THIS IS NOW THE NEW THREAD FOR THE LEEDS FORUM USERS CONCERT TAKING PLACE AT THE YORKSHIRE COLLEGE OF MUSIC & DRAMA ON SATURDAY 2 JUNE 2007.

FROM THIS POST, THERE ARE LINKS TO THE FOLLOWING PAGES, AND MEMBERS WISHING TO APPLY TO PERFORM SHOULD ENSURE THAT THEY READ BOTH THE SECTIONS ON ENSEMBLES BEFORE COMPLETING THE APPLICATION FORM.


Solos and small ensembles
Bands/large ensembles
How to apply/application form

Venue and timetable
Exhibitors
Accommodation
Things to do in Leeds and Yorkshire


If you are a new member of the forums, you might find it interesting to read the thread Forum concerts and other events which explains all the different types of forum event. All members are welcome to attend, either as a performer (any level) or as a member of the audience

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Please also note the following:


PRIVATE DEMONSTRATION OF LEEDS PARISH CHURCH ORGAN

A unique opportunity is being offered to concert members to attend a private demonstration of the organ at Leeds Parish Church by Dr Simon Lindley at noon on Sunday 3 June. Simon Lindley has an international reputation, and his achievements and awards are too numerous to mention here, but range from Fellow of the Royal College of Organists (including holder of the College's coveted Choirmaster's Diploma [CHM]) to Honorary Freedom of the City of London. As Leeds City Organist, Simon Lindley is the organist for Leeds Town Hall as well as Leeds Parish Church, and he is also a trustee of the Yorkshire College of Music & Drama - hence his kind offer to play to forum members attending the concert at the college.

Details of Dr Lindley's illustrious career can be found on his web site.

If any members would like to take up this unique opportunity, would you please complete the appropriate section of the application form. As you might imagine, Dr Lindley receives many requests to attend various events, so if there are members staying in Leeds over the weekend and want to take up his kind offer to play for forum members at Leeds Parish Church, I would like to let him know as soon as possible.


ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE TASTER SESSIONS

Anyone who is interested in the Alexander Technique might like to know that Alma Goodall M.STAT, who qualified at The North of England Teaching Centre for the FM Alexander Technique, will be at the College on Saturday 2nd June, from morning until shortly before the start of the concert in the early afternoon. Alma is offering forum members the opportunity to have a "taster session", which will last 15 minutes and cost £5, which is a professional fee to Alma. (The charity will benefit financially from the fee which Alma will be paying to the College for the use of the room)

If you would like to apply for a session, please put a note on your application form. If you would like to secure a session by paying in advance, please include the fee in your accompanying cheque; and then have your session with Alma at a convenient time on the day. If you find that you are unable to take up your session due to pressure of rehearsal time, I will refund the fee.

(Including payment as part of the concert fee avoids my having to forward individual cheques to Alma, which in turn would necessitate my having to obtain permission to pass contact details on to Alma in the event of the fee needing to be returned, and all the administrative paperwork which this would involve for both parties.)


PROCEEDS

The performers and visitors fees cover costs such as the hire of the venue etc. If there are any proceeds from the concert, these will go to The Yorkshire College of Music & Drama, which is a charitable trust.


CONCERT WEAR

Most performers prefer to wear smart casual, but if you want to dress up or down, you are welcome to wear whatever you like. A room will be set aside for you to change into your concert outfit if you prefer to wear something more casual during the morning.


PHOTOGRAPHY

If you wish to take photographs of the performances, please ensure that you and/or your camera flash do not distract the performers. If you intend to post the images on the ABRSM web site or other web sites, please obtain permission from the performers.

Please note that the venue, the Yorkshire College of Music & Drama, is a charitable trust run by a Board of Trustees. The policy of the trustees with regard to photography of the college is that photographs may be taken for personal use, but may not be posted on any web site.


BRING & BUY

There will be a Bring & Buy table at the concert, for any music-related items such as second-hand sheet music, CDs, videos and music books/magazines. Where items are not allowed to be re-sold for copyright reasons, donations will be invited instead. Proceeds will go to the Yorkshire College of Music & Drama. It would be appreciated if you could let me know before the concert if you are bringing items for the Bring & Buy table.

Any unsold items should be taken away by its owner at the end of the concert, unless you wish to donate the items to the Yorkshire College either for its library or for future bring-and-buy sales.

If anyone has any larger items that you might wish to sell on your own behalf, please feel free to announce it on this thread. If you bring an expensive item with you to sell at the concert, please keep it with you at all times. If you wish, you are welcome to place a notice on the Bring & Buy table, but please make it clear that the proceeds from the sale of that item will not be going to charity.


