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St Ives Community Choir News 2023

Sounds of Christmas at Carbis Bay Memorial Hall

On Saturday afternoon, December 30th, at the Carbis Bay Memorial Hall a team of ‘elfers’ transformed the room ready for the Sounds of Christmas concert in the evening. The room looked fantastic – warm and welcoming!

A much-depleted choir (20 of us counting William) and the audience began to arrive from 6.20pm and by 7 o’clock all seats were occupied and more chairs had to be found, and then the choir was ready!

The concert began with the choir singing “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year’ and so the scene was set for an evening of entertainment, celebration and reflection. There was great applause after each song but ‘Holiday Tango’ was a real hit with the audience. The solo section of ‘A Swinging Christmas’ was sung by Judy Tremelling. The community singing was very good, with the audience enjoying the opportunity to join in with a mixture of Christmas songs and carols. We have even had some enquiries from a few more people who would like to join our choir!

Towards the end of the concert Vicky gave thanks to the audience for coming out on a not very pleasant evening to share time with us. She reminded them that the raffle money and any donations would be shared between Macmillan Nurses and Prostate Cancer Research. Following the drawing of the raffle – a big thank you to Sheryl and Rachael for doing that - it was back to William and the choir to bring the concert to an end before refreshments. The ‘elfers’ had been busy again making mulled wine, spiced apple juice, mince pies, cheese straws and biscuits and sausage rolls. There were also biscuits and savouries courtesy of choir members.

Hellesveor, a St Ives Carol, was the penultimate song in our programme. This was not easy to sing given the state of some of our voices but it was sung beautifully and really appreciated by the audience – many of whom sang with us. Our concert finished with ‘Re bo dhywgh Nadelik Lowen’ and then members of the choir served refreshments to our wonderful audience.

A fabulous evening which raised £369.59 for charity! A fitting end to another year in the life of St Ives Communiy Choir.

Photo courtesy of Bill Thomas

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UNA Christmas Concert

Our penultimate concert of this year's festive celebrations took place at Una resort on Tuesday 19th December. Whilst the audience enjoyed their food and drink, we sang a variety of festive songs, which included Christmas collaborations such as A Swinging Christmas and A Wreath of Carols.

We then had a small interval, during which we were very kindly given a meal, and were then ready for the second part of the evening. Audience participation was encouraged and everyone seemed to get into the festive spirit.

Traditional songs such as Jingle Bells and Rudolph were enjoyed, and when it came to The Twelve Days of Christmas, the audience didn't need much encouragement from William to get involved. The maids a milking were very entertaining and it was a joyous rendition.

We finished up with another rousing performance of Hellesveor and of course the Cornish version of We Wish You A Merry Christmas.

The evening was a great way to finish off our concerts this side of Christmas, and along with William's cracker jokes and the participation of all concerned, we would like to thank everyone involved. The princely sum of £505.83 was raised for the RNLI. Brilliant!

The choir will be doing a final festive concert after Christmas on the 30th December at the Carbis Bay Memorial Hall at 7pm. Everyone is welcome. In the meantime, we would like to wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas.

Photo courtesy of Bill Thomas

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Becks & West Cornwall Golf Club Concerts

On Friday 15th December the choir had a busy evening as we combined two performances at different places.

Firstly, we started off at Becks in Carbis Bay by having a sing-along in the restaurant whilst the customers were tucking into their Friday fish and chips.

It was a fun performance with much customer participation when it came to favourite festive songs such as Jingle Bells and White Christmas. We also sang a couple of songs which we had practised for the first time this year which were Holiday Tango and That's Christmas to me which both seemed to go down well. And of course, a rousing performance of Hellesveor towards the end. Becks donated £100 and there was a collection of £179.79.

We then went off a mile down the road to West Cornwall golf course where we sang for 30 minutes to diners enjoying their food and socialising. After a little interval we then resumed, this time in the back bar, where again, audience/customer participation was greatly appreciated. The Golf Club offered to fund the future replacement of 2 sets of defibrillator pads and there was a collection of £130.

We thank both Becks and the golf club for inviting us along. The generosity from the customers at both establishments was so very much appreciated with all proceeds donated going to our nominated charity. Thank you to all once again.

