THE AMICI CHAMBER CHOIR is a friendly, versatile choir practisi

							Amici Chamber Choir




INFORMATION SHEET
    2010 - 2011
                                                 Amici Chamber Choir
                                                               website: www.amicichamberchoir.org.uk
                                                             email: enquiries@amicichamberchoir.org.uk



The Amici Chamber Choir is one of north-west London’s leading amateur chamber choirs. It was
founded in 1986 and consists of a core membership of around 30 experienced and enthusiastic amateur
singers. The choir performs a challenging and varied repertoire and seeks to continually develop its
tradition of excellence.

REPERTOIRE
The choir’s repertoire covers both sacred and secular works, from Renaissance church music and
madrigals to music of the present day.
The choir gave the first British performance of C.P.E. Bach’s ‘Markus Passion’ at St James’s, Piccadilly in
March 1988, and the first London performances of J.S. Bach’s ‘St Mark Passion’ in St John’s, Smith
Square in February 1989 and of Gretchaninov’s ‘Liturgia Domestica’ in St James’s, Piccadilly in December
1999. More recently, the choir gave the first performance of ‘Blundering Nature’ by Noah Wilke in
Kenton Methodist Church on 27th June 2009.

PERFORMANCES
The choir usually performs three concerts a year, in late November/early December, late March/early
April and late June/early July. In addition, a day or weekend excursion may be arranged at which a
concert will be repeated. The choir also usually takes part in carol concerts in December, and in other
local events as appropriate.

VENUES
Concert venues are researched and proposed by the concert manager and agreed with the committee.
Suggestions from members for new venues are always welcome.
Recent venues have included St. James’s, Piccadilly, St John the Baptist Church, Pinner, St Mary’s
Church, Harrow-on-the-Hill and Kenton Methodist Church. Outside London, the choir has also sung in
Sherborne Abbey, Dorset, in the gardens of Shaw’s Corner (NT) in Hertfordshire, in St Petrox’s Church in
Dartmouth and in Y Tabernacl in Machynlleth in mid-Wales.
Between 1999 and 2003, the choir made three trips into Europe, singing in Paris (Notre Dame, St-
Germain-des-Prés and St Séverin), in Hungary (Budapest and Veszprem) and in southern France (Arles
and Nîmes).

MUSICAL DIRECTORS
The choir has had three permanent musical directors: Nigel Springthorpe (1986-1993), Gary Peacock
(1993-2007) and Jeremy Haneman (2009-2010).
During 2007-9, the choir worked with a series of guest conductors: Tansy Castledine (spring term 2008),
David Bray (summer term 2007 and 2008), Jeremy Haneman (autumn term 2008) and Duncan Aspden
(spring term 2009).
In the 2010 season, the choir will again be working with guest conductors: Hilary Campbell (Autumn
term), David Gould (Spring term 2011) and Paul Ayres (Summer 2011).

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REHEARSALS
Rehearsals are held in Pinner Methodist Church, Love Lane, Pinner HA5 3EE on Thursdays between early
September and early July from 7.30pm to 9.30pm with a five-minute break midway through. Prior to a
concert, there is also a rehearsal on the previous Sunday evening starting at 7pm, and on the afternoon
of the concert from about 2.30pm.
After the autumn and spring concerts, the choir usually takes a break of 2-3 weeks over the Christmas
and Easter holidays though participation in events such as carol concerts may be arranged. There is no
break at half-term.

AUDITIONS
Membership of the choir is at the discretion of the musical director. Newcomers will usually sing with
the choir for a few weeks to assess whether s/he can meet the standard required and would like to join.
The musical director will then audition him/her to assess vocal range, sight-reading ability and other
musical skills.
Re-auditioning of existing members of the choir takes place at two-yearly intervals to enable continuous
improvement.

ATTENDANCE
In order to maintain the high standard of performance, members should commit to attending all
rehearsals, unless prevented by circumstances beyond their control, and be ready for a prompt start at
7.30pm. The membership secretary keeps an attendance register. Members who know they will miss a
rehearsal should tell the musical director and their voice representative.
The musical director may exclude from a concert anyone who does not have adequate knowledge of the
pieces. It will normally be assumed that anyone who misses more than three rehearsals is not
adequately prepared.
Members are expected to participate in all concerts during the season and to notify the musical director
as far in advance as possible of any likely absences. A member unable to sing in a concert may be
permitted to attend rehearsals at the discretion of the musical director up to a few weeks before a
concert when s/he may be asked to stand down.