SUGGESTED ITEMS TO BRING WITH YOU

Instrument(s) (+ reeds if applicable)
Instrument rest
Music stand (some are available at the college but more will be appreciated)
Music (your own and whatever parts you've been supplied for the ensembles)
Tuner
Pencil, eraser (to agree dynamics etc with your accompanist)
Backing board/clips for your music?
Printout of Acknowledgement
Map/directions (map off college web site)
College telephone number - 0113 275 1232
Packed lunch/drinks (sandwich shops are quite close by - you'd be out about 1/2 hr, walking there/back and queuing)

Excellent thread lovey!! Good for you! (and ST G??!)

Yes, many many thanks to St George for all the time he's spent designing the web pages. I'm very grateful to him

"For he's a jolly good fellow...!"

Excellent web site! well done to you both!

Wow! What a fantastic piece of work.

Can't go .
Family wedding a very long way away the week following, and it's too much travelling to impose on the kids...

At least I'll escape being made to sing.

Wow, what a brilliant website!!!

Well done to both of you on a great website.

I have already printed off the application form.

This is looking set to be a first class event : I'd certainly encourage any forumite who's free on 2/6 to come along and enjoy yourselves at the various activities that will be on offer at Leeds.

Glad you all find the web site user-friendly, thanks for your comments


Something else which looks as if it's going to come to fruition is the opportunity to have a session with an Alexander Technique teacher during the morning. I'm just firming up the details and I should be able to post more about this shortly.

Wow!! Are you sure this concert is only for one day?? Excellent stuff skyers!

I think maybe you need to come for a week, petal

Better make it two!!!

Incidentally, if anyone is coming for a few days before the concert and is interested in going on the Gaping Gill adventure, St G might be persuaded to lead a party up there (but don't tell him I said so )


< Digression for next few posts ... topic re-starts at post 25 >

The Gaping what?? !!!!!

Is there a problem, Gillian

Yes..you spelt my name with a "G"!!!

Jillian xxxx

Ah, Japing Jill then, rather than Gaping Gill

Don't tell me what?..

Oh no, my thread's being hijacked - again

Suggest we go on to the Fantasy Thread.....

You started it!!!

Jesting Jill xxx

BACK ON TOPIC - please???

What a fine thread this is Skylark XXXXX

*How's that?!**

I'm not here any more - I'm on the Fantasy thread


TOPIC ... AGAIN....

As mentioned earlier, I can now confirm that taster sessions in the Alexander Technique will be available on the Saturday morning, and further information is available in the first post of this thread.

I think people should be alittle weary taking a 15 minute Alexander taster as you call it.

Why doesn't she do a 1 hour group session instead. It seems a waste of time for your teacher to repeat the same basic principles over and over to different people. With a one hour group session she can state the basic principles and then do some hands on work with each of the participants. Much more productive and better value for money - does the fiver paid go to charity:O

as far as I know it works just as well if you are wide awake.

Perhaps she could compromise and do half hour sessions? 15 mins does seem very short.
(Nice pics from our Chester bash by the way.)

Great site, so congratulations to skylark and St George. I'm quaffing champagne at a birthday party that day so can't be there, but if the party gets rescheduled, I know what I'll be doing on 2nd June instead. It sounds as though this is going to be a fabulous event


There was a bring and buy at the first Woodford Green concert, after which suepea took the unsold items home to sell on e-bay. Sue should be able to confirm the exact figures, but I recall it brought in about another £300 for charity.

Much of what I'm about to post has already been put on the old Leeds thread, but I thought it'd be useful to post it again here.

Jazz band : open to any instrument, any standard (I'll just need to know what instrument/standard you are). No more than three of each instrument in the band, in order to achieve a good balance. Solo spots available to those who want them (again, let me know asap please). Those of you who've heard the Charlie Wilson Blues will have a very good idea as to what the jazz band'll be like.

Finale : will be an original arrangement based on 'The Lass of Richmond Hill', written especially for the event. Open to any instrument, any standard (the intention is to write six parts plus percussion, of differing difficulty levels). No piano/keyboard parts in this work, pianists will need to state an alternative instrument if they wish to take part.

All parts will be available to participants before the event : details of how to obtain parts will be PM'd/emailed to participants nearer the time.

Weary-wary oh it's a silly word

It's just I know Alexander works really well in small groups, often better than one-to-one, especially if time is limited.

Bring'n'Buy - Excellent Idea!

Given the pressure on rehearsal time at a forum users concert, I feel that getting a group of performers together for an hour's session on a peripheral activity is both impractical and inappropriate. Forum members are attending the concert to perform - any other activity, whether it is an individual A/T session or looking at what the exhibitors are displaying, are all peripheral activities which are intended to add to the atmosphere of the day, without detracting from rehearsals for the concert, which is the purpose of being there. To set aside an hour for a peripheral activity would be to attach to it an importance which, in my opinion, it does not warrant.

