Autumn 2021
It is with great pleasure that, as I write this, we have been able to resume in person rehearsals at St Katharine Cree. Of course, things remain uncertain. Many of our members will be returning to the City only on a part time basis, or perhaps not at all.
We have tried doing hybrid rehearsals with a Zoom link for those who are not able to join in person. The technology has been a limiting factor and we are continuing to improve the sound and video quality.
This Autumn, we have held our informal lunchtime concert featuring Haydn Missa Sancti Nicolai and we join the annual Remembrance commemorations at Lloyd’s and St Katharine Cree on Friday 12 November. And of course we plan to have our usual Christmas concert on Monday 13 December at 18.45 at St Katharine Cree.
We continue to welcome new members so please do get in touch if you would like to join us.
Looking ahead
Our Spring and Summer concerts in 2022 will take place at St Katherine Cree in late March and July and more details will be announced shortly.
Centenary
Lloyd’s Choir gave its first concert on 11 December 1922 and we are devoting next season to our centenary celebrations. The highlight will be a Gala Concert on the evening of Thursday 8th December 2022 at the Merchant Tailors’ Hall. We are hoping to get as many present and former members and supporters of the Choir together for this special occasion.
Our postponed premiere of Jacques’s Creation will be in the spring of 2023 and we will close out the season with a concert in the summer.
Other matters
St Katharine Cree has been transferred to the care of St George in the East, Shadwell. We look forward to supporting Father Angus Ritchie, the church in its ministry and services.
The past 18 months has been extraordinarily difficult for many of us, particularly those professional musicians and others engaged in the performing arts, where livelihoods collapsed overnight. We are hugely grateful to Jacques for his unwavering support of the Choir throughout the pandemic. Our weekly remote rehearsals have had good support, although we appreciate some do not like the format, or do not have the technology and I regret this might have led some of you to feel excluded. As I have said before, the virtual format is a very poor substitute for singing together but it did give us a sense of community and we have been able to look at a wide range of music outside our normal repertoire which has given us lots of potential material for future concerts. The quizzes organised by Chris Robinson were great fun.
I am really looking forward to getting back to singing together and I sincerely hope that many, if not all, of you will be able to join us again as we resume our rehearsals and concerts.
Best regards
Lewis
Lewis Phillips
Chairman