singing news spring 2015

Hello <<First Name>> and welcome to the spring edition of my twice-yearly singing newsletter packed with singing news.

The snowdprops are out in our garden and it looks like the daffodils aren’t far behind. We’re also lucky to have escaped most of the snow so far - fingers crossed!

As usual you’ll find details here of all my singing weekends in 2015 as well as many of my one-off singing days. Many of my workshops sell out surprisingly quickly, so make sure that you book up as soon as you can to avoid missing out. I’m not just saying this: I have many disappointed people languishing on waiting lists waiting for others to drop out!

I’ve already sold half the places on my Winter Songs weekend in November and there are no more single rooms left on Sing Africa in the Lake District in July.

I’m also getting booked up at weekends much faster than before (I’m already onto my 2016 wall chart!) so if you want me to run a singing day (or weekend) for you in 2016, now’s the time to start planning. I’m fully booked in 2015 except for two weekends: 15/16 May and 31 October/1 November. I can design a workshop specially for your choir or singing group or festival or village or you can choose from my familiar off-the-shelf themes.

Do feel free to contact me if you have an idea for a singing weekend, want me to run a workshop for you, have an idea for my blog – or if you have any general questions about choirs and singing.

You’ll find details of all my singing weekends below. Just click on the blue links to find out more. As always you can find up to date information about singing days, song arrangements, recordings, singing weekends and more on my website: chrisrowbury.com

I hope you enjoy reading and I look forward to singing with you in the future.

Have a great spring!

singing weekends for 2015

24 – 26 February 2015, Farncombe Courses, Cotswolds
Jersey Boys: the songs of Franki Valli and The Four Seasons
Cancelled due to refurbishment at Farncombe.

24 – 26 April 2015, Buckden, Cambridgeshire
Better harmony singing
Annual weekend limited to 16 experienced singers to work on the challenges of singing harmony in a small group. SOLD OUT This weekend always sells out very fast.
2016 dates to be released soon.

19 – 21 June 2015, Farncombe Courses, Cotswolds
Songs from the Balkan heartlands
Learn harmony songs from Croatia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Romania and more.

24 – 26 July 2015, Brathay Hall, Lake District
Sing Africa!
An opportunity to sing and move to infectious African rhythms. No single rooms left.

25 – 27 September 2015, Farncombe Courses, Cotswolds
All aboard the gospel train
Sing the roots of American blues! A fabulous weekend of gospel singing for people of all faiths and none.

27 – 29 November 2015, Cromford, Derbyshire
Celebrate winter in song
A weekend of glorious harmony singing to celebrate winter.

looking for new weekend singing venues

I’m planning to run more of my own singing weekends from 2016 onwards so am looking for suitable venues.

The specifications are:

en suite accommodation
mix of single and twin/ double rooms (no bunks or dormitories!)
to accommodate around 25 – 30 people
good food
not too far from public transport
nice location, lovely countryside would be ideal
a suitable workspace: good acoustics, chairs, plenty of light and space
it would be ideal to have the place to ourselves
affordable (although a top notch spa centre is attractive!)

So NO dormitories, shared bathrooms, outward bound centres, modern corporate conference venues, town centres, etc. You get the idea!

I’m looking for venues in the following locations only:

Cambridgshire (south of Cambridge in the M11 corridor, near Grantchester for instance)
North of London (around Watford, Hemel Hempstead, St. Albans)
West of London (not as far out as Oxford)

Any and all ideas very gratefully received!

singing days too

As well as weekends, I run singing days across the country. Here are a few that might interest you:

Saturday 23 May 2015, Kenilworth
Songs from around the world
My annual visit to Warwickshire. Everyone welcome, the more the merrier!

Saturday 30 May 2015, Oxford
All aboard the gospel train
Sing the roots of the American blues. Yee ha!

Saturday 27 June 2015, Stamford, Lincolnshire
All aboard the gospel train
Yet another chance to git down and sing those bluesy gospel songs.

Saturday 17 October 2015, Winchester
Theme to be confirmed.

Saturday 21 November 2015, Letchworth
Sacred Songs to Soothe the Soul
Enliven your spirit with a feast of harmonies and learn songs from a range of cultures and spiritual traditions spanning the globe.

I also have two weekends free: 15/16 May and 31 October/1 November if anyone wants to book me for a day or a whole weekend. I offer a range of workshop themes or can design a workshop specially for you.

getting men to sing

I’ve got a bit of a bee in my bonnet at the moment about trying to get more men singing.

If you’re on social media at all, you may have noticed that I'm trying to promote the hashtag #getmensinging so do feel free to use it!

I’m trying to get to those hard-to-reach men who don’t sing at all and who are not already in choirs. Easier said than done!

My first step is to run a men-only singing day in Ipswich on Saturday 28 February. I’ve called it Singing: it’s a man thing! I’ve sent posters to all the doctors in Ipswich (emphasising the health benefits), to organisations which have a large male workforce (police, fire, IT, etc.) and to various sports clubs. I’ve not had much support (for instance the football club suggested I take out an ad in their programme), but have managed to get some articles in local magazines etc.

At the time of writing, with three weeks left to go, I already have 15 men booked, most of whom I don’t know and some of whom have definitely never sung in public before, so the baby steps are working.

If I have the time and energy I’ll try to get some funding in 2016 to support a series of free "Learn to sing" sessions as well as maybe taking workshops into local sports clubs, etc. Any other ideas or support gratefully received!

hello to all my overseas subscribers

I didn’t get much reponse from the recent newsletter I sent to just my overseas subscribers, so I’ve decided to include you in my regular newsletters in the hope that you might be over in the UK at some point.

Of course, I have no objections if you’d like to book me to come to your country to lead a workshop for you!

singing concerts

I don’t do much performing these days. At one point I had three community choirs and we did a performance at the end of every term. Since many of our songs are quite short there were often up to 30 songs in each concert AND I kept the repertoires separate! Time to get off the conveyor belt.

Now my local community choir The OK Chorale do just one concert each spring in their home town of Woodbridge. This year it’s on Saturday 28 March. Do come if you’re in the area.

I also run two "build a choir from scratch in just six weeks" projects in Ipswich each year which I call Singing Safaris. The winter one joins with a local women’s quartet to make a whole evening’s concert. And in the summer the project performs a free half hour gig outdoors, usually in the sunshine!

This winter’s Singing Safari are performing in Ipswich on Saturday 7 March.

Details of all concerts can be found on the concerts page of my website where you can also buy tickets online.

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about chris rowbury

I am a choir and singing workshop leader based in the UK (I live in Woodbridge, Suffolk). My workshops are open to anyone regardless of experience. I teach right across the UK and beyond and have 30 years’ experience of helping people discover their singing voice. I am a patient, charismatic teacher with a relaxed style laced with plenty of humour. I will get you singing in wonderful harmony in a matter of minutes!

You can find out more about me and my work on the About page of my website.

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