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Over the coming weeks we will hold our second Be a
Chorister! Day, which will be followed by our annual
round of auditions and voice tests to recruit our next
generation of boy and girl choristers. For the first
time in nearly a decade, we will also be recruiting for
our back rows, to widen access to the unique experience
of our Choral Scholarships to singers who are not
already associated with All Saints (all of our present
Choral Scholars are former boy choristers). More
information on these three recruiting areas will follow
in early March, but right now we are also recruiting
members for our voluntary choir, the All Saints’
Singers.
The All Saints’ Singers are a group of adult men and
women who lead the singing at our daily 12:30pm Mass
when it falls on a “red letter” Saints day. Unlike our
other choirs, this ensemble is non-auditioning, and
because of the time of the service, it enables
principally retired adult men and women to take part in
our worshipping life. The majority of the singers are
members of other church choirs in and around
Northampton, and they are able to bring an anthem to
life from first seeing it at 11:30am to performing it
one hour later.
On average the choir sings one service a month, but
because the dates follow the Church Calendar, they are
not always on the same day of the week, and sometimes
they are six weeks apart, and other times just a
fortnight. There is no minimum commitment for
attendance, but most of our singers make most of our
services. The services themselves are short, usually
lasting 35 to 40 minutes, and many choir members stay on
for lunch in the Coffee Shop after the service.
We have a strong core of twelve sopranos and altos, but
would like to increase both these voice parts and
especially our two tenors and basses.
The choir next meets at All Saints at 11:30am on Ash
Wednesday, 5 March, then again on 19 March for the Feast
of Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who
is herself commemorated on 25 March (March is our
busiest month by far!). The choir is presently not
robed, and wear smart clothing for the service. You are
more than welcome to simply join us on one of these
dates, or please contact our Travis Organ Fellow, Hilary
Punnett, on 01604 632845 or
organist@allsaintsnorthampton.co.uk for further
information. Remember, ASS needs you!!!
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