And it’s time to buy those tickets for the Dorian Singers’ Christmas Concert!

We are looking forward to our Christmas Concert on Sunday 10^th December at 3.00pm. It is being held at Trinity Methodist Church, Hamilton Road, Felixstowe, IP11 7AN.

We will be singing a selection from Britten’s “A Ceremony of Carols” and some of the well-known choruses from Handel’s “Messiah”. The programme will also include some popular carols for the choir and well-known carols for the audience to sing.

Tickets cost £12 (under 18’s £3) including seasonal refreshments and are available from The Card Centre, 6 Hamilton Road, Felixstowe IP11 7AU (01394 283170), from choir members, or at the door.

Come and join us for a lovely afternoon of Christmas music.

We know it’s only September, and Christmas seems a long way away at the moment, but it’s the time of year when choirs have to start thinking about it (not the cards and presents bit, that can wait!)

Tonight, Wednesday 13th September at 7.15pm at Trimley St Martin School, we start rehearsals for our Christmas Concert.

If you would like to join the choir, why not come along to the first rehearsal where you will receive a warm welcome. There is no audition to join the choir but an ability to read music would be helpful.

We will be rehearsing a selection from Britten’s “A Ceremony of Carols” and some of the well-known choruses from Handel’s “Messiah”.

The programme will also include some popular carols for the choir and well-known carols for the audience to sing.

Our Summer Concert on Saturday 10^th June at 7.30pm in Kirton Church Hall (IP10 0PT) will be a delightful mixture of sacred and secular music spanning over 400 years, perfect for a summer’s evening.

We are commemorating William Byrd who died in 1623 as well as celebrating the 150^th Anniversary of Rachmaninov’s birth. We are also featuring several pieces by women composers as well as Gilbert and Sullivan and other well-known items, many of which are personal favourites of members of the choir and their conductor, Dr Brian Latchem.

The choir will be performing a work he wrote a few years ago called “An Abundance of Blessings”, scored for Baritone solo, choir and Harp. The piece includes an Interlude for the solo harp and this will be played by the professional harpist, Anna Wynne, who is a friend of the composer. Anna has a very busy freelance career both in the UK and abroad. She has played for royalty, senior politicians and civic dignitaries in London, and made her BBC Radio 3 debut in a Halloween concert with James Bowman in 2004. She also appears with the film director Ken Russell, in a BBC Television series “A Picture of Britain”.

A highlight of the Summer Concert is the traditional Strawberries and Cream with wine or soft drinks during the interval. Tickets are available from The Card Centre, 6 Hamilton Road, Felixstowe, IP11 7AU (01394 283170), from choir members or at the door. Proceeds to The Basic Life Charity.

The sharp-eyed amongst you will have noticed that the poster for our Summer concert offers “Early Bird” tickets at a reduced price. Why not be an early bird and book your tickets before 6th May (Coronation Day) and guarantee yourself, well in advance, an enjoyable evening with good music and good friends?

Tickets are available, as usual, from The Card Centre, 6 Hamilton Road, or from members of the choir.

Think about it – but not for too long – because a ticket bought in April will cost you only £12.00 instead of £15.00, and, in these straitened times, that has to be a good thing!

It was a long, cold, wet winter, but the Dorian Singers are pushing through, preparing for our regular summer date with you all in Kirton

Our Summer Concert, entitled “Summer Favourites” will be on Saturday 10^th June at Kirton Church Hall at 7.30pm. There will be the usual refreshments of strawberries and cream with wine and soft drinks during the interval.

The programme will include some of our favourite short pieces including “An Abundance of Blessings” written by our conductor, Brian Latchem, which is scored for Baritone solo, choir and harp. We are also featuring several pieces by women composers.

We would welcome any singers who would like to join us for this concert, particularly Tenors and Basses. It’s not too late to come along. We rehearse on a Wednesday evening from 7.15pm for a couple of hours at Trimley St Martin Primary School, Kirton Road, Felixstowe IP11 0QL.

Tickets £15 (Under 18’s £5) including refreshments. Available from The Card Centre, 6 Hamilton Road, Felixstowe, IP11 7AU (01394 283170), from choir members or at the door. There is an early bird, Coronation Day, discount if tickets bought before the 6^th May. Discount price is £12 (Under 18’s £3).

… for an afternoon of Christmas cheer, and celebrate with us!

I know, it’s only September, but you know what Proper Preparation does*.

Rehearsals for our Christmas concert start this Wednesday, 7th September, at 7.15 pm at Trimley St Martin Primary School.

* if you didn’t know, it Prevents P*** Poor Performance – every choir’s ambition!

Saturday, June 25th 2022 – and the first Dorian summer concert for three years. The last one, at Kirton Church Hall in 2019, had been a semi-staged “Trial by Jury” on a breathlessly hot evening, as the Dorian Singers looked forward to commencing a splendid 40th anniversary year in 2020 …

Let’s not go there …

The first full summer concert, not given in scaled-down, Covid-safe conditions, but in the “old-fashioned”, pre-Covid way, was anticipated eagerly, but also nervously. Would anybody come? Could the traditional strawberries and wine be served? Were people still too nervous to come out?

So it was wonderful, on the evening, to see Kirton Church Hall filling up, bit by bit, almost to capacity. The weather, which had not promised much, proved pleasant after all. And the programme commenced.

“Curtain Up!” was a programme of selections some some of the most beloved musicals, ranging from “West Side Story” to “Cats”. The Dorians were directed by Alan Loader, who also did soloist duties in Billy Bigelow’s Soliliquy from “Carousel”. Julie Roberts’ soaring soprano in You’ll Never Walk Alone, accompanied sensitively by Marina Korneva, moved and thrilled. When the Children are Asleep, again sung by Julie, was, simply, delightful.

The climax of the evening was the finale section of “Les Miserables”, with Julie leading a stunning performance in which she was joined by soloists from the choir, most notably David Tonge, dignified as the dying Jean Valjean. And ending, of course, in a passionate prayer for the future “when tomorrow comes”.

Which was very apt. For this joyous occasion, a real treat for performers and audience alike, was also bittersweet; for the choir, it was the last concert to be given under the direction of Alan Loader, whose inspired leadership over the last eight years will be, in every sense, a very hard act to follow.

But follow we must, and after a well-earned summer break, the Dorians will re-commence rehearsals in September. “Do you hear the people sing?” – Watch this space!

Rehearsals are now well underway for the summer concert: Curtain Up. Sadly this will be the last one under the baton of Alan Loader, our esteemed conductor (plus much more!), and we shall all miss him immensely. He is stepping down after nearly nine years of being our Musical Director and, in that time, our skills as a choir have grown and flourished under his tutelage and dedication.

Curtain Up! will be held on Saturday 25^th June at 7.30pm and, as per tradition, the venue is Kirton Church Hall (IP10 0PT) Don’t delay in getting your tickets as seats are limited at this venue. They are available from The Card Centre in Hamilton Road, Felixstowe (01394 283170), from members or possibly at the door. This season the choir is supporting The BASIC Life Charity.

What a great way to spend a lovely summer’s evening enjoying music and songs from the Musicals as well as the strawberries and wine served in the interval!

We celebrated our 40th anniversary in style at the Best Western Brook Hotel in Felixstowe on 20th May with a carvery meal, cake, and some “party pieces”. The current choir were joined by partners, former members and Friends for a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

Nigel Rea took the pictures.