Category Archives: News

A UNIQUE CELEBRATION

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Here at Stithians Ladies Choir we love celebrating good news – the arrival of new family members, new jobs and many of Life’s other milestones. Today is the birthday of esteemed and valued choir member Thelma Rolling. Nobody would believe it but she is 90 years old!

Some of the Choir Ladies with Thelma
Photos from the celebratory tea and cake after practice at Carnon Downs Methodist Church

Thelma joined the Choir in 1996 and has thoroughly enjoyed her time as a mainstay of the second alto section. She really looks forward to her Thursday practice nights and is a seasoned performer at concerts – often regaling us with witty anecdotes, reflecting her wicked sense of humour. We believe that Thelma is the first Choir member to celebrate their 90th year with us – let’s hope we can all follow her shining example of drive, determination & dedication.

🌟 HAPPY BIRTHDAY THELMA 🌟

Where in the world?

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When you have a web site like this, which is hosted by WordPress, there is a most interesting feature called Stats. You can keep track of how many people visit your site, what interests them most and, fascinatingly, where in the world they come from.

During the time this site has been live we have had visitors from all these countries …

 

Who would have thought it?

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Looking forward

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Well, here we are at the dawn of a new year so it’s time to look forward to what the future will bring. The Choir starts rehearsals again on January 7th and we have several concerts booked, a potential trip away and our 50th anniversary to anticipate.

New year, new beginnings and one of the most exciting happenings for us will be the arrival of our new accompanist.

RICO GERBER

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Those who are familiar with choral singing will understand that a huge part of a choir’s success is due to the accompanist. In this respect Stithians Ladies Choir has been very fortunate indeed in recent years. When our wonderful George Smith died in March 2014 we, amazingly, found his replacement right here in Stithians village. Nigel Guzek shared his pianistic talents with us until October 2015 when he relocated to Somerset. Then, luckily for us, our esteemed deputy accompanist, Kathryn Downing, held the fort over the Autumn and Christmas periods.

Rico, originally from South Africa, joins us with an enviable reputation as a pianist, composer, accompanist and conductor, both in Cornwall and further afield. We are really looking forward to spending a rewarding time with him and, once again, we are grateful to the Gods of Music who sent him our way!

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A HAPPY CORNISH NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR READERS!

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Congratulations!

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this might be too small and blurry?It is always heart-warming to celebrate success and achievement, so huge congratulations to soprano JO WOOD ( pictured ) who was most successful at the Camborne Music Festival recently.

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Congratulations also to our brother choir St. Stythians Male Choir who also gained a large amount of silverware and accolades for their winning performances at Camborne.
Well done Boys!
The village of Stithians is also blessed with an excellent brass band who had a terrific win in Torquay earlier this month. Excellent news!

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Stithians is a wonderful village – A ladies choir, a men’s choir, a brass band, several churches, a school, a pub, a shop, an agricultural Show and a community centre for a flourishing community. A true Cornish village.     Read about it here and here.

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September rehearsals

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Rehearsals for Ocean World are back in full swing now, as the performance dates approach. There were a few little lapses in memory after the summer break but we’re back on track now. This week, we’re looking forward to a rehearsal with our crew of fishermen hauled in from around Stithians.

We are delighted to have received funding from FEAST to help with putting on the production of Ocean World. FEAST is a programme to make great art happen across Cornwall. FEAST harnesses the talents and energy of Cornwall’s artists and communities, generating new opportunities for everyone to enjoy the arts. The focus is on bringing people together to share experiences as audiences or participants, and on animating local celebrations and cultural life. Investment in FEAST comes from Arts Council England and Cornwall Council. The programme is managed by Cornwall Arts Centre Trust.

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http://www.feastcornwall.org

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Mother and son in harmony

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Our choir is joined by its first male!

Kim and Curtis Hanson

This is Kim Hanson and her son Curtis and they are both singing in our production of Ocean World in November. Both are experienced singers living in Stithians, although Kim says it is a while since she was part of a choir. She joined Stithians Ladies recently when her son auditioned for a solo part in Ocean World. Curtis in almost 12 and has a beautiful treble voice. He joins choir member Anne-Marie Gillow in a duet between the dolphin and the mother whale and they will be singing this at the concert at Chacewater Church Flower Festival on Friday 11th July and at the Stithians Show evening concert on Monday 14th July. Rehearsals for Ocean World are going very well indeed and we are really looking forward to giving some concert goers a preview of the music.

The choir is delighted to welcome a genuine Stithians lady ( and her talented son! ) into their midst to continue the tradition of excellent singing in the village of Stithians.

A new look – summer has arrived!

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The concert on Saturday with Tamar Valley was very enjoyable, with some lovely and moving performances by both choirs and the soloists. The evening included some amusing stories by Adrian Wilton, the compere, who had the audience in stitches on a couple of occasions.

It was also the first outing of our new purple uniform tops – our summer look – which is a bit cooler than the red and black worn in the winter. We received several compliments on the new look and also on the singing, which Bea has described as some of the best we’ve produced.

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Ocean World rehearsals have started!

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Rehearsals for Ocean World are underway. The Choir has started going through several of the pieces, mostly from early on in the show, including the scene-setting The Enigma of the Deep and the lively Angels and Butterflies.

Two of our soloists, Anne-Marie and Curtis, have been practising the catchy duet between the mother whale and the dolphin, called Cousin Dolphin. It has one of those tunes that gets stuck in your head, and is going to be brilliant by November (it’s already really good). We’ve had a run through of Dolphin School, which Curtis sings the lead with the Choir joining in for the verses.