Rehearsals & Dates
ICS rehearses every Tuesday night from 7.30 to 9.30pm. Location and directions are below.
Where: Highbury Baptist Church – on the corner of Baalbec Road and Highbury Place on the east side of Highbury Fields; address 41a Highbury Place, London N5 1QL.
When: from 7.30 to 9.30pm.
If you’re starting a new term or a new year, you’ll need to bring a cheque book or cash to pay the joining fee. If you’re with us for the first time and want to try it out for a week, that’s fine, just come along and if you decide to come back, we can sort out the membership fee next time.
Summer 2012
Handel: Israel in Egypt
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Rehearsals start Tuesday 17 April 2012
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Final rehearsal Tuesday 26 June 2012
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CONCERT Saturday 30 June 2012
Winter 2012
Verdi: Requiem
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Rehearsals start Tuesday 11 September 2012
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Final rehearsal Tuesday 11 December 2012
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CONCERT Saturday 15 December 2012
(winter term dates are provisional)
ICS rehearsal location - Baptist Church
37 Comments
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Great, thanks John
Hi, I was planning to buy the choraline rehearsal music for the alto part for Handel’s Israel in Egypt to begin practising for next term, but it turns out there’s part 1 and 2 for each voice part – does it matter if I just choose one now before rehearsals, or will we be put into parts at the first rehearsal?
Hi Janet
You can usually just choose which part you would prefer to sing in – but occasionally, if there is a big discrepancy in the number of people in each part, it might be necessary to ask a few people to move to the other part. Obviously we try to do this, if at all, as early as possible in the rehearsal season.
In some works the two parts are ‘divisi’ where both parts sing more or less simultaneously in harmony, with part 1 usually being pitched for higher voices and part 2 being for lower voices within the part. Israel in Egpyt, however, uses two choirs in several of its movements – there is no difference in range or pitch between choir 1 and choir 2, they basically sing the same lines but at different times! There might be a lsightly increased chance of being moved from oe part to the other to ensure the two choirs are roughly the same size, but if you have already learned one part I’m sure you can ask to stay in that part.
Cheers
John
Hi there,
Is it too late to come join Spring rehearsals this week? I too have always wanted to sing Faure! I can sight read and have sung in choirs before, albeit a while ago?
Thanks,
Charlotte
Hi Charlotte (another Charlotte!) – No, I think probably not too late, particularly as you have experience of choral singing and can sight-read. In any case do come to rehearsal tomorrow, no obligation, borrow the scores and try it out. You will probably know for yourself by the end of the evening. You may need to be prepared to borrow someone’s score for the markings and do a bit of home practice perhaps. Do come in any case – if you’re not happy you can simply sign up next term having had a chance to get a feel for what the choir is like.
All the best
John
Hi, I’ve missed a few weeks this term. Please could you tell me when half term is so I don’t turn up when noone’s there! Would it be possible to put the half term dates on the website in future? Many thanks,
Hi Charlotte – we have decided not to stop for helf-term this time, we’ll be rehearsing right through to the end of March so just turn up!!
See you soon
John
Is it too late for me to join for the Spring rehersals?( I have always wanted to sing the Faure Requiem!)
Hi Sue
I agree, the Faure is a fantastic piece to sing! Most of us didn’t know the Haydn before, but are finding it a lovely work as well.
We still have seven rehearsals to go (having had five so far) – whether that’s enough may depend a bit on you: how much singing/musical experience you have, whether you can sight-read easily, a bit or not at all, perhapos most importantly whether you will have the time and commitment to do some work on learning the notes at home using learning tapes/CDs/MP3s, and so on. But I would say it is DEFINITELY worth you coming along to our next rehearsal. We don’t audition and we always suggest people try us out for a week or a couple before committing themselves. We can lend you copies of the scores, so you just need to turn up and introduce yourself (suggest around 7.15 to give us time to sort you out) and see if you enjoy the experience!
Hope to see you
John (Chairman)
Hi, I’m interested in possibly joining the choir next term – could you tell me when it starts in January? Many thanks!
Hi Rachel – we start again on Tuesday 10 January, and you would be most welcome to come along then and try us out. (Do feel free to visit our concert in the meantime – 10 December, all the details are on the site!)
Best wishes
John
Hi There,
Is it too late to join you for the winter term? I can read music and have experience of choral singng (although many years ago!)
Thanks
Ely
Hi Ely – I am sure it is definitely worth joining for this term, especially if you can read music and maybe are prepared to do a lirle homework if necessary!
You would be extremely welcome to come along and try us out in any case – we always suggest ‘new recruits’ sing with us for a couple of weeks, no obligation, before joining up just to make sure the choir will suit them. There is no audition, ever. Please come any Tuesday evening about 7.15 if possible so we can say hello and get you a copy of the music – but avoid Tuesday 25 when we have a half-term break so no rehearsal.
All the best
John
Hello John,
Many thanks for the reply, that’s great news! I’d be happy to do a little homework! I’m I’m Scotland this week so I’ll pop along the week after next.
Thanks Again,
I look forward to meeting you,
Hi,
I’m interested in joining the choir – can I come along to any rehearsal or am I a bit late for this term now?!
