Verdi Requiem - Southwark Cathedral, 09 November 2019, with 1885 Singers

Here are the details of arrangements for this event:

• There will be a refresher rehearsal in Malvern with 1885 Singers conductor Alison Hunka on Thursday 24 October, venue TBA.

• Bridget has retained scores for those who need them for the rehearsals and concert.

• The rehearsal on the day of the concert will be at 1.00 pm in Southwark Cathedral. Concert at 7.30 pm.

Members of 1885 Singers are offering accommodation to those who need it. Please indicate against your name on the list of participants whether you would like to take up this offer. There are currently 29 MFC members signed up to take part in the concert. It isn’t too late for you to add your name to the list. Please either email our Secretary, Barbara Moss, or add your name to the list at rehearsal. The list will be on the table by the noticeboard at next Tuesday's rehearsal.

Centenary Season

Plans for our Centenary Season have been conceived not only as a celebration of 100 years of MFC but also with the objective of increasing membership and visibility within the community, and thus assuring the future of MFC. In addition to the two outlined below, other means of raising funds will be discussed at the AGM on 10 September.

We hope you agree that our Centenary Season will be one to remember for many years to come. We appreciate your help in making it so.

Centenary Concerts and Sponsorship

• Our special concerts in 2020, J S Bach’s St Matthew Passion, with our President James Oxley as Evangelist, in Worcester Cathedral in March and the Gala Concert in Malvern Theatres in June, should be a great attraction for singers and audience but we need to ensure that we have revenues to cover the costs. For this reason we’re looking for sponsorship, not only from traditional sources (eg Elmley Foundation) but also from organisations, businesses and people in the local community. As previously requested (see Notices 19 March 2019 below), please think of any contacts you may have with local businesses (eg dentists, solicitors, accountants, as well as tradespeople) who could be willing to sponsor a new singing member or one of our concerts, in return for publicity and concert tickets. Click here for details of the sponsorship options. If you need help in making the contact please let a member of the Committee know.

Auction of Promises

• The Committee has proposed an Auction of Promises/Items as one of the fund-raising activities for the season, probably in early 2020. Please give some thought to items that might be donated for this.

Scores for next season

For our March concert in Worcester Cathedral, we will be using the Barenreiter edition of Bach's St Matthew Passion. Again scores will be available to hire at rehearsal on 3 September.

End-of-season Social - Wine and Cheese Garden Party

A huge 'thank you' to Bridget and Malcolm for hosting the summer social. Ably assisted by members of the Committee, they went to an enormous amount of effort to ensure it was a most successful and enjoyable occasion. They even managed to defy the weather forecast and see to it that the evening was warm and dry despite earlier rain. Although fund-raising was not the primary focus, the event raised over £400 for choir funds.

Our grateful thanks go to the hosts and everyone who helped both before, during and after the event and to all those who contributed cakes, books and prizes for the raffle and tombola.

AGM
Because the first rehearsal in September will be an Open Rehearsal, the AGM will take place on Tuesday 10 September 2019 at 7.00 pm in, followed by a normal rehearsal. Please note that the rehearsal venue will be St Edmund's Hall, College Road, Malvern. Further details have been sent out via email but the AGM papers can also be found here:

• AGM Notice and Agenda
• Minutes of 2018 AGM
• Minutes of EGM 26 March 2019
• Annual Report
• MFC Committee 2018-19
• Committee Nomination Form ​​​​​​​(please note, this will open as a Word document)

Centenary Season 2019-20
Please look out for emails during the summer break as we will be keeping you updated with our plans for our Centenary year. Please also keep visiting the website as this will be the best place to find the latest information.

• History of Malvern Festival Chorus: Marion Couston has been writing an update to the original history of the choir from 1980 to the present and we are hoping to publish this as one volume from 1919 to the present in the autumn term as part of our Centenary celebrations.

• Next Season Brochures​​​​​​​​​​​​​​: Brochures for our Centenary season are now available and will be handed out with the concert programmes on Saturday. They will also be available for members to take and give to friends and people who may be interested in joining the choir or our audience at concerts.

If you have any suitable contributions for the weekly raffle, please could you bring them to the dress rehearsal on Saturday.

Bring and Buy, 21 May
This event raised £107.80. Particular thanks go to Bridget and Marion for setting up the event and to everyone who brought and bought.

• Heartstart training: There are still places available for anyone interested in learning to use a defibrillator and associated skills. Training will probably not take place before September. Please sign the list on the Notice Board table at rehearsal or let Edwina know if you would like to be included.
• Centenary logo: Thank you to everyone who submitted ideas. The Committee have made their decision and a graphic will be made up from the sketch. The logo selected uses our current MFC font style with the “100” added.

Extraordinary General Meeting, Tuesday 26 March
In a secret ballot, members voted unanimously to appoint Jonathan Brown as Musical Director now that he has completed a one year mutual trial period.

Centenary season membership / sponsorship drive
As mentioned in Notices on 19 March, a member list has been circulated for you to tell us about any organisation/school/business where you have a contact. We’re looking for sources of potential members and / or sponsorship. For example, they may have employees or colleagues that they would sponsor as members, or they may offer to sponsor us in exchange for concert tickets and publicity. Please add any information against your name if you can help.

Centenary Season - 2019/20
Plans are well under way for our centenary season which starts in September. Here is a taster of ideas and events:

• Open rehearsal, Tuesday 03 September 2019 - the centenary season will start with a rehearsal which is open to anyone who might be interested in joining us. Please encourage family and friends to come along and give us a try.
• Come and Sing, Saturday 07 September 2019 - following our very successful event in 2017, we will be holding a Come and Sing Faure's Requiem and Vivaldi's Gloria. More details to follow.
• Carols for All - our annual charity event will take place as usual in Great Malvern Priory on 28 December 2019. It will be in aid of Heartstart Malvern.
• Worcester Cathedral - our spring concert will be a performance of Bach's St Matthew Passion in Worcester Cathedral on Saturday 14 March 2020. An event not to be missed!
• Gala Concert - our centenary season will culminate in a Gala Concert in Malvern Theatres on Saturday 27 June 2020.

• men - black dinner jackets and trousers, white shirts and green bow ties, available from Bridget Corlett
• ladies - black trousers or long skirts, black shirt-style long-sleeve blouses and green scarves, available from Bridget Corlett

Rehearsal Start Time

A number of members have put forward the suggestion that we start Tuesday rehearsals at 7.30 pm. The extra time would be particularly helpful in the run-up to the March concert, so Jonathan and Penny have agreed that we should do this. We hope this won’t put any pressure on those who kindly arrive early to help put out the chairs, as they have normally finished before 7.30 pm but anyone extra who is willing to lend a hand will be welcomed!

We realise there are a few people who genuinely can’t make it for the earlier time and are understanding of their situation. Hopefully friends will make sure there’s a seat for them to slot into on arrival.