Musical Medley: Concerts and what's on in the Doncaster music scene this February

Doncaster Minster Organ Recital

Another recital to continue the series played on the wonderful Schulze Organ in the beautiful setting of Doncaster Minster.

The organ in St. George’s Doncaster is the work of Edmund Schulze of Paulinzelle in Saxony, and dates from 1862, four years after the completion of the present church building.

The firm of Schulze had exhibited an organ in the Great Exhibition of 1851 and this marked the beginning of a wide influence in this country. The Doncaster instrument is their largest organ.

Friday 24 February – William Reynolds, Swansea, 1.10pm free entry with retiring collection

William Reynolds was appointed Organist and Director of Music at St Mary’s in the centre of Swansea in 2002; he combines this with work as a freelance musician, and is Education & Training Officer for the Royal School of Church Music in the Swansea and Brecon Area. He studied music at University of Wales, Bangor, where he gained the degrees of BMus, MA and PhD.

He has had some of his research published in the Journal of the British Institute of Organ Studies, and Welsh Music History, with Cathedral Press recently publishing some of his performing editions of seventeenth-century anthems.

Before moving to Swansea he was Organist at Christ College, Brecon, Sub-Organist at Cardiff Metropolitan (RC) Cathedral, and Organ Scholar at Bangor Cathedral. He has an interest in composition and has written several works for choir.

William has recorded as an organ accompanist on the SAIN label, and is active as an organ recitalist; in 2009 he gave a solo recital tour of Italy.

In May 2012 at St David’s Cathedral he was presented with The Archbishop of Wales Award for Church Music for his services to church music in Wales and at St Mary’s,

Swansea.

Doncaster Minster Choir

It’s not too late!

Doncaster Minster continues to look for boys and girls aged 6+ to become the next generation of choristers.

This is a unique opportunity for children to join the Minster choir as choristers and to receive a first rate musical education which includes: music theory, singing lessons and also piano lessons. During their time in the choir these lessons are free of charge saving a family over £1000 a year.

Choristers rehearse twice a week and sing in services on at least two Sundays a month, giving time for choristers and their families to pursue other activities. There is also an active social life where new friendships are formed and strengthened.

In addition to this, all choristers receive pocket money each term for their attendance at rehearsals and services.

So, if you love singing and would like to try your hand (or voice!) at becoming a chorister at Doncaster Minster, with the opportunity to continue the rich music tradition, then please do feel welcome to come along to this final open rehearsal or ‘taster session’ inside this beautiful and historic building for the opportunity to sing with the existing choristers. There will be the chance for you to speak with other choristers, staff and parents.

Please enter the Minster via the south side door, opposite Primark, on the following date:

Tuesday 7 th February, 5 - 6 pm

Please note that prospective children joining the rehearsals must be accompanied by an adult for the whole session.

For more information please contact the Director of Music, Darren Williams, at [email protected]

Tickhill Music Society

The series continues with the first concert of the year:

Milette Gillow (Mezzo-soprano)

Max Bilbe (piano)

Tickhill Music Society resumes its monthly programme with a double act of mezzo-soprano and piano.

The mezzo Milette Gillow will perform a sequence of short pieces, including songs by Mozart and Bernstein, some lieder and opera, and other works ancient and modern. She will be accompanied by the pianist Max Bilbe, who will also play some solo pieces by Chopin, among others.

It promises to be an enjoyable evening of live music given by two accomplished young musicians

Friday 17th February, 7.00 p.m. in St. Mary’s Primary School, Tickhill, DN11 9LZ

Non-members: £12 at the door. Accompanied children and students (16-19) - free

Come Sing with Doncaster Choral Society!

It’s not too late to join this historic choir!

There are still some vacancies in all sections so why not come along?

Doncaster Choral Society is the only Choral Society in the area and was established in 1888.

Since its formation the choir has regularly performed prestigious choral works such as Handel’s Messiah, Acis and Galatea, to name but two, under the notable musical direction of Eric Curtis, Robert Lawrence, Dr Roger Bullivant MBE, Alan Eost and, most recently, Dr Simon Lindley.

