A reminder of 19th May rehearsal - usual place, usual time.
Also, please remember your subs (now £25) if you've not paid, and bring a pen to sign off the new data consent forms (if you didn't manage to do this last rehearsal).
There is a new "apologies sheet" for Sept-Dec which will be with the current one. We're going to try a new approach of putting the sheet on/by the coffee counter so you can update it as you queue at the break: we'll see how that goes.   
The finalised programme for our June and July concerts is as below.
 First half
148 - The Gift Of Music  - Rutter
 ---  -   Foggy Day  - Gershwin
187 - Wherever You Go - Paul Mealor
 ---   - Jerusalem  - arr. Ian Murray
 - Solo -
191 - Adiemus - Karl Jenkins
  30 - Bo Peep  - arr. Gardner
146 - Java Jive  - Drake and Oakland
 - Solo: Reading -  
 - Solo -
118 - And So It Goes - Billy Joel
143 - In My Life - Lennon and McCartney
199 - Let The River Run  - Carly Simon
Second half 
 ---  - Someone To Watch Over Me - Gershwin
134 - Fields Of Gold - G M Sumner
 89  - The Way We Were  - Hamlisch
 - Solo -
179 - Scarborough Fair And Sound Of Silence - Simon and Garfunkel
193 - Social Madrigal - Howe
178 - The Wind Beneath My Wings - Sillbar and Henley
 - Solo -
198 - Mama Mia - arr. Mac Huff

5th May: Jean/Janet G
19th May: Helen H / Maureen
2nd June: Sue T / Janet A
30th June: Ann / Jane
2nd Sept: Heike / Margaret

First Half:
154 Festival Sanctus
103 Follow that star
-     Star of the east

Solo Don
Carol G p92 O Little Town of Bethlehem  (vs 1-4 in green book – descant last verse)

155 One Still and Silent Night
54 The Infant King
127 This Lovely lady

Solo Ron
Solo Reading Pat
Solo Helen

197 From a distance
172 See amid the Winter Snow
-     Noel Noel  (Men)

Carol G p126 The First Nowell (vs.  v1,2,3 6  - descant in vs 3)

Second Half:
70 Little Road to Bethlehem
93 Christmas Lullaby
-   The virgin Mary had a baby boy   (Ladies)

Solo Colin
Carol  G p39 Hark The Herald Angels (vs 1-3 - descant in vs 3)
Duet Piano

B p171 Boar’s Head Carol
- Christmas is coming (small group)
B p117 In Dulcio Jubilo
 
Solo Val

196 I wish you Christmas
B p106 Angel Tidings
104 Jingle Bells

Carol  G p88 O Come all ye faithful (vs. 1,2,6 – descant in verse 6)

11th Nov 
- Committee meeting 12.30-1.30 (agenda to follow)
- Rehearsal from 1.30pm to 4.30pm (covering both Christmas and evening concert pieces). 
- Back to the venue by 6.30pm for the concert starting at 7pm. 
- People can remain at Cornerstones between the practice finishing and the concert starting if preferred.

Concert pieces
Someone to watch over me - Gershwin
Fields of Gold - G M Sumner
Scarborough Fair and sound of silence - Simon and Garfunkel
Social madrigal - Nathan Howe
The wind beneath my wings - Sillbar and Henley.

25th Nov 
- Rehearsal time 2-5.30pm 

This is to confirm that we will be doing a Christmas concert on Friday 8th December.
It will be at St Michael's R.C. Parish Centre, Durham Road, Houghton-le-Spring, DH5 8NF.
(It will be the first outing for our new piano and sound system).
Further logistical details later.

The pieces for our two sets at Bob's concert on 11th Nov are as below.

• Thank you for the Music: Abba
• And so it goes: Billy Joel
• Someone to watch over me: Gershwin
• Fields of Gold: G M Sumner
• Scarborough Fair and sound of silence: Simon and Garfunkel
• Social madrigal: Nathan Howe
• The wind beneath my wings: Sillbar and Henley.

Tony is offering to do an extra practice for these on 9th Nov, there will be an email to confirm where/when.

As you know Colin is producing CDs for the different voices for the Christmas music and expects to have them at our next rehearsal (on the 16th) - which will be a boon!

In the meantime I've added links on the website to performances of nine of the pieces that I've found online. You can access them using this link.
The pieces are:

• I Wish You Christmas
• One Still and Silent Night
• From a Distance (Christmas Version)
• The Little Road to Bethlehem
• Star of the East
• Jingle Bells. Arr. Ray Charles
• Still, Still, Still [in German]
• Festival Sanctus
• Christmas Lullaby

I've tested the links on my laptop and phone and all seems OK - but if anyone has any problems accessing them please let me know.

This is just a reminder that we start again with an afternoon session on Saturday 2nd September.
The dates for this term are:

• 02 September rehearsal 
• 16 September Full day (10-4pm): bring lunch
• 30 September rehearsal 
• 14 October rehearsal @ Witton Gilbert Methodist Church, Sacriston Lane DH7 6TF
• 28 October rehearsal 
• 11 November Full day (10-4pm): bring lunch
• 25 November rehearsal  
• 09 December CONCERT TBA 
• 16 December CONCERT Practice from 5pm, Concert from 7pm @Chester-le-Street Methodist Church

Also, there'll be extra biscuits for anyone bringing new tenors and/or basses with them :)

Just three notes about the concert: times, the programme, and the directions (from A1M and A19).

TIMES: 
We meet to start practising at 5.30pm, the concert starts at 6.30pm, there's a short interval and  refreshments afterwards.

PROGRAMME: 
190 Give me music, Amy Bernon
118 And so it goes, Billy Joel
143 In my life, Lennon and McCartney
------Solo-----
191 Adiemus, Karl Jenkins
177 Seal Lullaby
108 Wraggle Taggle Gypsy O, Christopher Fleming
------Solo-----
192 Count on it, Kevin Memley
N/A Foggy day, Gershwin
187 Wherever you are, Paul Mealor
------Interval-----
N/A Someone to watch over me, Gershwin
134 Fields of Gold, G M Sumner
106 Send in the clowns, Stephen Sondheim
------Solo-----
179 Scarborough Fair/Sound of Silence, Simon and Garfunkel
193 Social Madrigal, Nathan Howe
178 Wind beneath my wings
------Solo-----
186/111 West Side Story Medley
------Solo-----
N/A Morte Christe
---------

DIRECTIONS:
The pdf with the direction/information from A1M  can be accessed from this link: https://goo.gl/qa381p
The pdf with the direction/information from A19  can be accessed from this link https://goo.gl/mdC2Vv