Tracy Stent

Photo courtesy of Bill Thomas

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Choir Christmas Social

On the evening of Tuesday 12th December the choir had a rest from its busy schedule. In place of the usual practice the choir gathered with friends for a social evening. The Carbis Bay Memorial Hall was pleasantly decorated and the food, buffet style, was a real treat. It was a time of relaxing, chatting, laughing, eating and drinking.

A visit from Father Christmas himself provided much excitiment, everyone being given something from his sack. Several presents were also given to members who have committed their time, energy and expertise. A number of fine Christmas hampers were prepared ready to be raffled. £184.00 was raised for Alzheimer's Society.

Photo courtesy of Bill Thomas

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St Erth Methodist Church Christmas Concert

On the afternoon of Sunday 10th December, the choir took part in a Christmas carols service at the chapel at St Erth. This was in conjunction with the St Erth band. The event was very well attended with a grand total of £290 being raised for the charity Action for Children.

The concert itself included carols being chosen by members of the audience and with the band providing the wonderful music. The choir in between sung some festive songs which included Mary's Boy Child and Christmas Grace

There were several readings in between and a small service by the chapel preachers. The chapel itself was beautifully decorated and it was a privilege for the choir to have been invited to sing there.

Tracy Stent

Photo courtesy of Bill Thomas

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RNA Christmas Concert at RBL St Ives

Monday 4th December

The Royal British Legion clubhouse has continued to be a regular annual event for the choir in what is probably its longest continuous booking over many years. Royal Navy Association chair of the St Ives branch, Chris Care, ensures that dates are confirmed a year in advance. He knows how busy the choir gets during this season and how much the enthusiastic audience look forward to it.

A little short of members of the tenor section the choir nevertheless performed well in a relaxed and joyful atmosphere. Christmas jumpers and tops were worn with some managing hate in a very warm room. A number of peices were performed, both old and new, sacred and secular.

Boosted by a number of ladies in both alto and soprano parts, this was the first opportunity to sing two contrasting Christmas songs. "That's Christmas to me," was written and recorded by a capella group Pentatonix in 2014 and reached no. 2 in the USA billboard 200, the American charts. It is a beautiful gentle song that encapsulates what Christmas is for so many. The other new song was quite different - "The Holiday Tango" by Greg Gilpin, a celebrated choral composer and arranger and a highly respected choral conductor from the USA. As one would anticipate from the title, this song has a 'tango' flavour with the lyrics being centered around the magic of Christmas amidst the hurly burly.

The audience thoroughly enjoyed participating in the carols and the well loved Christmas songs including "The 12 Days of Christmas". Each section of the audience and choir performed the necessary actions for their part. The ladies who covered 'Two Turtle Doves' did a fantastic job! Of the first seven days six of the gifts were birds, 23 in total, enough to start an aviary or small birdlife park. Not sure who would be happy to recieve such affection from their true love? The local RSPB would have a lot to say about it. Another observation; it was hard to spot a lord and, quite frankly, it seemed that leaping was out of the question. Arms were raised and legs straightened, but feet failed to leave the floor!

MD, William, reflected on the hope that only the truth of the Christmas story can bring and concluded it with a poem that expressed this simply, profoundly and succinctly. Chris Bryning, retired commander in the Royal Navy of HMS Norton, St Ives' adopted ship, gave a vote of thanks. This was followed by a rousing and heartfelt singing of the RNA hymn "Eternal Father, Strong to Save". The Cornish carol "Hellesveor" was sung to round off a wonderful evening of song. The pasty supper that followed was much appreciated by the choir.

Photo courtesy of Bill Thomas

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Trewartha House

On the afternoon of Monday 27th November a small group from the choir spent an hour with the residents and staff at Trewartha House in Carbis Bay, singing well loved Christmas carols and songs. Enjoyed by all this was the choir's first, albeit informal, engagement of the season, to hail the start of a very busy few weeks.

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Camborne Music Festival

Centenery Church

15th - 18th November

Once again our Musical Director, William Thomas, dominated the male singers' competitions sweeping up a number of trophies, plates and shields, a fantastic achievement.

