North Devon Choral Society
We resumed rehearsals on Tuesday 21st September, at
St John's Community Hall, Rose Lane, Eastern Avenue, Barnstaple EX32 8NX
which is beside the Whiddon Valley Tesco store, with plenty of parking.
Rehearsal times are now between 7.20pm (doors open at 7.10pm) and 8.45pm.
Guidance for Members regarding Covid Precautions
St John's Community Hall, Rose Lane, Eastern Avenue, Barnstaple EX32 8NX
which is beside the Whiddon Valley Tesco store, with plenty of parking.
Rehearsal times are now between 7.20pm (doors open at 7.10pm) and 8.45pm.
Guidance for Members regarding Covid Precautions
| ndcs_guidance_for_members_september_2021_8.09.pdf |
Guidance addendum:
If you fall ill or have a positive test having just attended a rehearsal or fall ill between that rehearsal
and the next, inform the Membership Secretary, Ingrid Hardiman, (telephone 01271 889022) immediately.
If you fall ill or have a positive test having just attended a rehearsal or fall ill between that rehearsal
and the next, inform the Membership Secretary, Ingrid Hardiman, (telephone 01271 889022) immediately.
Risk Assessment for St John's Hall rehearsals
| ndcs_covid_risk_assessment__st_johns_community_hall_v1_8_sept_21.pdf |
Any new members wanting to join us should contact our Membership Secretary, Ingrid Hardiman
before attending rehearsals.
Covid Secure Performance Guidance to Choir Members
| covid_secure_performance_guidance_to_choir_members.pdf |
NDCS Performance Risk Assessment
| ndcs_performance_risk_assessment_version_3.pdf |
Information for Members
We will announce a firm plan as soon as we are able.
There will be no increase in subs, which will remain at the 2019/2020 level (see below)
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) - Privacy Policy
Data held
Name, Address, Telephone Number, Email Address
Data held by the Membership Secretary of North Devon Choral Society
We use the data to communicate with choir members. We send messages from the conductor, information about concerts and other musical events which may interest them.
We retain the data when they cease to be members so that we can very occasionally send them information about special events.
Legitimate Interests
The personal details (Name, Address, Telephone Number and Email Address) of choir members are stored on the password-protected computer of the Membership Secretary. Hard copies of the Membership List are shared with the Committee of the North Devon Choral Society. These details are not shared with anyone else.
Rehearsals
Rehearsals take place every Tuesday from September to July except during Christmas and Easter. We don't usually break for half term. Members should sign the register weekly, and are expected to attend most rehearsals for each concert. They should consult the Membership Secretary if they find that impossible. It is important to indicate on the register whether or not you will be singing in the concert.
Rehearsals run from 7.30 to 9.30 pm with a 15 minute break, with refreshments, half way through. Rehearsals take place at Christ Church, Bear Street, Barnstaple EX32 7BU. There is plenty of free parking in nearby Queen Street/Bear Street car parks, and a few places in front of the church for those with limited mobility.
On concert days we rehearse from 2pm to about 4pm at the venue.
Scores
Music for all concerts is available to hire or purchase at rehearsals. It will help the Librarian a great deal if you can indicate during the previous term whether you have your own copy, wish to hire or purchase. Please treat all hired music with great care, and mark lightly in pencil only. At the end of a concert, hired music should be placed in the boxes provided at the concert venue. If for any reason you do not sing in the concert, hired music must be returned promptly, and if necessary you can contact the Librarian to make arrangements to do so.
Tickets
Flyers and tickets for concerts are available about six weeks before a concert, and are sold at rehearsals and from the outlets shown on the Tickets page. Each member is given three tickets to sell, with more available. Any unsold tickets should be returned to the Treasurer in advance of the concert.
Concert Dress
Unless specified otherwise:
Ladies should wear a long sleeved black top, long black skirt or smart black trousers, with black tights and shoes. Please, no bare legs/feet, no ¾length sleeves, no calf length skirts, no sparkly jewellery. A red artificial rose will be handed out at afternoon rehearsal and should be returned at the end of the concert.
Gents should wear a black dinner suit, black bow tie and white shirt.
