"I was blown away by the generosity of New Choir and the lovely presents they gave me. The gifts mean a great deal to me and I shall treasure them, particularly the platter and the amazing boxes! I shall find a moment to read all the lovely messages and find a special place to keep the farewell/thank you card. I'd better get started on reading the poems soon and the extra donation will enable me to get a really special name-plate for the NZ house which I ought perhaps call 'New House'! I am also very grateful to Alison for being in on the farewell and delivering such a memorable speech.
I do want to thank you all on the committee, especially Wendy D, for working so hard to enable the choir's recent rehearsals. It was so good to have the opportunity to do face-to-face singing for a few weeks and remind ourselves how important and satisfying it can be. And we all learned a lot, I feel!
It's a terrible shame that we weren't able to perform a final concert together but I am utterly convinced that newChoir will move forward and flourish under Ben's direction with the incredible diversity of skills and talent in the choir. NewChoir has grown from a tentative group of enthusiastic singers to a choral group of skilled musicians with the willingness and ability to work together as an ensemble to perform to the highest standards.
I know I have good friends in the choir and I hope they will keep in touch. If ever I can offer help (like hiring out music and lights) then please just ask. I will only be in NZ some of the time, once they actually decide to re-open their borders and let me in again!
God bless you all and ENJOY!"
Janet Lincé, December 2020