Photo courtesy of Camborne Music Festival Facebook page

Blood Bikes Receive Cheque

Following the very successful concert, under the directorship of William Thomas, by The St. Ives Community Choir in Fore Street Methodist Chapel during the September Festival, and in recognition of the Choir Secretary, Lynda's 100th blood donation, a cheque presentation of £607 in aid of Cornwall Blood Bikes was made at the Choir's practice evening in the Carbis Bay Memorial Hall on Tuesday 24th October. John Penlerick, fleet manager, and Jim Hind, secretary/rider, accepted the cheque on the Blood Bikes behalf.

Vicky mounting the Blood Bike with a helping hand to the amusement of Fleet Manager John Penlerick

Photo courtesy of Bill Thomas

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Last Night of the Proms – Friday 29th September

St Ives Community Choir was once again invited to sing at St Anta Church in Carbis Bay. Last Night of the Proms has become a very successful, joyful musical evening in the calendar of both the Church and Choir.

The evening began with everyone singing ‘I Vow To Thee My Country’, accompanied by Derek Downes on the organ, The Choir began their programme with a beautiful song called ‘Let Music Live’. The first half of the concert was both varied and entertaining, including excerpts from Les Miserables and The Beatles Medley – both arranged by Ed Lojeski. William Thomas kept an expert eye on the Choir as he led us through each song, with Alison Ashby our accompanist. Derek Downes also performed two compositions on the piano.

Following the interval it was time for the audience to join the Choir in singing three rousing, traditional ‘proms’ songs, with lots of flag waving by everybody! Prior to the Blessing and thanks from Revd Etienne va Blerk, ‘Trelawny’ was performed with great fervour and Cornish passion.

The Nation Anthem and Auld Lang Syne brought the evening’s concert to an end and the smiles on people’s faces, together with their lovely ‘goodbye’ comments showed that they had enjoyed the evening.

The Choir were invited for refreshments in the hall adjacent to the Church. There we were treated to a wonderful spread – both delicious and much appreciated! Thank you Etienne and ladies!

Donations at the door were in aid of Libya Flood and Morocco Earthquake Appeals. £210 was raised for each appeal.

Vicky Taylor

Photo courtesy of Tracy

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A Charity Concert for Cornwall Blood Bikes

On Friday 15th September, at Fore Street Methodist Church, St. Ives Community Choir performed a splendid concert in aid of Cornwall Blood Bikes in recognition of the Choir Secretary, Lynda's, 100th blood donation. William Thomas, Musical Director and Alison Ashby, accompanist, led the choir through a varied musical extravaganza, including songs from Les Miserables, Mamma Mia and the Beatles to name but a few. William’s solo songs from Les Miserables were sublime, very moving and much appreciated by the wonderful audience.

Donna Birrell, formerly of Radio Cornwall, now a presenter on Premier Radio, was the MC for the evening. Donna did a fantastic job weaving the songs together, providing much interesting background information to the concert programme. She praised the choir for the choice and quality of music, its outstanding work for many charities over the years and its commitment to supporting worthy causes.

John Penlerick, Fleet Manager, represented the Cornwall Blood Bikes at the concert and gave an enlightening talk about the charity.

The Cornwall Blood Bikes Charity was founded at an inaugural meeting of seven people on 27th January 2011 and there are now over 70 volunteers. The group is self-funding, operating as a registered charity to provide a free, ‘out of hours’ delivery service to NHS partners throughout Cornwall and beyond by arrangement. Riders deliver and collect from hospitals and hospices.

The evening was very successful and through the generosity of the audience and choir members raised £607 for this very worthy public service.

The choir is performing again on Friday 29 September at St. Anta for a 'Last night of the proms' style concert in aid of the recent disasters in Morocco and Libya.

They will be commencing their Christmas music rehearsals at Carbis Bay Memorial Hall each Tuesday evening from 6.45-8.30pm. All singers are welcome to join. Please contact Lynda on 01736 796832 or sichoir@btinternet.com

Photo courtesy of Bill Thomas

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Edward Hain Open Day

The choir enhanced the Edward Hain Open Day activities with a short concert on a beautifully warm, calm morning on Saturday 9th September. The choir sang a selection of Cornish songs culminating in one written by MD William, the words of The Edward Hain song was edited to celebrate the purchase of the building after much fund raising.

