Annual Report for 2005

In 2005 the girls attended on 75 separate occasions including 34 services in addition to weddings. We finished the year with 29 girls; four new probationers had started in September or November.

In the summer we went to stay at King’s School, Rochester, in Kent and sang five services in the Cathedral.  Twenty five girls came on the trip, which is a record number for one of our residential trips.  We were well supported by the back row singers and friends.  Several parents and other adults came to help, for which I am extremely grateful to them, as well as Ray Barlow who handled a lot of the admin., and Kaye Rogers for organising the catering.  The singing was really very good, I was very proud of all those taking part.  The day out at Diggerland was also much appreciated!

In September we lost Katie Street, Kathryn Curt and Sarah Sygrove as they went on to higher things.  I would like to thank them for their time and commitment in the choir, all three had served nine or ten years each.  Also in September we celebrated the tenth anniversary of the time when I took on the choir, which was also the time when the choir became a Royal School of Church Music choir and first became robed.  Many of the old girls and their parents joined us to sing or be in the congregation.  I really enjoyed the service, thank you to everyone involved.  Ten years has passed so quickly!

Christmas Eve saw the realisation of one of the choir’s long held ambitions – to perform all of Benjamin Britten’s Ceremony of Carols; we did this just before Midnight Mass and included many old girls of the choir.  It is hoped that this will become a tradition each year.  Martin Hart played superbly, I must thank him publicly for all his playing during Advent and Christmas, he had an enormous workload to prepare so much music and played it all so expertly.

I am very fortunate to have so much help with the girls week to week, several parents attend choir practice, as do Ray Barlow, Joe Kendrick and Martin Hart.  I have also had much help during 2005 from Fiona Windsor and Eleanor McKeand, old girls from the choir who have come back and helped to make choir practice run smoothly.  Thank you everyone.

Marie Price