A very warm welcome to the Choir! 

We hope that you will enjoy singing with us. We are very friendly group. There are no auditions and all abilities and levels of experience are welcome. 

Our events

We perform at a hugely varied number of events throughout the year. 

They range from more formal concerts perhaps two to three each year. To Christmas gigs in pubs and nursing homes, outdoor events to mark the opening of an orchard, Open Garden Days or a countryside park,  

We make the most of opportunities to sing in unusual places (such as the National Marine Aquarium or the Norman Lockyer Observatory) or places of significance to the music we are performing (such as Launceston Town Hall to mark the centenary of the birth of the Cornish poet Charles Causley). 

Rehearsals

Being part of a choir is all about coming together and working together to make the best sound we possibly can. Performances are more fun for everyone if they can be well-prepared and confident. Rehearsals are a key part of this process. 

If you cannot sing at an event, do please keep coming to the rehearsals if you possibly can. Our repertoire is constantly re-used. We like to be responsive wherever possible to requests to support community events. This sometimes means that we cannot schedule in more than one or two “brushing-up” rehearsals. In these instances we depend on as many people as possible having a reasonable working knowledge of the songs. 

Days and times of rehearsals

The Ivybridge branch of the choir rehearses on Tuesday evenings in the Community room at Douro Court, Brook Road, Ivybridge from 7.30 to 9.30pm.

The Teignmouth branch of the choir rehearses on Monday evenings at Bitton House, Teignmouth and once a month at the Strand Centre, Dawlish. from 7.30 to 9.30pm.

Repertoire

Our repertoire is unusual and pretty unique! Most of the songs are written by our MD, David Haines. He has a particular interest in science and many of his songs celebrate aspects of science in surprising detail. They are far more than simple mnemonics.

There are also songs about historical events and songs based on interviews as well as what might be considered more “traditional” material, setting the poetry of others to music.

The styles in which David writes are very varied, from jazz to blues to ballads and more. After a while, however, his harmonic world will become more familiar and the music will become easier to learn.

We do sing material written by others. For about 4 weeks from mid-November each year we sing traditional Christmas carols and songs. We have also incorporated into our concerts at different times folk songs, sea shanties, Tudor songs, Zulu songs and suffragette songs, to give but a few examples, to highlight the emerging themes or the historical context and to vary the soundscape. 

Other performers

Because of the scientific content of a number of David’s songs we have sometimes included in our concerts short talks by physicists, environmentalists, meteorologists, and, most recently, astrophysicists. We like to draw out connections between the music, the words, the historical background and the poets whose works may have been set to give much more than “just” a concert.

Learning materials

We provide copies of the music. Usually this is what is known as the full vocal score which shows the tune and the harmony parts. If you are not used to following music it may seem a little daunting at first but does soon become helpful as music is notated very “visually”. If you feel lost, just ask for help. We can all remember what it felt like when we started!

We also provide tutor tracks for the majority of our songs. These are recordings of individual voice parts. It is helpful if everyone can make as much use as possible of these tracks. They can be listened to anywhere: in the car, while running, while cooking etc. It is not always necessary to find time to sit down with the music in front of you. A lot can be learned by absorption. It speeds up the note-learning (and the word-familiarisation) process and means that we can move on as quickly as possible to turning those notes into music: working on phrasing, dynamics, expression etc to understand it as well as possible ourselves and to communicate it as well as possible to our audiences!

The people who run the Choir are: 

Musical Director - David Haines 

Chair of Trustees - Jane Clark

Administrator - Sheila Townsend
 

When both choirs come together we sing as ‘South Devon Singers’ or ‘South Devon Singers Choir’. This is to distinguish it from the Registered Charity of the same name of which the choir is a part. 

South Devon Singers Registered Charity No. 1144469 (SDS)

The objects of SDS are to promote the art and science of music through public performance.

SDS has individual members and affiliated groups. To sing with or be part of an affiliated group you need also to be an individual member of the Charity. Currently the affiliated groups are the South Devon Singers Choir and Red Earth Opera. 

A number of choir members regularly sing with the chorus of Red Earth Opera. Varied as the choir’s repertoire may be it does not include opera, so that is one very good way of experiencing an entirely different style.

The Trustees of the Charity are:

Jane Clark – Chair
Sue Daniels – Treasurer
Janet Richardson – Secretary
Claire Harding 

Evelyn Marsden
Stephen Brown – REO representative

Jane and Sue rehearse with the Ivybridge choir and Claire and Janet with the Teignmouth choir. Steve and Evelyn are Red Earth Opera represnetatives.

Fees

Annual­ SDS Membership      £7 collected in September - the only compulsory payment

Contribution to rehearsals:
 

The first 4 weeks are free.

Thereafter payments* are:

£6        per night

or    

£18      per month by standing order (preferred)

*IMPORTANT NOTE!!
Do not let the fees stop you from coming. If you are worried that you cannot afford them please ask to speak privately to our Treasurer and pay what you can.