Photo courtesy of Bill Thomas

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St Ives Community Choir Summer Fete

Carbis Bay Memorial Hall and gardens

Saturday 8th July 2023

And so the stage was set. Bunting in place, raffle and tombola stalls arranged, the kitchen gearing up for gallons (have we ever said litres?) of tea with scones and cake in plentiful supply. Yes, it’s summer fete time and the weather was looking kindly on us, the forecast was for high humidity during the afternoon and it certainly didn’t disappoint!! There was 60’s muzak to welcome the early arrivals and the numbers grew quickly into a pretty large crowd.

The choir continued the 60’s feel to it’s first set with a close harmony arrangement of “Barbara Ann” which had the audience foot tapping and arm waving which helped get the set off to a good and confident start. Next up was the love song “Can’t Help Falling in Love With You” which was recorded by Elvis Presley for his 1961 movie Blue Hawaii. It was written by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore and Georg David Weiss and is based on the popular French love song "Plaisir d’amour" composed in 1784 by Jean-Paul-Egide. This was very well received by the audience.

Next up was a first performance by the choir of a Beatles medley arranged by Ed Lojeski which featured an arrangement of a good selection of well known Beatles songs from the period 1962 – 1969. We all know, or think we know, the Beatles songs so well but in fact they’re quite tricky to replicate because of the interplay used by the Beatles for their songs. For example, John Lennon learnt to play banjo before he had a guitar. His Aunt Mimi showed him some banjo chords and he would occasionally still use those voicings when playing guitar meaning that George Harrison could play other voicings and this, together with lovely inventive bass playing from Paul McCartney gave them great scope for inventive harmonisation which the arranger has worked hard to, if not replicate, then get as close to the real thing by using some of the original harmony arrangements of the songs along with his own interpretations.

The choir stayed with the 60’s feel for the second set with a popular rendition of “Here Comes the Sun”, the George Harrison classic which always goes down well at choir concerts. There was then a quick visit to 1975 for the song “All That Jazz” from the musical Chicago. There is some serious syncopation in this song and presents the choir with a bit of a challenge. Then back to the 60’s for a great song “California Dreamin’” by which time the humidity we’d been promised had arrived and made if feel like we were in California! Last and certainly not least was a final visit to the 70’s and a very popular medley from “Mamma Mia!” which includes many Abba favourites including “Mamma Mia”, “SOS”, “Take a Chance On Me”, “Thank You For The Music” and “Dancing Queen”. By the end of this medley I think everyone in the audience had two arms waving from side to side rather like watching Rick Astley at Glastonbury. The thought did occur to me that if we could capture all that energy from arm waving and feed it into the National Grid then we could solve the nation’s energy crisis at a stroke.

All in all a good afternoon was had by all including some time travel back to the 60’s and 70’s and funds raised for two charities; Cornwall Air Ambulance and the St Ives Foodbank appeal.

Dave Brotherton

Photo courtesy of Bill Thomas

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Gorsedh Kernow Awen Ceremony
Zennor
Sunday 18th June 2023

The bards of Gorsedh Kernow hold an annual Awen ceremony to celebrate Cornwall’s magnificent landscape and midsummer. This time the event was held near Zennor and the choir was honoured to receive an invitation to take part and sing two pieces (more of this later) as part of the moving and atmospheric ceremony in the county of West Penwith.

Awen is a Celtic work meaning ‘inspiration’, a ‘flowing spirit’, the essence of life sustaining essential links between people, cultural life and community. In the Gorsedh Kernow Awen ceremony, held each June around midsummer’s day, the 3-rayed Awen symbol signifying Furneth (Wisdom), Gwir (Truth) ha Kerensa (Love) is a catalyst for a charming and deeply moving part of the ceremony, where two elders of the community, who have lived a full life, hand over to two children of the community the Gorsedh Kernow ‘Lyver Bewnan’s or ‘Book of Life’, a piece of lime wood beautifully sculpted in the form of an open book, representing the passing of wisdom from one generation to another. The ceremony is conducted in the ancient Cornish language, Kernewek. The Awen symbol is used by the Bards of Gorsedh Kernow on ceremonial dress, regalia banners and as a wider symbol of recognition on printed materials and other media.