We use black music folders which will be available at the afternoon rehearsal and should be returned at the end of the concert.
Rehearse at Home
If you wish to rehearse at home, you might find the following useful:
John's Cassettes
If you have a cassette player, bring a blank cassette, labelled with your name and voice part, for John to record your part on the piano.
ChoraLine www.choraline.com
ChoraLine offers specially recorded tracks with your own voice part picked out clearly. You can buy a CD or download the tracks in MP3 format to use in iPhones and MP3 players.
A special 10% discount for North Devon Choral Society members has been set up with ChoraLine. To obtain your discount when purchasing on their website, type DEVON in the discount code box on the shopping basket page and then click the green arrows on the right hand side of the discount code box. You will then see the amount saved due to your discount.
You can also order over the phone on 0845 304 5070 and by quoting our discount code DEVON also receive your 10% discount.
ChoraLine also stock an enormous range of vocal scores, choir folders, unique singing sets, and other items of interest to choral singers all of which will receive the 10% saving by using the DEVON discount code.
Cyberbass www.cyberbass.com
Cyberbass also offers specially recorded tracks with your own voice part picked out clearly. There is a facility to slow the tempo. These are free to listen to on your computer via the internet.
Learnchoralmusic www.learnchoralmusic.com
Similar to Cyberbass
Spotify www.spotify.com
Spotify has literally millions tracks which can be searched and played at any time online. You cannot transfer the tracks to iPhones or MP3 players or burn CDs from them. Essentially, it's a way to listen to recordings of music without buying CDs.
You must subscribe on a monthly basis, but can cancel your subscription with a month's notice. There is a free edition, but it's limited, and you have to listen to adverts.
For £4.99 per month you can listen to Spotify on any computer. For £9.99 per month you can also listen on your smartphone.
Subscriptions
Membership Fees for 2021/2022 are:
£99 annual membership, or £33 per term with postdated cheques for each term.
Termly fee for members paying each term will be £37.
Annual fee for members on benefits will be £58, either paid in full or by postdated cheques as above.
Termly fee for members on benefits wishing to pay each term will be £22.
Rate for students is unchanged at £13 per term.
Keeping in Touch
The committee endeavours to keep you informed and to discuss any situations and concerns at its meetings. Please contact any Committee member with any issues you might have. The AGM is in October each year, when you can speak on any matters and have an opportunity to elect your representatives.
Sponsorship and Donations
It costs many thousands of pounds to put on our larger concerts with orchestra, and this is only partly paid for through ticket sales. Our Treasurer, John Thompson, will be delighted to hear from you if you would like to sponsor us or make a donation of any size to help us continue the work.
We will announce a firm plan as soon as we are able.
There will be no increase in subs, which will remain at the 2019/2020 level (see below)
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) - Privacy Policy
Data held
Name, Address, Telephone Number, Email Address
Data held by the Membership Secretary of North Devon Choral Society
We use the data to communicate with choir members. We send messages from the conductor, information about concerts and other musical events which may interest them.
We retain the data when they cease to be members so that we can very occasionally send them information about special events.
Legitimate Interests
The personal details (Name, Address, Telephone Number and Email Address) of choir members are stored on the password-protected computer of the Membership Secretary. Hard copies of the Membership List are shared with the Committee of the North Devon Choral Society. These details are not shared with anyone else.
Rehearsals
Rehearsals take place every Tuesday from September to July except during Christmas and Easter. We don't usually break for half term. Members should sign the register weekly, and are expected to attend most rehearsals for each concert. They should consult the Membership Secretary if they find that impossible. It is important to indicate on the register whether or not you will be singing in the concert.
Rehearsals run from 7.30 to 9.30 pm with a 15 minute break, with refreshments, half way through. Rehearsals take place at Christ Church, Bear Street, Barnstaple EX32 7BU. There is plenty of free parking in nearby Queen Street/Bear Street car parks, and a few places in front of the church for those with limited mobility.
On concert days we rehearse from 2pm to about 4pm at the venue.