In view of the format of the event, a 15-minute session was felt to be a time slot which most performers could accommodate in-between rehearsals, and in Alma's professional opinion, also offers sufficient opportunity for the individual to benefit. There is nothing to stop somebody who can spare half-an-hour or more from rehearsals taking more than one session if they wish and if slots are available.

The charity will benefit financially from the fee that Alma will be paying to the College for the use of the room. Any professional fees which Alma is paid for the sessions, offsets her cost of using the room.

I have amended the text in my first post to explain the position in more detail and thank you Andrew for highlighting the fact that the matter of the fee could have been interpreted in a way which was not intended

I was playing around with some jazzy pieces last night, looking for a suitable work to arrange for Leeds, and I've decided to use 'When the Saints go Marching In'. I know you've already played this skylark, but of all the works I tried, this is the one I've got most ideas for.

To keep this to a manageable length, the maximum number of solos will be 10 (11 including vocal). First come, first served here (this means a request for a solo AND full payment to skylark).

"When the Saints" was good fun at Chester when there were just four of us, and it will sound tremendous when played by a full jazz band so I'm looking forward to it

If anyone would like to apply for a solo in the "When the Saints", please put it on the application form (is that OK Barry?)

That'll be fine skylark.

Many thanks katyjay for volunteering to sing in the jazz group again!

I've been asked what genre of music the string ensemble is going to be playing, so for the benefit of everybody who's thinking of playing in the string ensemble, I wonder if meerkat could please confirm whether it's going to be classical, contemporary etc ....

Ah well, we all make errors of judgement from time to time. Perhaps next year when you have had a chance to make some more forum friends here. Good luck with your fund raising.

Making good progress with the jazz now.

I've structured this in a slightly simpler way than CWB, insofar as there's basically only four parts, three treble clef and one bass clef, plus an alto clef version of part 3.

There will be ten solos, which initially I'll write as follows:

4x solos for C instruments, treble clef

3x solos for Bb instruments, treble clef

1x solo for C instruments, alto clef

2x solos for C instruments, bass clef

...though I can always transpose these solos if need be.

The way this piece has turned out, at the moment, means there's no keyboard part. Can anyone who wants to play in the jazz group, and would prefer to play the piano let me know very very soon, so I can add a piano part in good time without undue panic! - Many thanks.

If you haven't played a solo in public before and are wondering whether to take the plunge, I would say, yes, go for it - but make it easy for yourself....

- Choose a piece you like playing and would like to share with other people.

- Choose something that you find relatively easy to play, ie a bit below your normal level, so that if you do feel nervous, it's less likely to affect what you're playing.

- Practise well in advance so that you know the piece inside out when you come to perform it. This is really critical to giving yourself performance confidence, and conversely, not knowing the piece inside out is likely to detract from your confidence.

- If possible, bring somebody with you who will act as your "comfort zone" that you can go back to to re-gather your thoughts from time to time - spouse, parents, friends etc. If this isn't possible, and you'll be coming on your own for the first time, perhaps nearer the time some people may volunteer to act as "buddies"? Not been done before but maybe a good idea, particularly for new members who haven't had chance to get to know people here?

- Be an active contributor to the forums, because the more you contribute, the more you feel as if you're getting to know people and then when you do meet up, you can look forward to meeting "friends" rather than "strange people off the internet"


Has anyone else got any thoughts on how to make the first solo performance experience more easy???

Errr...if no-one else has volunteered I might give it a go Barry...

Until you edited your post to add "Barry" on the end, I thought you were volunteering to be a buddy

If anyone wants me as a buddy, I'll be happy to be a buddy!!

OK I'll write you something (it won't be particularly hard).

Part 4 (including solos) now fully complete.

Similarly I'm happy to be anyone's buddy. Or duet partner. Or whatever.

Thanks petal! You'll make a lovely buddy!

So if any newbies would like to have a buddy to learn the ropes from at the concert, send me a PM and I'll put you in touch either with Appleblossom or with another experienced concert-goer

Thank you...I think..!!



Thank you!! Poor things will never be the same again..!

Thanks Katyjay - I'm intrigued by the "whatever"!!! Whatever do you mean???

I'm only coming in the evening

Or whenever the conert is, anyhoo.

I can be friendly when I put my mind to it.
If you need more buddys.....

Will visitor tickets have to be got in advance?
A pupil of mine is moving and may still be with friends in Leeds at the time of the concert and her mum would like to bring her.