The choir sang two items, firstly ‘This is My Home’ with music by Robert Buckley and lyrics by Brian Gibson. This piece speaks of the joy of living in Cornwall with it’s tapestry of colour, shapes and sounds which reverberate from coast to coast. It’s an uplifting sing written in 4 part harmony and I suspect is a favourite of fellow bard William Thomas, Caner Pyskador, the choir’s conductor.

Secondly, the choir had been asked to feature an item in Kernewek and they certainly stepped up to the mark when they featured a lovely song by the late and widely respected Richard Gendall. This piece, entitled ‘Kerra Kernow’, or ‘Beloved Cornwall’ has the most descriptive lyric replicated here because I feel it has the most moving sentiment when sung in Kernewek. The words echo the sentiments expressed in an earlier time by a former Grand Bard of Cornwall, the late Robert Morton-Nance, Mordon.

Beloved Cornwall keeping my heart
And the seas all around you
Mountain hill and lake, rock and river
Always I love thee

Wherever I do go
Always I return, close to thee
For there is no equal to your pleasing land
Wherever I wish to go

In thy deep mines, there I love thee
In thy busy work places, and on the quay
And on every side, your loving people
Prepare to me a home

They golden lanes, thy honeyed moors
Thy fertile land, meadows, thy green pastures
Thou art my country, and to thee I turn
Cornwall my dear Motherland

I was personally aware of many complimentary comments about the choir’s performance as part of the ceremony and I hope that the choir continue with this lovely item as part of their repertoire

.
Dave Brotherton

Photo courtesy of James Kitto

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The Plat Outdoor Concert

Downtown St Ives

Tuesday 30th May

What shares a pasty or two for lunch and is then on the look out for fish ‘n chips at teatime? The St Ives Herring Gull of course, and there were plenty around yesterday and rich pickings to be had around the old slip area where the choir were about to sing. The spot where the choir sang is called The Platt next to a couple of the fishermen’s lodges (Shore Shelter and Rose Lodge). Not the easiest of places to perform, what with all the passing traffic, queues at the food takeaway across the road and no real place for an audience to gather and relax.

The five fishermen’s lodges were erected in the early 20th century and are unique to St Ives. They are now used as meeting places and members pay a small annual fee. Practically all fishermen belonged to lodges, which were all-male preserves. Here they did a lot of the waiting about – which went with the job – keeping an eye on the boat, mustering before going to sea, waiting for the tide or for the weather to improve.

Notices to mariners were sent to the lodges from the Customs House. Some men spent nearly all day at the lodge, and wives sometimes complained that their husbands spent more time at the lodge than at home. Flags were flown when local people married – traditionally paid for with a bag of coal – and at half-mast when they died.

The lodges were built just before the St Ives fisheries went into sharp decline. From 1900, the Lowestoft and Yarmouth steam drifters began to arrive at Newlyn for their westward voyage mackerel drifting. Within a few years, these vessels put the local St Ives and Mounts Bay mackerel boats out of business. Between 1904 and 1912, the numbers of larger luggers in St Ives halved, and in 1912, one hundred St Ives fishermen were prosecuted as they were unable to pay their rates.

Three lodges were opened in October 1901 – the Shamrock and Shore Shelter on the 12th and the Rose on the 19th.

When the Wharf Road was built, the Rose and Shore Shelters were re-sited to their present position opposite Fore Street Methodist Chapel. These new lodges were paid for in 1918 by a generous bequest of £300 from Sir Edward Hain.

Several of the lodges have not survived either being wrecked by storms or washed away following the erosion of the sand underneath. The Rose, Shore Shelter and Shamrock survive. They are still run by and for their members, but their use has diversified. The Rose and Shore Shelters have been used by former St Ives MP Andrew George for his surgeries, the Pilot Gig Club, the Jumbo Association and for classes in the Cornish language.

All in all, a very atmospheric, historic and challenging place to perform next to two of the surviving lodges, gulls swirling overhead, visitors enjoying a warm evening on the beach and the hum of vehicles along the Wharf Road. Oh, I almost forgot to mention the choir’s own gull ‘Errin’ who makes an appearance in the singing of Proper Job where he tries to take a pasty whilst the choir are busy singing. Only in St Ives could such things happen.