Scores
Music for all concerts is available to hire or purchase at rehearsals. It will help the Librarian a great deal if you can indicate during the previous term whether you have your own copy, wish to hire or purchase. Please treat all hired music with great care, and mark lightly in pencil only. At the end of a concert, hired music should be placed in the boxes provided at the concert venue. If for any reason you do not sing in the concert, hired music must be returned promptly, and if necessary you can contact the Librarian to make arrangements to do so.
Tickets
Flyers and tickets for concerts are available about six weeks before a concert, and are sold at rehearsals and from the outlets shown on the Tickets page. Each member is given three tickets to sell, with more available. Any unsold tickets should be returned to the Treasurer in advance of the concert.
Concert Dress
Unless specified otherwise:
Ladies should wear a long sleeved black top, long black skirt or smart black trousers, with black tights and shoes. Please, no bare legs/feet, no ¾length sleeves, no calf length skirts, no sparkly jewellery. A red artificial rose will be handed out at afternoon rehearsal and should be returned at the end of the concert.
Gents should wear a black dinner suit, black bow tie and white shirt.
We use black music folders which will be available at the afternoon rehearsal and should be returned at the end of the concert.
Rehearse at Home
If you wish to rehearse at home, you might find the following useful:
John's Cassettes
If you have a cassette player, bring a blank cassette, labelled with your name and voice part, for John to record your part on the piano.
ChoraLine www.choraline.com
ChoraLine offers specially recorded tracks with your own voice part picked out clearly. You can buy a CD or download the tracks in MP3 format to use in iPhones and MP3 players.
A special 10% discount for North Devon Choral Society members has been set up with ChoraLine. To obtain your discount when purchasing on their website, type DEVON in the discount code box on the shopping basket page and then click the green arrows on the right hand side of the discount code box. You will then see the amount saved due to your discount.
You can also order over the phone on 0845 304 5070 and by quoting our discount code DEVON also receive your 10% discount.
ChoraLine also stock an enormous range of vocal scores, choir folders, unique singing sets, and other items of interest to choral singers all of which will receive the 10% saving by using the DEVON discount code.
Cyberbass www.cyberbass.com
Cyberbass also offers specially recorded tracks with your own voice part picked out clearly. There is a facility to slow the tempo. These are free to listen to on your computer via the internet.
Learnchoralmusic www.learnchoralmusic.com
Similar to Cyberbass
Spotify www.spotify.com
Spotify has literally millions tracks which can be searched and played at any time online. You cannot transfer the tracks to iPhones or MP3 players or burn CDs from them. Essentially, it's a way to listen to recordings of music without buying CDs.
You must subscribe on a monthly basis, but can cancel your subscription with a month's notice. There is a free edition, but it's limited, and you have to listen to adverts.
For £4.99 per month you can listen to Spotify on any computer. For £9.99 per month you can also listen on your smartphone.
Subscriptions
Membership Fees for 2021/2022 are:
£99 annual membership, or £33 per term with postdated cheques for each term.
Termly fee for members paying each term will be £37.
Annual fee for members on benefits will be £58, either paid in full or by postdated cheques as above.
Termly fee for members on benefits wishing to pay each term will be £22.
Rate for students is unchanged at £13 per term.
Keeping in Touch
The committee endeavours to keep you informed and to discuss any situations and concerns at its meetings. Please contact any Committee member with any issues you might have. The AGM is in October each year, when you can speak on any matters and have an opportunity to elect your representatives.
Sponsorship and Donations
It costs many thousands of pounds to put on our larger concerts with orchestra, and this is only partly paid for through ticket sales. Our Treasurer, John Thompson, will be delighted to hear from you if you would like to sponsor us or make a donation of any size to help us continue the work.
Rehearsal Schedule & Events
More details to be announced, but these are the plans:
4th December 2021 at St Michael & All Angels, Great Torrington: Handel's Messiah
9th April 2022 at Great Torrington, performing Haydn, either The Seasons or The Creation, potentially with an orchestra.
16th July 2022 at Christ Church, Braunton: Orff's Carmina Burana
3rd December 2022 at Great TorringtoN: including Lauridsen's O Magnum Misterium, and Rutter's Magnificat.
Constitution
If you would like to read our constitution, please click below
| the_north_devon_choral_society_constitution.pdf |