MUSIC
The music librarian aims to source scores at the lowest cost and make them available to members to
hire. Members who prefer to buy their own copies may also place orders with the music librarian, who
will endeavour to buy the same edition as any hired sets.
The music librarian aims to distribute scores for the following term during the last few rehearsals of the
previous term, so that members can start to become acquainted with the music during the holiday
period.
Our prime source of free scores is Harrow Music Library’s own collection of score sets. This library can
also procure limited numbers of score sets on our behalf from other local authority libraries through the
Inter-Library Loan scheme. Scores may also be hired at a small cost from other choral societies through
Making Music’s online music exchange scheme. In addition, the choir pays an annual subscription to
Surrey’s Performing Art Library in Dorking to enable it to borrow from their extensive set of choral
scores. Scores may also be hired from commercial music libraries at a more substantial cost. The choir
holds a small library of extra copies of pieces previously performed.
Scores of non-copyright music are sometimes available for download as pdfs from the Choral Public
Domain Library. The Music Librarian arranges for sets to be printed in booklet format from the pdfs by a


                                            3                                   LJJ/September 2010
local printer, and makes them available to the choir for a small cost to enable recovery of the printing
costs.
When no suitable hire sets are available, a set of scores will be purchased, usually from local supplier
Herga Music. Any new music purchased has to be paid for by individual members if no hire copies are
available.
In all cases, members will be notified well in advance of the likely cost of the music.
Members are responsible for paying for music that has been ordered on their behalf, even when they
are unable to sing in a concert. Payment is made by cheque to ‘Amici Chamber Choir’ given to the music
librarian.
All hired music must be marked only with a soft pencil and returned promptly at the end of each
concert. Any member not singing in a concert should return hired music to the music librarian before
the concert. Members who do not return hired music on time may incur additional charges.

PREPARATION AT HOME
The musical director issues a rehearsal schedule at the beginning of each term. Members are expected
to prepare and work on music at home, familiarising themselves with both words and music to acquire a
thorough knowledge of the pieces to be performed, in order to minimise time spent ‘note bashing’ and
to focus on interpretation.
Members are encouraged to purchase or borrow their own recordings (CDs or downloads) of the
current term’s music. An information sheet listing recordings and useful websites (for example, YouTube
performances, free midi file rehearsal aids and free mp3 files) is prepared by the repertoire committee
and made available to members.

UNIFORM
Concert dress for the women consists of smart black trousers with a long- or three-quarter-sleeved black
top/blouse/jacket, black tights and shoes. Sandals may be worn for the summer concert. Jewellery
should be kept to a minimum and no perfume worn.
The men wear dinner jackets, white shirts and black bow ties with black trousers, socks and shoes for
the autumn and spring concerts, and open-necked black shirts for the summer concert.
Black music folders are made available for purchase; members who leave the choir may sell their folders
back to the choir.
Black sweatshirts bearing the Amici logo are also available for outings and cold rehearsal venues.

SUBSCRIPTION
The subscription is £170 for the 2010-2011 season.
The choir subscription covers the cost of insurance, hire of the rehearsal venue and musical director’s
rehearsal fees, with a small surplus to subsidise the cost of concerts, the purchase of music for
organist/pianist, soloists and other players and rehearsal fees for the organist/pianist when able to
attend additional rehearsals on Thursdays.
The subscription is agreed annually at the AGM in late September and is due for payment either in full
on 1st October or in two equal instalments on 1st October and 1st February. Members of 25 and under do
not pay a subscription. New members joining in the spring term pay half-subscription; those joining in
the summer term pay a pro rata subscription. Members who are taxpayers are encouraged to sign a Gift
Aid declaration form - further details are available from the treasurer. The treasurer has the discretion
to agree special terms for anyone unable to pay the full subscription in the normal way.
Subscriptions are payable by cheque to ‘Amici Chamber Choir’ given to the treasurer.


                                            4                                  LJJ/September 2010
CONCERTS
Concerts are intended to be largely self-funding, whereby the cost of the venue hire, publicity, and the
fees for the musical director, organist/pianist, soloists and other players are covered by the revenue
from ticket sales and refreshment donations. In practice, most concerts require a small subsidy from
choir funds. Members are encouraged to sell as many tickets as possible.
The choir will sometimes nominate a local charity – eg St Luke’s Hospice Harrow & Brent – to support by
means of a retiring collection at the end of the concert.

CONCERT RECORDINGS
The choir records all its concerts under a Limited Manufacture licence from the Mechanical Copyright
Protection Society. CDs are made available to members at a small cost to cover materials and
equipment, with the surplus returned to choir funds. The CDs are for choir use only, as a learning aid.
Instrumental solos by professional musicians are not usually included on the CD.

