Great Missenden Choral Society

Great Missenden Choral Society is a friendly, welcoming and sociable Society It maintains high standards of performance and aims to provide enjoyable and challenging programmes for both choral members and audience alike, giving high class performances of good contemporary pieces and earlier neglected works, as well as established masterpieces

GMCS rehearses at the Oldham Hall, which is between the High Street and the Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul, Great Missenden, the Society’s usual venue for concerts. Normally two concerts are presented each year, one before Christmas and around Easter, but not necessarily having a religious theme. Rehearsals start respectively in September and January, on Mondays from 7.45pm to 10.00pm.

Moderate sight-reading is an advantage but not demanded. New applicants for Choir membership are asked to undergo a short, informal audition with the Music Director and the Choir’s Accompanist within a few weeks of arrival. Members are expected to give commitment to regular attendance, unless prevented by business or illness, to arrive punctually and to be prepared to help with the minor tasks which keep the Society functioning smoothly. Subscriptions are payable for each term, in September and January. The current rates are £50.00 per term with £5.00 discount for payment within the first 3 weeks. There is a reduction for students.

The 2009 Spring concert took place on Saturday 25^th April, in Great Missenden Parish Church, and commemorated the 200^th anniversary of Haydn’s death in 1809, with his Nelson Mass, and kept the naval theme, with performance of Jonathan Willcocks’ “A Great and Glorious Victory” and Purcell’s “They that go down to the sea in ships”.

The December 2009 concert will be on Saturday 12^th December, and will feature the St Cecilia Mass by Gounod, , JS Bach’s well known Cantata 140, ‘Sleepers Wake’, and our tribute to the bicentenary year of the birth of Mendelssohn, with his Opus 46 setting of Psalm 95, ‘Come, let us sing’.

Further details of these concerts can be found on the News and Events page.

GMCS has a considerable library of music, accumulated over the years; details are on the Lending Library page. Scores are available through the NMFS web-site, http://www.makingmusic.org.uk or by contacting the Librarian – see the Contact us page.

GMCS has also invested in some modular staging, made up of frames and decks which can be formed into a flat area or tiers as required. This is available for hire; contact the Treasurer.

We are always looking for new members for this friendly choral society (particularly sopranos, tenors and basses) and if you are interested in joining please contact the Secretary Tony Overton on 01494 863581.