Founded 1937

Registered Charity No. 1117616

www.bedfordmessiahchoir.org.uk

19 September 2016

Dear Choir Member,

Invitation to participate in the Taster session on 16th October, subsequent rehearsals and
the 2016 Messiah Performance on Saturday 26th November, Bunyan Meeting, Bedford

I apologise for the fact that this invitation is so late this year. I seem to have been rather overwhelmed with other responsibilities, and have allowed Messiah Choir business to slip a little.

I would nonetheless be very grateful if you would please do your level best to respond by 8th October at the latest to enable us to identify any sections of the choir where we may need to do some recruiting, and to avoid time-consuming and disruptive administration tasks during the first rehearsal.

Thanks to everyone for helping to make our performance last year another superb evening, in aid of SENSE, which supports and campaigns for children and adults who are deafblind.

Following Jenny Waller’s suggestion, your committee have this year decided to support the work of JDRF, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the world’s leading diabetes research charity.

The performance will again be conducted by Janet Welsh and accompanied by Richard Heyes (organ), and will take place at Bunyan Meeting in Mill Street, Bedford on Saturday 26h November. We are delighted to welcome back all five former soloists - Elizabeth Powell (soprano),Sioned Gwen Davies (mezzo-soprano), Matthew Kimble {tenor}, Matthew Duncan (baritone), and Kirsty Loosemore (trumpet). You will shortly be able to access their up to date details from the Performances page of our website.

A copy of the poster and 2-up flyer advertising this year’s performance is attached to this email, (or enclosed with this letter if you are not on email), and can also be viewed and printed from our website. To view these attachments correctly on screen you will need to View in Print layout.

This year we will continue with our normal pattern of 4 Sunday afternoon rehearsals in Bunyan Meeting on October 30th, November 6th, 13th and 20th, all at 2.30- 4.30 pm. Please encourage any new singers to join us on - or before - the first Sunday, especially sopranos and tenors. There will also be a ‘Taster’ session on Sunday 16th October from 2:30 to 4:30, a social occasion with refreshments, a few sample Messiah choruses, and an opportunity to introduce and welcome prospective new members. A flier about the Taster session is attached to this email / included with this letter – please advertise this event amongst any friends whom you think might like to join us this year.

A final rehearsal will be held from 2.00 – 4.00 pm on 26th November. The Annual General Meeting will take place on Sunday 13th November.

We very much hope that you will be able to sing with us again this year and ask that you use the attached (enclosed if this is a paper copy) Participation Form or download one from the Singers page on the Bedford Messiah Choir website at http://www.bedfordmessiahchoir.org.uk/ We are keeping this year’s individual membership subscription fee at last year’s level of £12, but will invite a further donation of around £2 per head from those of you able to attend the Taster session, simply to cover our costs.. Completed Participation forms should either be posted to me, with payment, at the address on the form, or sent as an email attachment - with the £12 cheque following at the first rehearsal.

Copies of the Prout Edition of the score can be bought from the choir for no more than £8.50 – but please wait till the rehearsals before making this payment. The special Messiah Choir music folders which we used for the first time in 2012 will be issued on loan at the final rehearsal and should be returned immediately after the performance.

As last year, we plan to sell tickets in advance at a price that includes a free programme on the night. The ticket prices show a small increase on last year’s level - £10.00, with £9.00 concessions. We again plan to take advantage of the new Inland Revenue Scheme offering Gift Aid for Small Donations, which came into force in April 2013, by having a retiring ‘bucket collection’ at the end of the performance, on which we will then be able to claim a 25% supplement from the taxman. We also hope to sell as many tickets as possible to ensure that we can make a sizeable donation to JDRF, so please start telling friends about it now! There is a 12.5% discount available for parties of 8 or more.

We will again be looking for volunteers from the choir to help with arrangements on the day of the performance, setting up the church and hall, serving refreshments, and front of house. Do let me know in advance if you can help. Please also let us know if you are able to help advertise the event by placing a poster in your local Church, Parish Magazine, shop or local notice board so that we can send you appropriate publicity.

We look forward to seeing you at the taster session on 16th October and the first rehearsal on 30th October.

Please check the website for further information.

Please do your level best to respond by 8th October at the latest to enable us to identify any sections of the choir where we may need to do some recruiting and to avoid time-consuming and disruptive administration tasks during the first rehearsal.

With best wishes,

Roland Carpenter

Treasurer

on behalf of the Bedford Messiah Choir committee.

Treasurer: Roland Carpenter, 7 Cox’s Close, Sharnbrook, Bedford, MK44 1JU Tel: 01234 781551