Dave Brotherton

Photo courtesy of Bill Thomas

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Informal Concert at Hayle Day Care Centre

Monday 22nd May

Hayle Day Centre is an independent charity. Established in 1981, it is set in the very pleasant surroundings of the Hayle estuary overlooking the peaceful Copperhouse Pool nature reserve.

The Day Centre offers a full range of affordable facilities and services for the over 50’s of Cornwall. The Centre’s fully qualified, friendly staff provide care and support for our Day Care clients. They also offer a friendship club for those who are independent. Meals and transport are also provided.

Those who were available to sing helped to make an occasion of their visit to the day care centre in Hayle for a morning concert and sing-a-long.

St Ives Food & Drink Festival

Porthminster Beach, St Ives

Saturday 13th May

St Ives is home to “an exceptional food & drink scene, with a wealth of culinary talent serving up gastronomic delights” says part of the introduction to this year’s Food & Drink Festival. Not only was there a wealth of culinary talent on display but some wonderful sounds from The Lighthouse Stage with some well known local entertainers and, of course, the St Ives Community Choir making a significant contribution as ever to the musical proceedings. It was a great experience to be on the main stage – Glastonbury next year maybe? – and we really enjoyed ourselves. The choir sounded better than ever and it was a lovely experience singing with a professional sound system and engineer. Those who frequent festivals will be aware of the mosh pit in front of the stage, well we have our own version of that on the beach – the sand pit!

The choir ran through a 55 minute set including an encore at the request of the stage manager. The programme covered a whole host of material, from Spector to Verdi and Lennon & McCartney to the musical ‘Chicago’ plus a few traditional Cornish favourites for good measure.

The canopy for the main stage was pretty hefty which meant that the audience were kept a little way from the stage in the warm sunshine whilst those of us on stage were feeling the chilly breeze coming in over the bay, but there were no complaints as we were in one of the loveliest settings one can imagine. The audience grew as the performance progressed and there was lots of dancing from the audience with happy, smiling faces and some lovely comments later on which is always nice to receive.

Here’s hoping that the choir goes from strength to strength and can continue to spread the joy of singing.

Dave Brotherton

Photo courtesy of Bill Thomas

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Choir member remembered

It is with sadness that we have heard of the death of Roy Brookes, former tenor in the choir. Roy enjoyed his time with the choir. Singing was of great importance to him.

Our photo shows him in happier times when his health was better at the Newlyn Fish Festival Last Night of the Proms in August 2016. Roy was not in good health and left the choir to move back up country to be with his family and his partner Marion.

Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.

Photo courtesy of Bill Thomas

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Fore Street Methodist Chapel

Coronation Proms Evening

Friday 5th May

The King’s Coronation celebrations began on Friday in St Ives with the Community Choir bursting into song with great gusto to entertain a packed house assembled in the chapel. The first ever Proms concert was held on August 10th 1895 at the Queen’s Hall, near what became Broadcasting House in the West End. The idea was conceived by well-known impresario Robert Newman, along with a young conductor named Henry Wood. In those days, concerts were a luxury, so the combination of cheap tickets and an informal atmosphere enabled large audiences to attend live orchestral programmes. Henry Wood became the first conductor of the Proms and led almost every concert thereafter for nearly 50 years until his death in 1944.

Against this background the choir has a strong reputation for delivering on such occasions with a ‘full monty’ of a programme as diverse as one can imagine ranging from 60’s pop to Verdi’s Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves from the opera Nabucco. The audience reacted with great enthusiasm to the choice of pieces and the choir’s interpretation of such an attractive programme. Audience members sang along to the popular Cornish song ‘Proper Job’, performed hand-jiving to ‘Da Doo Ron Ron’, sat back to enjoy ‘Yesterday’ – an arrangement by Katrina Geraghty who started the choir in 2004 - and the first performance by the choir of ‘All That Jazz’.

When Katrina Geraghty moved on to musical pastures new in 2011 William Thomas became conductor, a role he continues to fulfil splendidly. Friday’s Proms-style concert featured a couple of solo pieces and the now infamous funny stories pepper the show and provide a little extra comedy during the show. One of William’s trade marks is to ask audience members where they have come from and that night we had folks from Italy, Germany, Ukraine, England and not forgetting the lovely Kernow!