Thanks,
Vicky
Vicky – sorry we haven’t replied sooner, but by all means come along, you will be more than welcome – try it out for a couple of weeks and you can decide whether to stay on or else rejoin next term. I think you will probably find that you will manage just fine joining now
John
The biscuits look yummy!
Hello, I’m planning to join the choir in the autumn, however, I have read comments mentioning ‘summer singers’ and thought that might fill the time between now and September. Unfortunately I can’t find any information on 2011 sessions. Is it happening this year?
Thanks, Ruth
Hi Ruth
Good news that you are thinking of joining us, we’d love to see you in September. I quite agree Summer Singers would be an excellent way to get ‘tuned in’ in the meantime – we have just put details onto this site, please click this link to view them Summer Singers
Hi, I’m interested in maybe joining your choir, having looked at above posts it seems as though your Autumn term starts on the 14th of September. I know that I’m actually likely to be away until the 23rd September, will I be too late to come and see about joining then?
Thanks,
Dorcas
Hi Dorcas
- actually we start again on 13th September this year (2011), the Tuesday night. But if you can’t make it until 27 September (nearest rehearsal after you return on 23rd) that won’t be any problem, PLEASE come along! As always with new members, we are happy for you to spend a couple of rehearsals with us before deciding whether to sign up, so if you do have any problems (I’m sure you won’t) you can always leave it until the session that begins in January!
See you there…
John (Chairman)
Hello
I am very interested in joining the choral society as it sounds exactly the kind of thing that I have been looking for. Please could you let me know if it is too late to start as the beginning of the current term has already passed?
I look forward to hearing from you and thank you for your attention.
Kind regards
Louise
Hi, People.
Don’t forget that, as with past Concerts, you can use my Midi Files to learn your parts – see http://www.learnchoralmusic.co.uk/Dvorak/Stabat-Mater/stabat-mater.html for the Dvorac (which might be useful, even though you’ve only got a couple of weeks left) and http://www.learnchoralmusic.co.uk/Orff/Carmina%20Burana/carmina.html for Carmina Burana, which you start in April.
Regards,
John, 10/Mar/11
could you tell me what the starting date is for the Autumn term. I think I would like to sing with the choir but feel it would be better now to consider joining in the Autumn, Could you give me the time for the first rehearsel and any other information I might need. thankyou
Hi there, the start date is 14th September – I’ve added it in to the above post. thanks, Richard
Is there a starting date yet for the autumn term rehearsals?
Cary
Hi Cary, please see the addition to the above post. 14th September. thanks, Richard
Hi, I’m interested in joining the choir. I would hope to be able to sing in the July concert as the Rossini sounds great. I already sing in another choir but am sitting this season out with them as I missed quite a number of the rehearsals due to injury.
I would love to come along on Tuesday (27th April) to see how it goes.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Cheers
Johanna
That is great, look forward to seeing you at rehearsal
John
Hi,
I believe your current term has already begun if I wish to join can I join now or should I wait until the next term starts?
Thanks,
Jenny
Hi Jenny
You are welcome to come along to a rehearsal and try it out before you make your mind up. If you know the works or have reasonable sight-reading you will probably be fine rehearsing with us for the concert on 27 March. If you find it is a bit hard (as we’ve now had four rehearsals out of 12) you are welcome to just sing at rehearsals this term as a learning experience, or to come back and join us next term (which starts on Tuesday 13 April). But feel free to come any week and just get a feeling for how the choir works!
Hope to see you soon
John
I would very much like to join, i have previously been a member of a choir and have had lessons. Is it too late to join this term?
Thanks
Hi Georgina
We’d love to have you, of course. Come along on Tuesday and I’m sure we can sort out the membership with Eleanor, our membership secretary.
In fact, I’ll do an email introduction. You’ll have to pay a full term – which is now £40, but the more the merrier.
thanks
Richard
I would like to join you for the spring term. Can you pse tell me what you will be signing? With thanks. Olga
Hello. Just to let everyone know – and to remind present members – the new ICS year starts on Tuesday, the 6th of January 2009 with the first rehearsal of the Ein Deutsches Requiem by Brahms. As usual rehearsals start at 7.30 in the Highbury Baptist Church on Highbury Fields, N5. All are welcome and there’s no intimidating audition – just turn up, borrow or buy a book and start to funble your way through it with the rest of us, under the expert eye of our conductor Michael Bowden. Newcomers can either join us for the term there and then or take a free trial week to try it out at no cost or obligation.
We look forward to seeing you then.
Dear Sir / Madam
I would like to join your chorus on Tuesday 4 January. I read music and have some choral singing experience, I also live locally in Arundel Square.
I wondered whether I might attend a rehearsal to get a feel of the society before paying the entire subs?
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require any further information
I look forward to hearing back from you,
Kind regards
Jessica Hand
Hi Jessica,
thanks you for getting in touch.
Our next new term starts on 21st April. You can find all the details of where and when on the Rehearsals page of this website which can be found via the horizontal list at the top of this page.
thanks again for your enquiry
yours
Richard
ICS website