Author: K O'Neill

Where does the time go?

It’s been over a week since our PDtP Christmas Special and I haven’t had a chance before now to let you all know just how fun-packed it really was.

I’ll get around to the detail in a moment but I want to let you know first that I’m cramming in one more seasonal singalong, namely a Christmas Counterpint in the Cafe on Thursday December 22nd. 

We’ll be revisiting seasonal contrapuntal crackers as well as some traditional carols, (mainly because I haven’t had the chance to sing any this year) so book yourself a spot before they all disappear.

As for last week’s PDtP session, once again I’ll let those who were there speak for me:

https://twitter.com/AlixKroeger/status/805869828649189376

(To be fair, I was very grumpy. But it was all for a good cause!)

And let’s not forget that the next day some of us raised the roof of the Southbank Centre Cafe with a corker of a set.

No wonder it’s taken me so long to recover!

Thanks to all for coming along last week and hope to see a few of you on the 22nd!

Cheers

Kevin

PS Look out for an update later in the week with news of a special Christmas Day broadcast…

Apologies for the radio silence but I’ve been in a country that wouldn’t allow me to log in to the website – that’s how dangerously subversive singing Renaissance motets in a pub must be!

I’m in less restricted lands at the moment so I’m taking this opportunity to remind you that our PDtP Christmas Special is on Monday.

We’ve managed to free up a couple more spaces so if you wanted to come, book yourself in now, bearing in mind that we’re asking for a suggested charity donation of at least £5 to take part. (If you’ve booked but now cannot come, don’t forget to cancel your booking. If you’ve booked and you’re wondering where the links to the scores are, they’ll be e-mailed to you asap today or tomorrow morning at the latest.)

We’re also giving a public performance at 6.30 on Tuesday evening at the Southbank Centre; details here. If you’re nearby, please come along and support your fellow PDtP enthusiasts.

(There’s still just about time to sign up to take part, if you can meet the criteria – see here for details.)

That’s it – looking forward to seeing some of you on Monday.

Cheers

Kevin

and the same goes for the PDtP Christmas Special, which takes place on December 5th.

The booking link can be found here. For any ‘sold out’ voices, more spaces will be released at 9am today; once they’re all gone, the waiting list will activate.

As it’s Christmas, a time for thoughtfulness and generosity, we’ll be collecting for the Royal Voluntary Service on the night, with a suggested minimum donation of £5, though you can of course give more if you’d like.

Cheers

Kevin

Too pressed for time to tell you how much fun it was busking through Victoria, Byrd, Moulu et al on Monday night – so I’ll let others do it for me:

https://twitter.com/AlixKroeger/status/800794940691333120

Thanks to all who came and hope to see you in December.

In the meantime, we’re still looking for altos & tenors in particular for our Southbank gig on December 6th, so if you want to be part of it, please get in touch via the form on this page. (Sopranos & basses, stick your names down as well as we may be able to fit you in!)

Cheers

Kevin

Southbank Winter Festival set 

I know, I know, one of our mottos is It’s Not a Rehearsal, Not a Performance but at Christmas we make an exception and take London’s Favourite Night of Renaissance Motets & Booze!™ to an actual audience.

We have a 25 minute gig at the prime spot of the Southbank Centre’s Riverside Terrace Cafe on the evening of Tuesday December 6th, as one of Voicelab’s Winter Festival Pop-Up Choirs.

We’ll be singing to the public some of the highlights of previous yuletide setlists, including the Victoria O magnum mysterium, the H. Praetorius Joseph lieber and the Gesius/Bach In Dulci Jubilo.

If you’d like to be considered for the event, you’ll need to be able to:

• attend an hour’s rehearsal at 5.45pm on December 5th (immediately before the Christmas PDtP session; see below) in the Horse and Stables pub
• commit to learning the music beforehand and coming to the rehearsal fully prepared
• be at the Southbank Centre at 5.45pm on the evening of December 6th.

If you can do all of the above, fill in this form:

Please note that we will have limited space at the venue and will need to balance the voices, so we may not be able to accommodate everyone who wants to take part – but we’ll do our darndest! (I’m also looking into one more performance opportunity later in December so don’t be too upset if you miss out on this one.)

PDtP Christmas 2016

The booking for our regular Christmas PDtP session goes live at 5pm on Friday November 25th, with the remaining spaces becoming available at 9am the next day.

As last year, we’ll be collecting for the Royal Voluntary Service on the night. Suggested donation is £5 per singer, though please give more if you can.