The tradition for the second half of a Proms programme includes a standing audience for the communal singing of “Rule Britannia” and the triple crown of “Land of Hope and Glory”, “Jerusalem” and “God Save The King” and the audience stayed on their feet for the Cornish anthem “Trelawny”, sung with gusto to remind everyone that we are in Kernow and proud of it.

There were many lovely comments from the audience following the show and a couple I was chatting to from County Durham dearly wished they had such a choir ‘at home’ that they could join. We must always remember how lucky we are to be able to spread joy and enjoy singing which in turn gives us so many benefits.

Dave Brotherton

Over £600 was raised from a collection helping towards the various outreach works by the church. This included a gift to The Prince's Trust of £311.00. The extract below is part of a letter of thanks from the trust.

Dear St Ives Community Choir

From all of us at The Prince's Trust, a very sincere thank you for your generous gift of £311.00 which was raised at your Coronation Concert. Your generosity is valued more than ever as we continue to support young people to move forward with their lives following the setbacks faced in the past couple of years. Please extend our thanks to everyone who so kindly contributed to this gift.

The Princ's Trust believes that every young person should have the chance to succeed, no matter what their background or the challenges they are facing. We help those from disadvantaged communities and those facing the greatest adversity by supporting them to build their confidence and skills to enter employment, education and enterprise. As part of our Prine's Trust community, you stand alongside volunteers, donors, fundraisers, staff, partners and young people themselves. Together, we can help young people transform their lives by developing the confidence and skills to live, learn and earn.

With warmest thanks and best wishes,

Maciej Domagala

Head of Supporter Care

Thank you received from Fore Street Methodist Church:

On behalf of the Trustees at FSMC St Ives I extend thanks to the St Ives Community Choir for the generous and wonderful donation of £311.00 from your Coronation Proms Concert at our chapel.

We as a Community are thankful for organisations like yours which provide support for worthy causes and our church members are pleased to support your charitable works as choir members.

Our fellowship is also actively involved in supporting those less fortunate than ourselves and our outreach work for the less able and isolated in our community is an ongoing project. We continue to regularly support our local food bank through weekly donations and a number of local and national charities have benefited financially from our CAMEO gatherings.

Thank you once again for your generosity and we wish the choir every success with your music making in the future.

We look forward to welcoming you back in the chapel in September.

Photo courtesy of Bill Thomas

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St Ives Guildhall

Monday 1^st May

In keeping with long standing Cornish traditions St Ives Community Choir was out in force celebrating Kala Me or May Day. Blessed with a gloriously sunny day, the choir entertained the large crowd gathered outside St Ives Guildhall with a varied repertoire including perennial favourites such as “Proper Job”, “Hail to the Homeland”, “Trelawny” and “White Rose” alongside newer additions including “Here Comes the Sun” and an arrangement of “Rock-A-My-Soul”.

The choir’s contribution to the celebrations outside the Guildhall was enthusiastically received and this was followed by the traditional blowing of the May horns, dancing around the maypole, with dancers this year from Kidz R Us and Nancledra School and the procession through the town to the old slipway, led by local band Bagas Porthia.

The history of maypole dancing in Cornwall is an interesting one. 19^th century descriptions of maypole traditions provide a much more robust scenario with rival village gangs stealing each other’s maypoles! Lady Mary Trefusis was a champion of the English Folk Dance Revival in the early decades of the 20^th century and it is likely that she introduced Cecil Sharp’s more refined dance for young ladies to Cornwall. This was seized upon by Cornish Chapel culture as an improvement on drunken men fighting over each other’s maypoles!

It was a great pleasure for the choir to be invited once again to help lead the May Day celebrations in the town and to mingle with locals and visitors alike to enjoy the day’s entertainment.

Dave Brotherton

Re: May Day Celebrations Monday 1st May 2023

On behalf of St Ives Rotary Club I would like to say, “Thank you” once again for the choir entertaining us on this special annual event.

As you know it was a great day this year, with a huge crowd there and a good community spirit amongst them all. And thankfully the weather was kind to us. It couldn’t have been better and I’m sure everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

Thanks once again.

