Painting the music!

Our open workshop, “Sing the Words, Paint the Music”, on the second Saturday of

January was an exhilarating musical launch into 2019. Here are just a few of the

many very positive comments we received from participants:

“Incredibly well-structured… a very clear narrative to the

session, thinking about vowels and consonants, meaning

and colour. The pieces used as exemplars were similarly

well chosen… The best three hours of singing I've spent in

the last year, bravo!”

'O Radiant Dawn' by James MacMillan, one of the pieces we studied at the workshop

“I loved the entire workshop… Janet's instruction was

fantastic… I learned how to adapt my voice and

pronunciation to get the desired effect, which seemed (to

me) to create a beautiful ensemble.”

“Really interesting to focus on a proper warm-up and

understand articulation. It was well timed and the break

was good. Gorgeous music and interesting, interested

friendly people attending.”

“Clear organisation and instructions; music ready and

available; interesting selection of music; well-paced and

planned workshop, with Janet giving us the benefit of her

buckets of experience; being able to sense improvement

and refinement with each pass through a musical phrase.”

There were many helpful suggestions for future workshop

themes, too. We’ll keep you posted!

#workshop #vocalworkshop #choralworkshop #oxfordevents #singinginoxford #choirinoxford #oxfordchoirs

Beginnings

newChoir was born in 2012. Four friends were sitting in a pub, and one suggested starting a choir. It seemed a good idea at the time.

As it turned out, it was. But why start a choir in Oxford, which had at least 70 choirs already? Was there any need for yet another?

Our idea was ... something a bit different. Neither a choral society nor a chamber choir, but something in between. An auditioned ensemble that aimed for high musical standards, and pushed singers' boundaries - but was not forbidding.

Also, we wanted to tackle unusual repertoire, as well as the well-known works. So, pushing boundaries in that way too.

It was a bit like a business startup - but, if there was ever a business plan, it was on the back of an envelope, now lost.

We were fortunate that Janet Lincé, our distinguished musical director, was willing to come on board. And that James Brown, organist at at the University Church and a superb musician, was too.

To our surprise (given our home-made marketing) there was a surge of interest. A room full of people at our first rehearsal. Suddenly, a pub conversation had become a possible reality!

#newchoir #oxfordchoir #singing #choral #startup #choircreation #choir #choirstartup #formachoir #joinachoir #singinginoxford