Seminar on Belshazzar's Feast

If you are planning to attend the performance on 16 July, don't miss Anthony Ritchie's seminar on Belshazzar's Feast on Mon 11 July - 5:30 - 7:00 pm. He's talking about the whole programme - Belshazzar's Feast, Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis, and Aaron Copeland's work Appalachian Spring.

Cost is $21 and it's filling fast - they have room for 25 and it's up to 19 or 20 already! Contact the Music Department at University of Otago for more details, or check with Southern Sinfonia.

Congratulations Tamsin

Congratulations Tamsin Jones (Alto) - we are so proud of you!

"University of Otago graduate Tamsin Jones has been awarded a prestigious $US100,000 Frank Knox Memorial Scholarship to support two years of doctoral study at Harvard University, in the United States."

Read more in the ODT...

Jolly good sales table

This week at Tuesday rehearsal the Choir held one of its usual monthly (more or less) sales tables - one of the fund-raising initiatives of the choir. We bring and we buy during the half-time break, while munching on a biscuit or sipping a cuppa - ah! those glorious bargains!

Happy customers browsing the fresh produce, baking and preserves.

Selecting a music CD takes fierce concentration!

And Rosalind says: Thank you to the choir member who brought these lovely flowers to sales table.

The Triumph of Mars

The Dunedin Medieval and Renaissance Society presents Rare Byrds, the Southern Consort of Voices, the Playford Dancers and special guests in 'The Triumph of Mars', a stirring evening of early music, dance and poetry relating to war and peace,

at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery, 7:30pm, Friday 17 June.  

Tickets will be available at the door. ($15/$10).
There will be a free fire performance in the Octagon from 6:45pm.

And Now For Something Completely Different ...

as the well worn expression goes.

Choir Member Honoured

Prof. Warren Tate.

Congratulations Warren Tate - Bass extraordinaire and Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. Warren, we are extremely proud to call you one of our own.

"Internationally respected biochemist Prof Warren Tate, who last year won the Royal Society of New Zealand's top science honour, is "humbled" to be also named a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit."

Read more in the ODT, Monday 6 June 2011...

Choir uniform: to change or not to change

From time to time, over the years, City of Dunedin Choir has changed its uniform. The notable orange (1980), and later on blue (1988), dresses for the ladies stand out in history!

Today we have, for the ladies:

 
and for the gentlemen:

 
The men's black dinner suit with white shirt and black bow tie has remained unchanged for the nearly 150 years of the choir's existence!

Now here's the rub: in 2013 the choir celebrates its 150th anniversary and the question is:

Should City of Dunedin Choir get a new uniform for 2013?

We would like anybody and everybody's opinion and/or suggestion, so please leave your comments at the end of this post.

To put you in the fashion picture, here are some of the plusses and minuses that have been mentioned over recent years, regarding the present uniform:

• The gentlemen are uncomfortably hot under the stage lights in their dinner suits and would much prefer to lose the jackets.
• In the heat of a performance the bow ties sometimes end up all askew; not a good look. 
• The bow ties are of a variety of different designs, so on closer inspection are not 'uniform'.
• Although the ladies' blouses look smart 'en masse' from a distance, many individual members feel the blouses are ugly. Indeed, some are ill-fitting, but surely that can be improved.
• The official black skirt for the ladies is generally regarded as a hideous, shapeless, frumpy garment; for this reason ladies have been allowed to wear other 'approved' black skirts, with the result that the skirt is no longer 'uniform', especially in design and length.
• Speaking of length, the official ladies' skirt is an odd length - above the ankles - which contributes to the 'frumpy' look, with all kinds of shoes (some delicate and some blocky and comfortable) peeping out the bottom.
• Should the ladies wear skirts or trousers?

Choosing a uniform to suit a group of men and women of varied ages, shapes and sizes is never an easy task. We wish to look smart and as uniform as possible.

Should we change any aspect of the current choir uniform? We would like to hear your ideas and suggestions!

Could choir members please indicate their willingness to serve on a uniform subcommittee if the decision is made to change the choir uniform?

31 August 2011 - Here is the result of this survey and the outcome of the committee's discussion of this issue:

Thank you to all the members who submitted their considered thoughts and suggestions regarding the possibility of a new choir uniform for the 2013 anniversary celebrations and beyond.

At our meeting on 31 August the committee noted that the general view of the members was to “tidy up” the uniform, but not to incur considerable costs to either the choir funds or members’ personal pockets while we are working hard to raise funds for the 150th celebrations.

The committee considered at some length the specific suggestions and has appointed a uniform sub-committee consisting of: Judy Tucker, Clare Kennelly and Jan Stevens.

The sub-committee will carefully consider the comments received and then propose the next step towards tidying up the women’s outfit, with special attention to the look of the skirts. The majority of comments regarding the men’s outfit was that the present uniform is the most appropriate for our choir and the committee generally agreed with this view, so the men’s uniform will not be changed.