CHOIR ADMINISTRATION
The choir is managed by an executive committee, the officers of which are elected by the members at
the choir’s Annual General Meeting in late September. The AGM is also when the treasurer presents the
unaudited accounts for the previous year.
The committee currently consists of a chair, secretary, treasurer, concert manager, publicity officer,
repertoire committee chair and external liaison officer. The committee remains in office for one year
and is eligible for re-election at the AGM. Committee members usually do not serve more than three
consecutive years and the chair does not serve for more than six consecutive years.
The chair has a strategic role in representing the vision and purpose of the choir. He/she ensures that
the committee functions properly, that there is full participation at meetings and that all administrative
and musical matters are progressed effectively. The chair ensures that society members are consulted
on key matters and are happy with the running of the choir and rehearsals/concerts. The chair also
ensures that the relationship with the musical director is maintained on a professional basis. The chair is
also the Federal Representative for Making Music (formerly National Federation of Music Societies.).
The role of the secretary is to support the chair by ensuring the smooth functioning of the management
committee. The secretary is also responsible for the general administration of the choir (for example,
booking the rehearsal venues, preparing and circulating the agenda and minutes of meetings, sending
contracts to accompanists and soloists, and sending mailings to choir members). The secretary also
receives the emails from the enquiries@amicichamberchoir.org.uk website, welcomes new choir
members at the beginning of rehearsals and maintains the membership database.
The role of the treasurer is to safeguard the financial viability of the organisation by ensuring that
proper financial records and procedures are maintained in accordance with accounting policies and
Charity Commission standards. He/she ensures the proper investment of the charity's funds. The
treasurer is also responsible for the day-to-day finances of the organisation (petty cash, settlement of
expenses, gift aid forms, fees and invoices).
The concert manager is responsible for researching suitable concert venues, agreeing concert dates with
the musical director and committee, booking the venue, liaising with the venue administrators and
arranging for venue hire to be paid.
The publicity officer(s) coordinate(s) the promotion and advertising of choir activities, both online and
offline.
The repertoire committee chair leads the selection of programmes for concerts in consultation with the
musical director.


                                             5                                  LJJ/September 2010
The bulk of the committee work is conducted by e-mail, but the committee meets face-to-face four
times a year for an overview of the current season and brief discussions of key issues. Two meetings are
held in the autumn term before and after the AGM, and the other meetings are usually in February and
May.
The executive committee is currently in the process of being augmented by a set of specialist
committees as a means of involving more members in the running of the choir. Each specialist
committee will be chaired by a member of the executive committee.
The first specialist committee to be formed is the music repertoire committee, who, with the musical
director, is tasked with selecting programmes for concerts, sourcing scores and dealing with matters of
choir training.
In addition, there are a number of non-committee posts:
The music librarian is responsible for sourcing scores, distributing them to choir members before the
beginning of each term and to the organist/pianist and soloists before a concert, retrieving hired scores
after a concert and returning them, and collecting any hire fees due.
The section representatives are the spokespersons for the singers within the section they are
responsible for. They also monitor the attendance of rehearsals and follows up absentees within the
section.

OFFICERS 2009-2010
Chair and federal rep – Giles Clayton (bass)            secretary –Kate Carter (alto)
treasurer – Ian Pickering (bass)                        concert manager – Bob Porter (bass)
publicity officers – Gillian Brooks and Dharshika       repertoire committee chair – Mary Kelleher
Sabaratnam (sopranos)                                   (soprano)

non-committee posts:
music librarian - tba

Section representatives:
Sopranos: Sue Blake                                     Altos: Kate Carter
Tenors: Jeremy Bryans (until Dec 2010)                  Basses: Ian Pickering

INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS
Apart from brief announcements during rehearsal breaks, the broadcasting of information to members
is largely conducted by e-mails, sometimes very detailed, from the choir committee and musical
director.
Members are expected to have e-mail addresses, to check their e-mails regularly, to read the e-mails
carefully and to respond as requested by the sender. If a member does not use e-mail, s/he needs to
make a special arrangement with the secretary to receive communications by post.

EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS
Publicity for concerts is co-ordinated by the publicity officer(s). Activities include arranging for entries to
appear on events listings websites, local papers, church newsletters etc., and designing and printing
posters and tickets.
Members are encouraged to assist in the distribution of advertising materials and to sell tickets for each
concert.
The publicity officer also maintains the content which appears on the choir’s website and prepares a
flyer about the choir for display in local libraries.
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FUND RAISING
Car boot sales, singing at weddings and a choir cookbook have been some of the fund raising activities
over the years. The choir holds an annual sale of unwanted books and CDs, with unwanted stock
donated to the local hospice shop. Suggestions for other fund raising events are always welcome.

SOCIAL EVENTS
The choir occasionally has a meal together in the breaks between terms, and when a concert takes place
in a local venue, often holds a party afterwards in a member’s house. Suggestions for events are always
welcome.

EXTERNAL LIAISON
The choir is a member of Making Music (the National Federation of Music Societies) and as such is
entitled to use their services such as the programme notes bank and music exchange. The committee
member responsible for external liaison represents the choir at meetings of Making Music and of
relevant local organisations.

DATA PROTECTION POLICY
The secretary maintains a list of the names, addresses, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of
members and shares it with the committee. Such personal information will be given to other members
of the choir but will not be used for other purposes and (except in relation to the officers carrying out
the functions of their appointments) will not be disclosed to third parties. Anyone who does not wish
other members of the choir to have all or any part of such information should tell the membership
secretary. No member should disclose personal information about another member without his or her
express consent.

AMICI CONCERT POSTERS
The ‘poster of posters’ opposite was prepared as a leaving present for the Amici’s former musical
director Gary Peacock in December 2007.
More recent posters appear below:




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8   LJJ/September 2010