St Ives Community Choir News 2022
UNA St Ives Christmas Concert
The choir concluded their busy season of Christmas concerts and engagements with a brilliant evening at UNA St Ives on Tuesday 20th December. Punters paid £20.00 a ticket for a burger meal and entertainment provided by us. The choir literally sang for their supper, with a choice of four different burgers to choose from. All profits went to the RNLI. The choir, it has to be said, produced an excellent sound. There was a very relaxed atmosphere and the audience joined in wonderfully for several carols, especially "The Twelve Days of Christmas", which we did twice with the actions!
The concert raised £150.00 for choir funds.
Photo courtesy of Bill Thomas. More photos can be viewed at Gallery 2022 >>>
ASDA Christmas songs and carols
Arranged by stalwart choirs members from Hayle, David & Lilian Polkinhorne, this was another opportunity to bring festive cheer to an unsuspecting audience as shoppers entered and departed the superstore between 11:00 - 12:00 on Monday 19th December. It was great to see David attending. Both have had illness recently and they are in our prayers, especially Lilian at this time.
A collection bucket was clinking regularly as surprised and delighted shoppers stopped to listen and maybe join in a little. Alan & Lesley were minding their grand daughters, Amelie & Evie. The pair made a young debut with the choir singing enthusiastically. A chocolate bar each from MD William was well received. Charles, surely our most avid supporter, was there to listen and take photos. He conducted the choir for the final song, "We wish you a merry Christmas".
The opportunity for shoppers to give via our collection bucket raised £64.66.
Photo courtesy of Bill Thomas. More photos can be viewed at Gallery 2022 >>>
Towednack Church Christmas Concert
This is one of the choir's most regular annual concerts. On a very cold evening there was a wonderfully warm atmosphere for this time of festive cheer on Friday 16th December. Due to illness the invited soloist was unable to attend. William took over this responsibility singing that favourite "O Holy Night". He was later joined by Trisha for the duet "Mary did you know". MC for the evening was Premier Christian Radio presenter, Donna Birrell. Now working without the restraints of the BBC, Donna spoke freely of her faith and the true meaning of Christmas. She also praised the faithful witness of Towednack Church, the effort made to make the evening such a success and the choir for being the 'best in Cornwall'. £90.00 was raised for the Edward Hain Project.
Carols Around the Town
A pretty decent group of choir members were able to gather together for some singing of carols and Christmas songs. It was a cold morning on Saturday 10th December, but a joyful sound was made bringing mirth and good tidings to those on the streets. While not many in number at times, most stopped to listen and join in when they could. Children were excited to hear old favourites, "Jingle Bells" and "Rudolph". Older folk happily reminisced previous Christmases while we sang "White Christmas" and "Silver Bells" among others much loved songs. A fund raising bucket was 'noted' by several, while the rattle of coins also provided income for The Edward Hain project.
The excellent sum of £144.54 was raised with a simple collection bucket.
Photo courtesy of Bill Thomas. More photos can be viewed at Gallery 2022 >>>
RBL Christmas Concert
The choir enjoyed a very pleasant informal evening once again at the Royal British Legion in St Ives on the evening of Monday 5th December. Not formal dress, but Christmas hats, shirts, tops and jumpers featured. A very appreciative audience were thoroughly engaged joining in with familiar carols and songs. The highlight was when everyone played their part in The 12 Days of Christmas with all the actions. Even the bar staff were involved. Well done Cheryl and Ben!
Since the concert is for the Royal Naval Association there was the time honoured singing of that wonderful hymn "Eternal Father strong to save", while to conclude all who could joined in the singing of Colan Williams' Cornish carol "Hellesveor".
A pasty supper with the opportunity to have a drink and meet old friends brought a lovely evening to a close.
Photo courtesy of Bill Thomas. More photos can be viewed at Gallery 2022 >>>
Annual Dinner
The annual choir dinner brought a change of venue, The Old Quay House. While not all members were able to attend some twenty five of the choir, plus partners, enjoyed an excellent meal in pleasant surroundings on the evening of Friday 2nd December. Trevor looked after us well! A beautiful set of hampers were lovingly prepared for raffle prizes. A speech from MD, William, was punctuated by several of the worst 'cracker' jokes ever heard or told. An example would be that Santa drives a TOYota!!
Money from the raffle was devided between the Edward Hain Project Appeal and Prostate Cancer UK, each being donated £100. The following letter of response came from Prostate Cancer UK:
Dear all at St Ives Community Choir
Thank you for having an amazing time for Prostate Cancer UK. Your donation of £100.00 is already being put to good use.
