles, distribute and collect our colourful scarves, serve refreshments, fold programmes, move furniture and much more besides. We are a community, a community choir, based in Adisham for over 25 years!
September will see us assemble again, with a new repertoire and Vanessa’s unfailing patience to guide us through another Eclectic year. Keeeeep singing!!
Our first concert of three in 2025 fast approaches. Put the date on your calendar!
Mon, 24 Feb 2025Printable version
There are challenges to be met. How is your Macedonian? It must be sung from memory. It’s in 7/8 time. (So unnatural! Bad enough it’s in another language!). So you thought you knew ‘With a little help from my friends’? There are more syncopations than you ever thought possible. ‘Nellie the elephant‘ - we grew up hearing that! What do you mean, the altos have the tune? The altos! Bulgarian? Bit like Macedonian but not really. And can you sound a bit more authentic… From memory….Now a sea shanty so a bit more sailor-like… and now gospel, spiritual, and how is your Zulu pronunciation? And will our wandering tenor be back from the high seas? The basses have got to be basses, as in double basses! Dum dum dum dum…. And where is that low A flat, I found it at home, why can’t I find it now? Is it me? Train noises? What do you mean, train noises!
The challenges are many. Yet the Eclectics Community Choir will rise to every one, they always do. Vanessa will coax and chivvy the choir into shape. With no expectation of a Macedonian speaker in the audience it will be convincing.
Two more concerts take place in June, Elham on 15th and Adisham on June 22nd. They will be slightly different from the May concert as they feature our regular soloist, Emily Renshaw-Kidd. Our wonderful pianist Stefan Catto helps us perform at our best.
The concert programmes are not yet known to the choir, but be assured, it will be an eclectic mix! Bring your friends and neighbours. There will be music to make our audience smile, tap their feet, maybe decide to take up singing, because it’s a joy, always.
Table of Contents
End of Autumn Term 2024
Wed, 18 Dec 2024Printable version
Welcome to the first Eclectics Choir Newsletter! We have just finished our first term of the season and we now have a website! It is adorned with marvellous photos from Dan and has lots of information.
The choir goes from strength to strength. Vanessa, our founder and director, is more than a conductor. She chooses our repertoire and welcomes everyone warmly. She is unfailingly patient. She is organised and reflective and knows how to get the best out of us. Anyone who wishes to sing is welcome at the Eclectics. Theee are no auditions and there is no need to read music as we have learning tracks to study between rehearsals.
Our membership is eclectic too with musicians including a wonderful pianist, singers who are members of other choirs in the district, those who read no music at all, Adisham locals and people from much further afield. We share the desire to sing, to sing an eclectic repertoire and to share it in our concerts.
The repertoire this season is as eclectic as ever. We have some sea songs including 'Wellerman' and 'Downeaster Alexa'. We have a strong train theme with spirituals and gospel including 'Chicka-hanka' and 'Ride This Train'. Included are a couple of songs from 'Zimbe!', a celebration of African music, and a little Beatles. This season we do not have so many languages to learn as we have had some years, but Macedonian and Bulgarian are enough of a challenge!
Are you reading this on our website? Maybe you are looking for a choir like ours. Be assured of a warm welcome. It is proven that singing is good for us! You could wait to hear us at one of our concerts in 2025 or you could get in touch. All the information you need is on our website.
