winter singing news 2017

23 November 2016

Hello <<First Name>> and welcome to the winter edition of my twice-yearly newsletter. Although it's still officially autumn here in the UK, I thought I'd get this newsletter out a bit earlier than usual to give you plenty of advance notice of my singing weekends for 2017 as they seem to book up so quickly these days.

In this email you’ll find details of all my singing weekends for 2017 as well as many of my one-off singing days.

My workshops tend to sell out surprisingly quickly, so make sure that you book up as soon as you can to avoid missing out. All the weekend and day workshops mentioned in this newsletter can now be booked through my website.

Do feel free to contact me if you have an idea for a singing weekend, want me to run a workshop for you, have an idea for my blog – or if you have any general questions about choirs and singing.

You’ll find details of all my singing weekends below. Just click on the blue links to find out more. As always you can find up to date information about singing days, song arrangements, recordings, singing weekends and more on my website: chrisrowbury.com

sharing this newsletter

If you enjoy my newsletter and want to send it to a friend, then don’t just forward this email or they’ll get your copy and if they decide to unsubscribe, then YOU will be unsubscribed! The easiest way is to click the Forward button you will find at the top and bottom of this email.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to singing with you in the future.

Have a great Christmas (and it's a bit early, but Happy New Year!)

chris@chrisrowbury.com

surprise — Holiday Inn is a brilliant venue!

If you read my summer newsletter you may remember me telling you about an amazing new weekend singing venue in the Wye Valley: Lindors Country House Hotel. I had planned to start using it in 2017, but they messed up the booking! I'm afraid you'll have to wait until May 2018.

Which means that in May 2017 we're back at the Holiday Inn near Peterborough which turned out (much to everyone's surprise) to be an amazingly good venue.

Not only does it have a lovely gazebo (as you can see from the photo), but we had our own private dining area, the food was wonderful (table service and all!), people loved using the swimming pool and spa, we found some delightful walks from right outside the hotel into Ferry Meadows Country park, and our work space was huge. Not to mention the well-equipped rooms and comfy beds.

In 2017 I'm running a brand new workshop here: Stars, stripes and maple leaves: songs from across the pond. We'll be learning songs by the Canadians Leonard Cohen, Neil Young and Joni Mitchell together with songs by the Americans Paul Simon (Simon & Garfunkel), Brian Wilson (The Beach Boys), and Carole King (as sung by James Taylor). Should be something for everyone!

I've booked the hotel for the late May bank holiday: 26 – 28 May 2017.

^TOP

singing weekends for 2017

If you’ve not attended a singing weekend with me before you might like to refer to my list of Frequently Asked Questions.

27 – 29 January 2017, Blaxhall YHA, Suffolk
Winter Warmer Weekend
Warm your spirit on a winter weekend with singing, walking, eating and laughing. Join a welcoming group and shake off the winter blues (and Christmas excesses!).

24 – 26 March 2017, Felden Lodge, Hemel Hempstead
Sing Africa!
Learn harmony songs from across Africa. An opportunity to sing and move to infectious African rhythms. A weekend of singing not too far from London and near to The Chilterns and lovely walks.

26 – 28 May 217, Holiday Inn, near Peterborough
Stars, stripes and maple leaves: songs from across the pond
A luxury venue in the Nene Valley opposite Ferry Meadows Country Park. Great company, fine singing, good food, superb location plus a swimming pool with spa. What's not to like? Plus songs from iconic Canadian and American singer-songwriters.

21 – 23 July 2017, Brathay Hall, Lake District
All aboard the gospel train!
A fabulous weekend of gospel singing for people of all faiths and none in the beautiful English Lake District. Brathay Hall lies in 360 acres at the head of Lake Windermere.

6 – 8 October 2017, Willersley Castle, Cromford
Sacred songs to soothe the soul
Enliven your spirit with a feast of harmonies and songs from a range of spiritual traditions spanning the globe. A whole weekend of amazing singing in beautiful surroundings. Willersley Castle has 60 acres of grounds with views over the Derwent Valley and plenty of woodland and riverside walks plus free use of the heated swimming pool.

10 – 12 November 2017, Claret Centre, Buckden
Better harmony singing – the small group challenge
Take your singing to the next level by working as a small ensemble over a whole weekend. Your chance to explore your voice in a safe environment with a supportive bunch of like-minded singers. Strictly limited to 16 singers.

^TOP

annual schedule of singing weekends

I now run five of my own residential singing weekends each year and (believe it or not!) there is a pattern.

late March
Felden Lodge, near Hemel Hempstead

late May
Lindors Country House Hotel, Wye Valley

late July
Brathay Hall, Lake District

early October
Willersley Castle, Derbyshire

early November
Claret Centre, Buckden, Cambridgeshire (the small group challenge)

I’m trying to cycle through the main themes that I offer (harmony singing, African, Eastern European, gospel, British folk) so that I do a different theme at each venue each year.

^TOP

singing days

As well as weekends, I run singing days across the country. As always, these singing days are open to all, no experience is necessary, just a love of singing. If you’ve not attended a singing day with me before you might like to refer to my list of Frequently Asked Questions.

Here are a few singing days that might tickle your fancy:

Saturday 11 February, Ipswich
Singing – it’s a man thing!
Come and experience the buzz of singing with a bunch of like-minded men in a safe, fun, relaxed and non-threatening way. It’s cheaper if you book and pay in advance, plus there’s a special offer if two men book together.

Saturday 13 May 2017, Angel, London
Harmony singing day
One of two new London venues that I've found near the Angel.

Saturday 3 June 2017, Kenilworth
Harmony singing day
My annual return to Warwickshire for a singing day.

Saturday 24 June 2017, Stamford, Lincolnshire
Harmony singing day
A return to Stamford Arts Centre after the last two years' sell-out singing days.

^TOP

email problems

It seems that I have an over-zealous spam checker at my end which has been bouncing emails back. It seems to particularly dislike email addresses that are from TISCALI or NTLWORLD, but it also seems to have a mind of its own!

I've been onto my website host, but it seems that there is nothing they can do about it.

If you find emails to my address chris@chrisrowbury.com have bounced back to you as undelivered, or if you haven't heard a response from me for a while, you can try an alternative address: chris.rowbury@gmail.com which should (fingers crossed!) get through.

If you do have a Tiscali or NTLWorld email address it may be worth getting onto your Internet Service Provider as many emails from these domains are being flagged as spam in general.

^TOP

two new London venues

At last (thanks Dominic Stichbury) I've managed to find two new London venues which look like being great spaces. They're both near Angel tube station and if they work out I'll be making them regular fixtures each year.

They are Church on the Corner and the Claremont Project. If anyone has used either of them, do let me know what you think.

^TOP

book me now or miss out for 2017!

If you were vaguely thinking that you might want to book me to run a workshop for you in 2017, then time is running out!

Surprisingly I don't have many free weekends left next year. Here are the only dates I still have available:

29/30 April
1/2 July
23/24 September
30 September/ 1 October
9/ 10 December

I have a number of set workshop themes available or I can design a workshop specially for you.

^TOP

Forward

about chris rowbury

I am a choir and singing workshop leader based in the UK (I live in Woodbridge, Suffolk). My workshops are open to anyone regardless of experience. I teach right across the UK and beyond and have 30 years’ experience of helping people discover their singing voice. I am a patient, charismatic teacher with a relaxed style laced with plenty of humour. I will get you singing in wonderful harmony in a matter of minutes!

You can find out more about me and my work on the About page of my website.

Follow me in cyberspace by clicking on these links

Facebook

Twitter

YouTube

Website