Welcome to the Garleton Singers Website
The Garleton Singers choir is based in East Lothian and was founded in 1970 by Catherine Welsh. In 1995, Stephen Doughty replaced Catherine as Musical Director, and he recently celebrated his thirteenth year guiding us to the musical heights (and, occasionally, depths). Our main venue is the beautifully-restored medieval Church of St Mary in Haddington, but the choir enjoys touring further afield. We gave concerts in Germany in 2004, and in Italy in 2007, and have sung throughout Scotland in collaboration with other choirs and orchestras, including the St Andrews Chorus and Edinburgh Philomusica. We enjoy singing a varied repertoire of major choral works, ranging from Vivaldi to Karl Jenkins, and on the lighter side, carols, operatic choruses and modern popular classics. The Garleton Singers hold three main concerts a year (our Christmas Carol Concert a firm favourite for our Haddington audience), with occasional special performances such as our 2008 Edinburgh Festival concert and our Remembrance Sunday performance of The Armed Man.
2010 Programme
Latest News
GREYFRIARS KIRK CONCERT
Choir members please note that a coach service will be offered for those people requiring transport to Edinburgh on the 20th March. Please contact Lyn Livingstone for further details. Please make your own arrangements for meals, and remember to bring money for the interval, as Greyfriars Kirk will provide jugs of water for the choir but will charge us for teas and coffees. We are looking for volunteers to sell tickets/programmes on the night - if you know someone willing to help please talk to Alan Faulkner.
Monday 23rd March will no longer be a rehearsal but a rubbing out session. Music for the May concert will also be handed out that night, so if you want a decent copy, you'd better come along brandishing an eraser. And if you haven't already put your personal choir number on your music books, make sure you do so before you hand them in, as it doesn't work if you wait until afterwards :)
MAY CONCERT
The May concert is on MONDAY 31st May. A full rehearsal will be held on Sunday 30th, time to be confirmed.
JUBILATE! A programme of Festive Favourites, including: Zadok the Priest- Handel; I was glad- Parry; and music by Gabrieli and Vaughan Williams
CHRISTMAS CONCERT
Congratulations to all those who took part in the concert on the 13th December! The whole evening was a resounding, sell-out success, and many comments have been received praising the high quality of the choir, orchestra and solo singers. Particular mention must be made of The Three Kings, which was performed with sensitivity and total sympathy between choir and soloist, and the audience's fine participation in Stephen's arrangements of traditional spirituals/carols. Who would have thought we had so much boogy in us. Our thanks go to Alison Beck and Philip Gault, and to all the members of the orchestra. We hope to see them all again soon.
HOW LOW CAN YOU GO?
We are looking for TENORS and BASSES to sing with us at concerts in Edinburgh and Haddington.
Rehearsals are at the Town House, Haddington on Mondays, between 7.30 and 9.30pm.
Come along, give us a try, have a coffee and chat to our Musical Director, Stephen Doughty, about joining us.
40th Anniversary
Plans are simmering for celebration of the Garleton Singers 40th Anniversary in 2011. If you have any suggestions for events, whether full-blown concert ideas or merely a request for particular music to be considered, please contact the committee. We are keen to augment our archive with material from the past 40 years - newspaper clippings, photographs (formal and social), reviews and old posters. If you want to donate things permanently, that would be lovely - but we would be very grateful just for the loan of items, either for the anniversary year or just to scan and give back to you.
SPRING 2010
In March the choir will be performing Missa Choralis, by Liszt, and Missa Brevis, by Kodály.
Zoltán Kodály composed the Missa Brevis during World War 2, in 1944, whilst he and his wife sheltered in a Budapest convent cellar. He drew on Hungarian folk music, contemporary French music, and the religious music of the Italian Renaissance to create a unique style that establishes him alongside Bartók and Dohnányi as one of the most powerful forces in Hungary's musical history.
Liszt's Missa Choralis was composed in 1865, and channels the twin elements of plainsong and the music of Palestrina through Liszt's boldly original and expressively chromatic harmonic language. The Missa Choralis is one of Liszt's most deeply personal works, and helped revolutionise sacred music in the nineteenth century.
May 2009
The choir gave its May concert in Edinburgh on behalf of the 500 Mile Project, further details of which are given below. Our performance was ... dramatic ... and we were in no way intimidated by the sight of Alexander McCall Smith sat in the front row listening to us turn his poetry into something so challenging. £920 was raised by the charity.Our main concert didn't have Alexander McCall Smith but DID have Tom Cunningham, the composer of Scotland by Night. Sat in the front row. Not at all intimidating. Our rendition of 'Simmer Dim' and 'Trout' nearly brought tears to his eyes. All in all it was a highly enjoyable evening, and great fun to sing.
March 2009
Holding our March concert at Greyfriars Church in Edinburgh gave the Garleton Singers a new venue and audience, and we were thrilled by the turn-out and positive reaction to the evening. We sang two Requiems, one by Karl Jenkins, the other by John Rutter, and the contrast between the two pieces made for an outstanding performance that left everyone feeling uplifted. Special mention must be made of Katie Hamilton and Leslie Walker, who sang the soprano solos, and Malcom Garden, the lead cellist, who all were stunning.Our Christmas Concert was a sell-out success, with music ranging from Bob Chilcott to Rachmaninov ringing through the aisles.
It was a pleasure and a privilege to sing with the St Mary's Choristers, and we hope they enjoyed the experience as much as we did. Our musical director was almost tasteful in his choice of waistcoat, slightly disappointing some regular audience members.
On Sunday the 9th November, the Garleton Singers performed The Armed Man, a mass for peace, by Karl Jenkins.
The choir sang to a packed audience after the excellent publicity generated by our Publicity Officer and our partners, St Mary's Church and Poppyscotland. One audience member has written to say "Your performance of the Armed Man was superb. Awesome and terrible, in the best possible sense, and extremely moving. Well done to all."
Our special thanks go to the members of the orchestra: Katherine Wake, Flute/Piccolo; Dianne Waugh and Gordon Lehany, Trumpets; Malcom Garden, Cello; Agnes Drysdale and Chris Overton, Percussion; Chick Lyall, Piano; and David Goodenough, Organ.
Singing with the Philomusica as part of the 2008 August Edinburgh Fringe Festival was a fantastic experience for all those who took part. A CD of the Gloria, recorded by the kind and most excellent Kenneth Hare, is available for choir and orchestra members from the Library. Contact Sadie Maskery for further details. You can listen to a sample mp3 of it here (right click and "Save Target As..." to download).
