From the Choir Gallery Elliot Burman - Choirmaster

I hope you will all agree that the choir has maintained, and possibly even improved, its standard of performance in the last year. This has not been without a lot of personal effort and sacrifice of our free time. Apart from extra rehearsal time, Gary Fine spends hours re-writing our music on the computer, so that he, and other choristers, can learn it "a capella", as the computer plays what is written in the music.

Jeremy and I have compromised on new repertoire. Sometimes it is a piece from Hechal Shlomo, Jerusalem, or from Montreal, which would be a modern arrangement by Stephen Glass or Raymond Goldstein, and other pieces are traditional ones arranged by Emmanuel Fisher (whose recent death saddened everyone connected with Anglo-Jewish music) or even by me. We aim to please everyone some of the time, and always welcome your comments.

The choir still misses John Bluestone, whose stonesetting was just about a year ago, and we have still not found a competent melody singer to replace him. Stuart Dashwood is now recovered from some serious medical problems and sounds as good as new. One extra voice which I, and the choir, have been delighted to welcome is that of the Rabbi, who knows virtually all of our music, having sung much of it in his cantorial days, and when he joins us for Uvenucho Yomar or Kedusha he adds greatly to the quality of the rendering.

The NWES choir performed with distinction at the Selichot Service in Southend last year, with Avrom Levin, the Chazan from Beehive Lane, Ilford. We also sang at Rabbi Geoffrey Shisler's induction service and at the wedding couples' reunion service, as well as many weddings. We look forward to providing musical adornment for all the regular and also some special services next year.

May I join with the choir in wishing everyone in the NWES community and happy and healthy 5762.

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