Musical Director’s Report for the Year Ending December 2024.

The choir has had another good year, with Tuesday practice attendance usually in the twenties, similar to last year. It would be great to get more people joining;  let’s look at how this could be done.

Events and Performances

The year started with the choir singing a farewell to Eileen Boghurst, a long-term choir member moving off-Island.  Then in March we were invited to sing at a Peace event, at Little Oneroa.  This was not particularly successful;  very few choir members were able (or willing?) to attend, and singing in the open air does not come across well.  We can learn a lot from this:  we should only agree to perform when we are sure to get sufficient numbers, and only if we are indoors or with several excellent microphones.

In July we had our Pot-Pourri concert, with the takings at Rocky Bay being donated to OWRS.  Once again it was well attended and well received, particularly at St Peter’s where Ariane Duclos was added to the programme as a guest artist, in addition to our original guest artists (Old Spice Boys).  A big thank-you to Maya and Andy for stepping in at Rocky Bay as guest artists, when the Old Spice Boys let us know at very short notice that they were unable to come due to sickness of several members.

In August we had the unusual experience of providing the backing for a recording of a song by a local musician – thanks, Mark, for organising this.  And many thanks to Sandy for so capably conducting the choir while I was overseas.

In October we had a visit from Lisa Burton-Harris of Auckland University, as part of her brain research project  “My Brain Sings Too.”  We look forward to hearing about her research results in a few months’ time.  Also in October, the choir was invited to be part of a presentation about Gilbert and Sullivan in NZ, by Dr Kirstine Moffatt from Waikato University.  We presented five songs, some choral and some with soloists. Then in November, we had another very happy event, singing at Joan’s 80^th birthday celebration, where we sang three songs of Joan’s choosing.

The Christmas concert went very well, and the congregation certainly prefer the format we have used in the past two years, alternating between choir and congregational singing.  Again, we were able to make a good donation to Budgeting Service.  Two days later, we had the choir party, hosted this year by the Willmanns.  And, to finish the year, choir members led the singing of carols outside Artworks, as part of the Christmas celebration.

Issues

This year has seen a significant increase in the number and amount of organisational tasks that have come my way.  I have found this distinctly stressful, and I would very much like to return to the system we had for many years, whereby the Musical Director is responsible for choosing the music, supplying suitable masters for photocopying, and conducting the choir,  with other people doing the other tasks.

The other problem that is occurring more and more for me personally arises from the need to be present every Tuesday.  I have had to curtail or completely miss out on various trips and family events, because of choir.  We need to establish a more flexible approach, perhaps with some evenings being given over to a “singalong” without the conductor.  It is important that the choir has continuity and I am reluctant to cancel choir practices;  occasional sing-alongs would build in some flexibility for the conductor.

Thanks

Carolyn – it is a constant pleasure working with such a good pianist, where I can relax and rely on your musicianship.  Mark – I particularly enjoy your ability to do magic things with computers and scores.  Gavin – I admire your efficiency and patience in looking after the copying and supplying music to our ever-changing clientele.  Sandy – wonderful to have you leading when I am away, and you come up with some really good ideas for music we could do.  Joan – great feel for local events.  And to all our committee members and Sylvia, our president – thank you for your willingness to contribute.

Saving the best till last:  Thank you to every choir member, for your love of music and singing, and for the encouragement and good humour you bring.  Without you, we wouldn’t have a choir, so many thanks.

Anne Willmann