Regular Sessions
We meet every Thursday (during school term time) from 7.30pm till 9.30pm, with
a short break in the middle of the session. We
meet in the Function Room of Downham Methodist Church, Paradise Road, Downham
Market PE38 9JE. Our forthcoming dates are shown below:
TERM DATES FOR 2023/2024:
7th September – 19th October
2nd November – 14th December
Christmas break
4th January – 15th February
Half term break
29th February (+ AGM) – 21st March
Easter break
18th April – 23rd May
Half term break
6th June – 18th July
Summer break, and return in Sept 2024.
Sessions
Although we do sing sacred songs we're not connected to any church. We sing for enjoyment - and learn songs from all kinds of traditions, countries, cultures and centuries - from Gregorian chant to Van Morrison and lots in between. Many of us have never sung before but always wanted to, others sang in choirs at school or in church or have strong musical roots - good news is that whatever our abilities we still manage to make a great sound singing together! Our group is warm and informal, and we enjoy the session socially as well as getting together to sing. It's a great way to meet new friends and if you're new to the area a good way to find an easy way 'in' to the local community.
Learning songs can be a bit daunting at first - we learn a lot by ear - and I remember thinking when I first joined that I would NEVER be able to learn the tunes or get my head round the part I was being taught - but before you know what's going on - you can. We have over 40 regular members - with around 8 to 10 men, giving the bass section a really strong tone. If you're not sure where your voice fits musically that's not a problem either - often choir members move between groups for different songs, either because they feel their voice is more suited to singing, say the tenor part for one number or maybe the alto for another, or sometimes just because they prefer one part's tune to another!