Marion, Soprano - Founder Member and Publicity Team
Why did you join the choir?
I had always loved singing in choirs, since my school days and as I wasn’t singing with a regular one at the time that I saw the advertisement, in Waltham Forest News, I applied in December 2009.
How was your first rehearsal?
I don’t remember too much about our first rehearsal, but I was impressed with Marie - Claude, who was leading the Choir and playing the piano at the same time! Quite some feat I thought .
We were a small group, of about 15 – 20 of us (mostly women) but there were no young ones of the asking age of 18 – 25 years of age, although further on, 2 young women did attend for one evening.
I thought at the time, that as we were much older they wouldn’t stay for long . Being a small group we did get to know each other very quickly.
We were placed in sections but as the numbers were small we didn’t/couldn’t sing very challenging works, as we do now. We also had a Committee, with a Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary in place.
What changes have you seen in the last 10 years?
Changes during the last 10 years has seen the Choir grow bigger and bigger, therefore able to sing such challenging works as Vivaldi’s Gloria, Faure’s Requiem and taking part in local festivals and events across the Borough, such as the Chingford Festival, The Stow Festival and singing in local Residential Homes.
What is your proudest/fondest memory of the choir?
IMy proudest moment, was singing Vivaldi’s Gloria, on Saturday 4th July 2015, in St Mary’s Church - our first challenging piece of work. We were all dressed in black and white, assembled in a semi-circular position in the Church, with the classical musicians positioned below us. I was on ‘a high’ for many days after that performance . . and so proud of what we had achieved. So professional
How, if at all, has the choir impacted your day to day life?
The Choir is a big part of my life; I keep Monday evenings free so as to attend all the rehearsals on a regular basis. Not forgetting to keeping in contact with fellow Choir members.
I like that we engage in a diverse category of music, to satisfy all the music tastes, I am sure, of all Choir members, but I like especially the challenging pieces of music that we have performed in the past – it keeps us on our toes
What are your hopes for the future?
My hope for the future is that we carry on, as we have always done, accepting challenging classical works, as well as singing our long-standing favourites and embarking on new pieces such as The River, Seal’s Lullaby.
It would be good if we were able to travel, as a Choir, to other countries, ie as an exchange or to take part in other Festivals around the British Isles