Dr Lindley has recently retired and so the society’s forthcoming concerts in 11 March and 20 May 2023 will be conducted by Matt Beckingham.

If you’d like to join, or would like more details, then please contact: Margaret Hunt, Secretary, on 01302 349850

Alternatively, come to a rehearsal on Tuesday evenings from 7.00pm at Cantley Methodist Church, Highbury Avenue, DN4 6BT

You will be assured of a warm welcome.

If singing is not quite your forte but you’d still love to support Doncaster Choral Society (DCS) then you can! There are several ways:

1. Why not become a Patron? For a fee of £75 you not only provide valuable financial support but also receive a variety of benefits e.g. a free ticket, reserved seat for all concerts and invitations to social events.

2. Or become a Friend of the Society. For £35 you can become a friend, again giving valuable financial support with several benefits e.g. discounted tickets, reserved seats for all concerts and invitations to social events.

For further information about DCS Patrons/Friends please contact: Marion Emmerson 01302 360129

3. Sponsorship. DCS works with a variety of sponsors and have spaces available in their publications for adverts. These adverts are seen by a wide cross-section of people and are an additional cost-effective method of contacting the public. DCS also welcomes discussion about sponsorship of concerts, works or named soloists.

For further information about DCS sponsorship please contact: Margaret Hunt 01302 349850

​For Doncaster Choral Society’s most enjoyable pre-Christmas concert at Alder Grove Methodist Church (10 December) Simon Lindley, back from recent hospitalisation, had devised a seasonal offering balanced neatly between familiar carols in which the audience joined and less familiar items, principal among which were the carol Fantasias by Vaughan Williams and Holst, the former familiar to the listeners, the latter less so.

In fact I had not previously heard it.

Two carols may be said to be ‘home grown’. Silent Night in a setting by David Houlder, until recently DCS’s Honorary Accompanist, and a new carol Was I the Lamb? , music by John Rutter, tuneful as always but with memorable words by Marc Bratcher, husband of one of DCS’s singing members, a carol I hope we shall hear again many times in the future.

In a few items the choral singers were joined by Quentin Brown (bass), a familiar (here offering at short notice) and welcome visitor. Apart from the Fantasias on Carols he contributed seasonal songs by Michael Head, Warlock and Howells (the Howells was shared between bass soloist and chorus, a version unfamiliar to me).

Other solos were from Doncaster cellist Fiona Ashforth (who contributed towards the Vaughan Williams and Holst) included a gorgeously lyrical Meditation by New Zealand born Arnold Trowell and a world premiere of Carey Williams’ Three Carolic Variations dedicated to Fiona Ashforth accompanied by Mr. Williams on piano.

The other piano or organ accompaniments in the evening were supplied by Alan Horsey who also played two short organ solos, by JS Bach (a chorale prelude on In Dulci Jubilo, which usually rounds off the Christmas Eve service at King’s College Cambridge, and Cesar Franck. One could say this was a concert full of interest and seasonal joy which gave

pleasure to performers and audience alike.

The hardy members of Tickhill Music Society who ignored the freezing temperature and icy roads on 9 December were rewarded with an entertaining and illuminating evening by the Rosie Hood Band.

For an audience accustomed to the string quartet and classical masters, this was a new experience.

They expected carols from Sheffield but were also treated to folk songs from Wiltshire. They expected songs of protest but were also introduced to the “broken token” - which is shorthand for songs of love, betrayal, disappointment and (sometimes) death.

If this sounds rather sober, Rosie Hood and her band (guitar, melodeon, two fiddles and percussion) kept the audience entertained with songs about baking bread, access to the countryside, undaunted females, reindeer, and (of course) holly and ivy. All agreed it was an evening of great warmth and novelty.

The Boyce Chamber Orchestra

The orchestra will stage its winter concert at St Aidan’s, Wheatley Hills on Sunday 26 February with an enjoyable programme of Delibes, Van Hal and Brahms.

Director - Richard Howarth

Leader - Yvonne Barron

Soloists - Isabel Dowell, David Baker

The concert starts at 3pm and is £10 admission by programme on the door. Students £5.