Term 4 plans for Community Choir

Kāpiti Community Choir Newsletter

Hi everyone! Important info about next term which begins again on 15th October. Your core group have been very busy since their formation, and there are several changes in the pipeline for the end of this year, and possibly also for 2020.

Plus: breaking news we've found some more accommodation in the Wairarapa for the Featherston Festival, and KCC have first dibs on it! Read on for the full story...

Those of you who came to our recent one-day event at Paekakariki will have gotten a taste of what the Featherston Festival will be like. Its organised by Carol Shortis and Shona McNeil (song leader of Kāpiti Gospel Choir), and this year there are 7 choirs attending - including Kāpiti Community Choir! Just as in Paekakariki, we'll have a chance to perform some songs to the assembled throng of singers (we are expecting more than 100 people there this year) and we'll teach them one of our songs after we perform it, and learn some of their songs too. On Sunday afternoon we'll go out into the Featherston community, singing en masse somewhere outdoors (weather permitting) before breaking into smaller 'pop up' choirs to sing at various pre-arranged venues in the area.

If you've been thinking of coming to the Festival but haven't got accommodation sorted, we have some very good news for you! Our own Maxine Cunningham remembered a Catholic retreat centre on Lake Wairarapa that she stayed at for a family gathering. The Magnificat Centre is available for our weekend, and Shona and I (as Festival organisers) have agreed to co-ordinate bookings for it. There is a range of accommodation mostly in single and twin rooms with shared bathroom facilities, and it costs $50 per person per night. It's about a 20 minute drive from Tauherenikau Racecourse where the Festival is being held, so we may have to co-ordinate some car pooling - but I know it can be done!

We'll be offering rooms to all the choirs that are coming, but KCC are getting this news a week before the other choirs go back, so GET IN QUICK!!

If you'd prefer to stay at Tauherenikau, all the rooms are completely booked out, but there's space for tents or campervans.

Accommodation is booked through the online registration process HERE and you'll be given payment info there too. Any problems send me an email.

Background...
I'm the co-convener of this event, along with my friend Shona McNeil who leads Kāpiti Gospel Choir. We've been organising the Featherston Festival of Choirs for about 5 years now. It was originally a weekend trip away for Gale Force Gospel choir and Kāpiti Gospel Choir, meeting with some local choirs in the Wairarapa. Over the years it's grown and evolved, and this year at least 6 choirs will be meeting up for a great weekend of singing based at Tauherenikau Racecourse just outside of Featherston. Each choir will have a chance to 'perform' to the others, we'll learn and sing lots of songs together, and on the Sunday we'll venture out into the local area to sing in various venues as pop up choirs and flash mobs. Accommodation is very limited at the Racecourse, so you're advised to book as soon as you can. There is plenty of room for campervans and camping if that's your bag, and there are lots of local B&Bs and smallish motels nearby. I'm hoping for a good turnout from Kāpiti Community Choir for our first trip out of town. We'll organise some carpooling nearer the time.

NEWS FROM THE CORE GROUP:
SUBS & BANK ACCOUNT CHANGES FOR TERM 4

Kāpiti Community Choir is really starting to live up to its name - not just the 'choir' bit, but the 'community' too. It's so fascinating to watch how we've come together in the last year and are developing into a group with a distinct identity and sound. Every night I come to teach KCC I am very grateful to all the singers who come along (I always say it'd be a bit lonely and I'd look rather strange waving my arms around if nobody turned up!)

My call for a group of people to help run the choir has developed into a committee (well, they like to say 'core group') and you'll have seen them on Tuesday nights wearing the yellow name tags: Marj, Kimra, Don, Maxine C and Adrienne.

Their first job was to set up an independent bank account for our choir. KCC now has it's own account with 4 signatories (2-to-sign) and all our transactions will go through this account from now on (The number is below).

We've also decided to change the structure of paying subs. We'd prefer members to commit to a term at a time, and to pay by internet banking if possible. For those who don't do online banking, we'll continue to collect cash on a Tuesday as necessary, and there will still be the option to pay weekly if you don't want to pay for the term. However, the 'casual' rate will be going up a bit, to $7. For new singers who start partway through a term, or for casual payers who'd like to 'convert' to pay for the rest of a term, we have plans in place for pro rata amounts - just ask Marj or Kimra at the welcome table on a Tuesday.

Ooh, and another change - for new people, their first night is free! So this is a good time to bring a friend along to give it a try. They just sign up at practise & we'll have their name badge ready the following week. They can pay casual rate from then on, or do an online payment for the remainder of the term - welcome table will have all the info.

The first night of term is always pretty busy with newcomers being signed up and subs to sort out. For those of you who'd like to get your payment sorted out in advance, to reduce the kerfuffle on the 15th, you can make payment now:

Term 4 fees: $50
Account: Kāpiti Community Choir 38 9020 0752067 01
(casual rate $7 cash on the door)

We'll keep a record of payments that come through the bank account, and have a list at choir, so if you've paid for the term all you have to do when you arrive on a Tuesday is say 'hi' to the ladies on the welcome table & collect your name tag!

3 CHOIRS MEET & SING

I had such a great time at Paekakariki last Sunday, I hope you did too! I know for many of you it will be the first time you've participated in something like this, and I've had a few days to reflect on how it all went.

I thought KCC sang really well - we're going from strength to strength, and it is no mean feat to perform with just 20 singers (2 tenors!) to a roomful of strangers (albeit singing types like us, so they were a pretty understanding audience!)

You all did really well at speed-learning new songs too - especially when I decided to get a bit ambitious with the E. E. Cummings! Sometimes I forget that others don't have the same musical endurance as me (I get carried away/get passionate about a song) so that's a bit of learning for me...

There will be an opportunity for discussion & your feedback about the event, on the first night of term, I look forward to hearing about what you thought. As always, you can email me if you'd prefer.

MORE CORE GROUP NEWS:
VENUE CHANGE FOR 2020

Your core group are looking at whether we should change venue for next year.

If you know of anywhere that you think might be suitable for our group, please talk to a core group member (preferably Maxine C) after practise.

We have decided that we won't change the day or time of our rehearsals, and if we can't find somewhere that suits us better than where we are now, we'll continue on at Paraparaumu School. So, just exploring possibilities at this stage.

Featherston Festival of Choirs

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