Announcements
The new choir term will begin with a rehearsal on Monday, 9th January 2023 at 7.30 p.m.
Rehearsals/Concert
Rehearsals for the autumn term will take place at the All Saints United Reformed Church, Junction Road, Burgess Hill RH15 0JS.
The concert for this term is booked at St Andrew’s Church for Saturday, 22nd April.
If changes in arrangements for rehearsals or the concert are required, all members will be notified of such changes by separate communication.
Subscriptions
Most current choir members elected to pay their total annual subscription fee last term but may I offer a gentle reminder to those who have already paid for the autumn term only and wish to participate in the 2023 spring term that a further £55 is now due for payment. New members and regular members who were unable to join us last term will now be paying £75 for the spring term. The payment of membership fees may be combined with that for score hire and/or 100 Club shares, as discussed below, in one financial transaction.
It would be helpful if as many members as possible could pay by direct bank transfer. If you pay in this way, please quote your name as the reference. The relevant bank account details are:
Name of Account: Burgess Hill Choral Society
Sort Code: NatWest 60-04-11
Account Number: 86500104
If you prefer to pay by cheque, please make the cheque payable to Burgess Hill Choral Society and post it to Margaret Sheldon (treasurer).
Do not send cash through the post.
You may wish to pay your membership fees by instalments e.g. monthly. If you would like to make use of such arrangements please submit an accompanying note to this effect to Margaret.
If you have any concerns about membership fees or further queries about payment of your subscription, please ask Margaret: margaretsh1943@gmail.com .
Music Scores
The score for the spring term is available to hire:
Rossini (Ricordi 1968 vocal 2nd edition L.D 436) for for the term
You may choose to make one payment to BHCS which includes this score hire fees as well as any outstanding membership fee.
You may prefer to purchase your own copy of this score which is currently available at https://www.musicroom.com/gioachino-rossini-messe-solennelle-mixed-choir-and-ld%2000043600?returnurl=%2fsearch%3fq%3dld%2b00043600 at £12.99. Donations for BHCS could be raised with this purchase, with no extra cost to you if shopping online through easyfundraising: https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/burgess-hill-choral-society/
Any queries about scores: ask Chris O’Connell: oconntipp@btinternet.com.
Choir Website: www.burgesshillchoral.org
The members’ pages of the website include announcements and key dates. Check these pages for any changes to time or place of rehearsals and the details of committee members.
Choir Facebook Site: https://www.facebook.com/BHCS2
Choir members are encouraged to access the BHCS Facebook pages to keep in touch with one another and share in some entertaining posts.
Rehearsal Schedule
The rehearsal schedule, showing which sections of music are planned to be rehearsed each week, will be issued in January and will also be put on the website.
Audio practice material
The BHCS website – Members’ pages, under ‘Practice Materials’ – suggests some audio practice material that you can listen to, to help in learning your own part.
100 Club
Thank you to all those who have supported the 100 Club in the past, a scheme which has raised useful funds for the society. Particular thanks are due to Di Tipler who has kindly run the 100 Club in recent years and I am delighted that Elaine New is now taking on this role. The scheme involves buying one of more shares and a draw is made each month from September to April, usually on the last Monday of the month. The prize associated with this draw is £20 but there are two prizes of £25 in April and two of £50 in December.
We are now inviting the purchase of shares of £6 each to cover the spring term only. You may choose to make one payment to BHCS which includes these 100 Club shares in addition to the score hire fee as well as any outstanding membership fees.
Dates for your Diary (See BHCS Spring Term Dates document)
In addition to the schedule of rehearsals and concert, we look forward to holding a quiz night on Saturday, 25th February at URC which promises to be an entertaining evening and similar events have been a good fund raiser for us in the past. We are also very pleased to be back to holding our Annual Dinner which this year will take place on Tuesday, 2nd May at the Mid Sussex Golf Club. We also plan to hold a Come and Sing Day on Saturday, 3rd June 2023 at St John the Evangelist’s Church, Burgess Hill. More details on these events are to follow.
Easyfundraising
Please remember to use easyfundraising every time you shop online. Over 7,000 brands will donate to us, including all the big names like eBay, John Lewis & Partners, Argos, ASOS, Expedia, M&S, Just Eat, Uswitch and many more! This means you can raise FREE donations for us no matter what you’re buying.
If you haven’t signed up to support us yet, it’s easy and completely FREE. These donations really help us, so it would be great if you could take a moment to get started!
You can find our easyfundraising page here: https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/burgess-hill-choral-society/?utm_campaign=raise-more&utm_medium=email&utm_content=rm-en-e2
Committee
Just to remind you of the current committee membership: Jane Leng (Chair), Margaret Sheldon (Treasurer), Judith Conway (Secretary), Christine O’Connell (Librarian), Martin Collett, Jo Kyndt and John Newton. Sadly, Frances Eales, who has served on committee with such distinction over many years decided to step down at the end of the autumn term 2022 and I am sure you would like to join with me in thanking her for her loyal service and huge contribution to the committee. I am, however, very pleased that she intends to continue as a BHCS member
If you’d like to join the committee, do contact any of the present committee members to find out what’s involved.
I look forward to seeing you all in January. Meanwhile, do contact me if I can be of any further assistance.
Best Wishes
Jane on behalf of BHCS Committee