(If you’re picked for the Southbank gig on the 6th then you’ll automatically be given a spot at the session, but please bear in mind the donation requirement.)

That’s it for now – looking forward to seeing some of you on Monday at our November PDtP session.

Cheers

Kevin

It’s like David vs a whole gang of Goliaths: against all the odds, Travelling Through (the venue for Counterpint in the Cafe) has beaten the Southbank Centre, the National Theatre, Shakespeare’s Globe, Tate Modern, BFI Southbank and not one but two Vics (Young & Old) to be crowned Waterloo’s Top Local Culture Venue in the TimeOut Love London Awards!

I know many of you voted for them so many thanks for helping to bring about this wonderful result, which celebrates a small, independent bookshop that is committed to providing a wide range of culture to the local community. Do sign up to their mailing list as they have a great range of events on every month.

We’ll almost certainly be holding a Christmas Counterpint in the Cafe session there so keep an eye out for updates.

Speaking of Christmas singing, don’t forget that Polyphony Down the Pub’s Christmas Special is December 5th; booking details to be announced shortly.

Also, I’m hoping we’ll get one or two opportunities to perform our Christmas stuff in public, for anyone who wants to take part. No details as yet but hope to have news soon.

Cheers

Kevin

No, not the terrifying sound of the Doomsday Clock approaching midnight, merely a reminder that there’s only one hour to go till the remaining set of spaces at PDtP on November 21st go live via the link on this page.

Don’t miss out…

Cheers

Kevin

You’ve only got 30 mins till the first release of spaces for November’s PDtP.

Here’s the link – though if you miss out today, you’ll get a second chance at 5pm next Friday, November 11th.

Good luck!

Cheers

Kevin

Like a never-ending punishment, PDtP returns on November 21st.

50% of places go live at 9am on Saturday November 5th with the remaining becoming available at 5pm on Friday November 11th – so no excuses for missing out.

Once again, I’ll be holding back a few spaces for first-timers so drop me a line via the comments box below if that’s you.

In completely unrelated news, the charity Mind Yourself is holding a fundraising gig next Wednesday, November 2nd. If you want to contribute to a good cause and you like Irish/Celtic music, go ahead and treat yourself to what will be a great night out.

Finally, a reminder that Counterpint venues Travelling Through and the Canbury Arms need your votes in the TimeOut Love London Awards 2016.

These venues give us their spaces for free so if you love Counterpint (and who doesn’t love Counterpint?), then please support them via the above links before voting ends this coming Monday.

Cheers

Kevin

Bear with me, as this one actually means something.

Voting in Timeout’s 2016 Love London Awards is now under way, allowing Londoners and other interested parties to vote for their favourite local restaurants, bars, cafes, shops and culture spots.

It’s a great way to support your favourite local establishments, especially if they are independent businesses, but I’m asking you to consider two venues in particular: Travelling Through, home of Counterpint in the Cafe, and the Canbury Arms, the hosts of Counterpint at the Canbury.

Both businesses provide us with excellent singing spaces for free and they never fail to extend the warmest of welcomes to us every time.

It’s no exaggeration to say that Counterpint would not be the success it is without them so please vote here for Travelling Through and here for the Canbury Arms. To take part, all you need to do is create a timeout.com account (it takes seconds), through which you’ll receive e-mail updates and discount offers on loads of great London events, so it’s win-win.

(You’ll see that because of its location near the Southbank, Travelling Through is up against some of the biggest arts and culture venues in the country, so please do take the time to vote and see if we can achieve a David vs Goliath-style result!)

Other things that may be of interest:

BREMF 2016

The Brighton Early Music Festival 2016 runs from October 28th till November 13th and the line-up includes a wonderfully diverse range of events, including intriguing programmes by our friends L’Avventura London and the Marian Consort.

City Bach Collective

Our favourite ovpp Bach ensemble are performing Cantata BWV 89 as part of their Bach Vespers series tonight at 6.30pm in St Mary at Hill.

They’ll also be celebrating 40 years of performing Bach’s vocal music with a lunchtime concert on November 11th in the same venue; details of all of their events can be found here.

Even more Bach 

You have two choices for some more excellent Bach next Saturday, October 29th: either the Nonsuch Singers performing the motets in London or Amici Voices giving a consort-style reading of the B Minor Mass in Harpenden. (You may have to flip a coin.)

That’s it for now – details on booking for our next PDtP and Counterpint sessions will follow next week.

Cheers

Kevin