Your gift means we will find a better way to diagnose and treat prostate cancer sooner. You're also helping us support more men and their families when they need us most.
It takes time and effort to fund raise and we can't thank you enough for your dedication and hard work. We couldn't do this without you.
Thank you again
Jade & Charlie
Community Fund Raising Team
Photo courtesy of Bill Thomas. More photos can be viewed at Gallery 2022 >>>
UNA Christmas Fayre
At short notice the choir were invited to sing at the Christmas Fayre on the evening of Thursday 1st December. This was an opportunity for the audience to listen and also join in with familar songs.
Tate Gallery Christmas Concert
The choir gave a resounding performance on the afternoon of Saturday 26th November between 3:00-4:00pm, looking resplendent in their formal red and black attire. This was the first performance for a number of new and most welcome members.
This and the Cornish Carol Choir concert brought the following response from the Tate team......
"George and I and the rest of the Winter Festival team would like to say a huge thank you to yourself and both the St Ives Community Choir and the St Ives Combined Chapels' Cornish Carol Choir for performing at Tate St Ives. It was a pleasure to have them and wonderful to have them as part of the Winter Festival Community. I am not a singer or musician, but the sound was fantastic and seemed to work well with the acoustic, and you could tell the audience were really enjoying each performance. I was fascinated by the rich history of the St Ives/ Cornish carols and those newly published hymn books. What a special history to capture in print."
Photo courtesy of Bill Thomas. More photos can be viewed at Gallery 2022 >>>
Last Night of the Proms
What has become a very successful musical evening and celebration was again held at St Anta Church in Carbis Bay on Friday 23rd September. The first half was a varied and entertaining concert compered by Jeanette Eathorne, sister of MD William. She included one of her poems in true Cornish style. Elizabeth Veal gave a short talk and expression of thanks on behalf of the committee of the Edward Hain Project. Specific donations for this cause were collected and amounted to £257.91, augmented to £322.39 with Gift Aid.
At the interval there was a raffle while refreshments were served. Total proceeds for St Anta Church funds amounted to £555.00, making the evening a financial success. But the real success of the evening was the joy with which folks engaged in the congregational singing of well loved songs to celebrate our rich heritage.
The Revd Etienne van Blerk gave a vote of thanks which was repeated in an email to William and the choir.
Photo courtesy of Bill Thomas. He also made videos of three of the songs which can be viewed at Media >>>
Summer Open Air Concert
On Monday 15th August the choir met together for the first time in several weeks. The opportunity to give an informal concert on the platt beside the Slipway in St Ives harbour presented itself after a first possible date was cancelled due to illness and unavailability. Their was a high spring tide on this warm calm evening. The visual setting looked beautiful, St Ives at its finest.
The venue it has to be said is a noisy one. Not only do we have to compete with the general hub hub of the town on a busy summer's evening, but the gulls make a terrific din with their constant squawking. Added to this we had problems with the main speaker for the sound. MD, William, partially solved the issue by holding a smaller speaker in his hand while attempting to conduct. However, our efforts, were enthusiastically applauded by those who stood to listen. The best cheers came at the conclusion of Verdi's Va Pensiero, (The Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves). This was probably as much down to the music which came from the main speaker for this song, rather than the singing. Any Italians in the crowd may have noticed the inaccuracies in our pronounciation. We were not at our best, but the opportunity to meet up and sing made for a pleasant hour.
Any donations received are to be given to the Edward Hain Project.
Towednack Garden Party
An incredibly hot summer's day greeted the choir and audience at the Towednack Church Garden Party on Saturday 16th July. The choir gave a varied set of songs from their extensive portfolio, producing a great sound for the attendees.
Photo courtesy of Bill Thomas. More here Gallery 22 >>>
Platinum Jubilee Celebration Concert
After a beautiful summer’s day the choir met at Fore Street Methodist Church for a concert in celebration of the Queen’s seventy years on the throne on Friday 3rd June. Recent practices had been led by Katrina Geraghty who began the choir some eighteen years ago. Current MD, William Thomas, ably stood in for Donna Birrell, previously of Radio Cornwall, now a presenter on Premier Christian Radio, as MC since she had to decline the invitation last minute.
Our accompanist Alison enjoyed the opportunity to play the grand piano rather than the electric one normally used. The choir lifted their game from practice to performance in front of a pleasing and enthusiastic audience, which included folk from as far away as Australia. A special mention was made when it was realised that we also had someone who was from the Ukraine.