Yours sincerely

Peter Rowe

St Ives Rotary Club

Photo courtesy of Bill Thomas

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St Martin’s House, Camborne

Saturday 29^th April

Music uplifts us all and helps us feel more deeply and this was certainly the case on Saturday when members of the choir sang at St Martin’s House in Camborne. St Martin’s, a 40 bed nursing home for people in need of support with dementia, physical disabilities, nursing care and mental health, is well placed in the local community and close to the centre of the old mining town of Camborne. We were given a very warm welcome by the staff and those residents who had gathered to listen to our songs.

There were 14 members of the choir providing a nicely balanced sound, led as ever by our musical director William Thomas. The choir sang a mixed programme ranging from the inspiring Cornish anthems “Hail to the Homeland” and “Trelawny”, while “The White Rose”, sung in the Cornish language Kernewek and English, continued the Cornish theme. Other favourites included an arrangement of “Rock-A-My Soul” and the ever popular “Like An Eagle”.

The visit to St Martin’s coincided with Trevithick Day in Camborne town centre and so it seemed right that we should include “Goin’ Up Camborne Hill” as an extra song in the performance and everyone seemed to know the words. When we burst into “Da Doo Ron Ron” – a song made popular in the 60’s and written by Phil Spector et al – we had seated hand jiving going on and a real singalong ensued. William’s conducting also inspired one of the residents to conduct along with him – better watch out there William!

There was a lovely atmosphere at St Martin’s and proved once again music does uplift us and reminds us that we’re all part of something.

Dave Brotherton

Photo courtesy of Lisa Hanniford

More in Gallery 2023 >>>

Trewartha House Concert

The St Ives Community Choir, since its inception in 2004, has raised many thousands of pounds for charities and good causes and it was a delight therefore for the choir to sing at Trewartha House in Carbis Bay at the start of a busy year for the choir on the afternoon of Monday 20th February. They performed a variety of pieces chosen from their extensive and eclectic repertoire including Cornish songs The White Rose (Rosen Wynn in Kernewek) and Hail to the Homeland, Like an Eagle – a beautiful song with particular references to spirituality, and the well known Beatles classic, written by George Harrison, ‘Here Comes the Sun’. Each of these songs brought their own energy to the performance and sat comfortably together. I was struck by the way these old classics worked together with the newer Harrison composition, recorded and written in July 1969. Who would have thought that in the few decades since it was written we would be enjoying a choral arrangement of this Harrison classic?

Many of the audience at Trewartha House passed on kind comments about the choir’s performance and how much they had enjoyed it. Future performances for the choir are listed here on the choir’s website – watch this space.

Dave Brotherton

Photo courtesy of Tracy Stent. See Gallery 2023 >>>

Defibrillator Training

During 2022 the choir raised enough funds to purchase a defibrilltor for the Carbis Bay area. It was decided to install it on the outside wall of the centrally placed Methodist Church. The official 'opening' took place on Monday 20th February when members of the choir were provided with training in the use of the equipment. Our photo shows the choir during the unveiling of the defibrillator with Paul & Liz Williams trustees of the Ronnie Richards Memorial Charity from whom the equipment was purchased.

Photo courtesy of Bill Thomas

More photos in Gallery 2023 >>>

Edward Hain cheque presentation

On Tuesday 14th February members of the Edward Hain Project committee joined the choir at the start of their practice. Vivky Taylor, choir chairperson, gave a brief explanation of the funds raised by the choir in 2022. Elizabeth Veal gave a note of thanks for the efforts made by the choir on behalf of the EHP committee. Our photo shows the cheque for the final sum being presented. Further photos are on the Gallery 2023 page of the website.

Our choir secretary recieved the following letter of thanks:-

Dear Lynda

On behalf of the Friends if the Edward Hain Centre for Health & Wellbeing, I would like to thank all the wonderful members of the St Ives Community Choir for the cheque you presented to us.

We have been waiting for several months for the NHS holdings to complete outstanding surveys, but we are hoping they will soon be finished and we will actually complete on the purchase of the building. There will definitley be a huge opening party in due course and you will all be invited.

Singing is so vitally important to our own health and wellbeing - both to those singing and listening.All power to your vocal chords and lungs!

Thank you again for your continued support. It is incredibly appreciated.

With all good wishes,

Elizabeth Smith
(Secretary)

Photo courtesy of Bill Thomas

More photos in Gallery 2023 >>>

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