In the audience were two ladies who were a part of Queen Elizabeth’s generation. Amy Matthews in her nineties and Beryl Corry, a very sprightly 101! We had the pleasure of the company of St Ives MP Derek Thomas with his family and the Mayor of St Ives, Kirsty Arthur. Vicky Taylor, choir chairperson, thanked everyone for making the evening such a success, while retelling her own special memories of the Queen’s coronation.
The evening was also a fund-raising event for The Edward Hain Centre Project, a charitable cause set up and run by The League of Friends of The Former Edward Hain Memorial Hospital. It is hoped that the former hospital will be purchased for the town and used for the well being of the community. The excellent sum of £607.00 was donated via a collection.
The following message was received from Katrina….
“To the St.Ives Community Choir,
Just a quick note to thank you for the voucher, which was a very kind thought and much appreciated. Thanks also for contributing produce to the St.Ives Foodbank hamper at the chapel – that meant a lot to me.
I thoroughly enjoyed conducting you yesterday evening (a bit stiff this morning though!), and want to pass on my sincere thanks for pulling out the stops to give a great performance. You looked as though you were enjoying it (lots of smiley faces) which contributed to the lovely atmosphere at the chapel. And what a wonderful sum raised for the Edward Hain project. Well done everyone!
Wishing you and William every success for the coming year as you give concerts in our community for worthwhile causes. It truly is a Community Choir, and one St.Ives can be proud of.
Very best wishes to you all."
Video courtesy of Bill Thomas. More on the Media page >>>
For photos of this event go to Gallery 22 >>>
Praise as choir helps at funeral
A number of the choir attended a funeral at the request of Saints Funeral Services Ltd. at the Crematorium at Treswithian on Thursday morning 5th May. The following message of thanks was received from Darren Saint in response to the positive difference they made.
"As funeral directors, we often receive specific requests from families to help celebrate their loved ones lives at their funeral service. Following a request for a choir at the funeral service, I contacted St Ives Community Choir. I honestly cannot thank them enough. They were amazing from start to finish and such a lovely bunch of people. As for the singing, I have had the privilege of hearing them sing before and they certainly did not disappoint! "
May Day Celebrations
The choir were once again asked to bring the joy of song to proceedings at the annual May Day Celebrations outside The Guildhall in St Ives on Monday 2nd May. The chosen portfolio of music included well known Cornish anthems, 'Hail to the Homeland' and 'Trelawney'. Stephen Bassett was the soloist for 'Proper Job', with pasty in hand, while hats and sunglasses were doned for the climax of 'Here Comes the Sun' (George Harrison). All were concluded with rapturous applause from appreciative onlookers filling the street.
Perhaps the biggest cheer of the day was for the return of choir founder and former MD, Katrina Geraghty who took the baton, (until accidentally throwing it away) to conduct a willing choir.
The usual choosing of the May Day princess, prince and their various helpers took place before two groups made a splendid job of dancing around the May Pole. With the cancellation of this event due to the pandemic last year, some of the participants were much taller, making the ins and outs around the pole far more tricky. But all went well.
As the event was missed in 2021 there were two hornblowers on display. Aidan Killick (grandson of Janet O'Shea) and six year old Edward Thomas (eldest grandson of choir members Alan & Lesley), who were rightly proud of his efforts to get some sound out of the horn!
Concert for Ukraine
The St Ives Community Choir joined forces with The Kerrier Male Voice Choir, whose MD is Janet Eathorne, sister to William Thomas, our MD. On Saturday 23rd April a varied concert was given in aid of The Ukrainian Appeal and £500.00 was raised. St Anta Church in Carbis Bay provided the venue and the generous giving demonstrated the hearts of those present. Sadly a number of both choirs were missing, mainly due to the Covid pandemic still giving positive results in the community. Refreshments were taken at the close of the concert.
Photo courtesy of Bill Thomas. More in Gallery 2022
Launching of the 'Flute an Arrow'
The choir were invited to sing at the launch of John Nance's latest St Ives Sailing Punt, the Flute an Arrow on the morning of Saturday 26th March. Unfortunately, due to illness and absence (much of it Covid related) the choir were few in number. However, a good crowd gathered to mark this special occasion. Choir MD, William gave a blessing prior to the launch as the punt set sail for its maiden voyage in the bay.
Photo courtesy of Bill Thomas. More photos in Gallery 2022
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