kathie prince - musician, teacher, singer

Caroline Harborow

Choirs Sing at Dorchester’s Holocaust Memorial Day 2023

Members of Viva, Heart & Soul and DCH choirs were honoured to be invited to sing once more at the Holocaust Memorial Day Commemoration at Dorchester Corn Exchange on January 27tth.

The service, which included readings, music and poetry, explored the theme of ‘Ordinary People’. It examined the impact of individuals’ choices on the Holocaust and other genocides, and asked what each of us can do to make a difference when faced with prejudice today.

The service concluded with the lighting of candles and a minute’s silence.

H memorial Jan 23 a

H memorial Jan 23 b

 

Join us and sing your way into Christmas!

by Caroline Harborow

Choirs Get Festive-2

If you’re new to singing and would like to get into the festive spirit, now is a great time to join one of Kathie’s choirs! We will soon be beginning our Christmas repertoire – songs both familiar and new – and we would love you to join us! The music we sing is accessible to all: there’s no need to read music and every ability level is catered for. Come for a free taster session to Viva or Heart & Soul and sing your way into Christmas! Contact Kathie for more details.

Singing at Henge Fest ’22!

by Caroline Harborow

Viva!, Heart & Soul and DCH choirs were honoured to be invited to sing at Henge Fest in Maumbury Rings this July. Along with the Quangle Wangle choir and lead by composer Geof Edge, the choirs performed 7 pieces from the Dorset Songlines project.

Henge Fest was a great success, with a wide range of activities for all ages, delicious refreshments, and local goods and produce for sale. We would love to take part again next year!

Conductor Geof Edge leads the choir at Henge Fest

The choirs sing at Henge Fest, Maumbury Rings

The choirs sing at Henge Fest, Maumbury Rings

Choirs perform in Dorset Songlines Performance

On Saturday June 18th, Viva!, Heart & Soul and Dorchester County Hospital choirs took part in a special performance in Maumbury Rings of ‘Dorset Songlines’. Created by local composer Geof Edge in collaboration with Dorchester Arts, Dorset Museum and DASP music, the piece celebrates the history of Dorset, from 250 million years ago to present day, with nine songs, each representing a different period in time. Lead by Hannah Trevorrow, Kathie’s adult choirs, along with the Quangle Wangle choir and the DASP schools choirs delivered a stunning performance in the centre of Maumbury Rings in Dorchester. If you missed the chance to hear this original and exciting piece, the adult choirs will be performing it in Maumbury Rings at ‘Henge Fest’ on Sunday July 31st, 12.30pm.

Crowds watching choirs perform at outdoor amphitheatre

Dorset Songlines performance, Maumbury Rings, June 2022

Holocaust Memorial Day Film

by Caroline Harborow

In the new year, Viva rehearsed and recorded Imagine by John Lennon, as part of a film collaboration to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day on the 27th of January.

To commemorate the event for 2022, Dorchester Town Council and the South West Dorset Multicultural Network, with the support of Dorset Council, worked with the local community, Kushti Bok, and several Dorset schools to create a short film made by Pageant Productions, to reflect on this year’s theme ‘One Day’.

You can watch the video here: https://youtu.be/LJJjaqIK1yg

A Musical Celebration for Christmas

Viva, Heart & Soul and DCH Choir perform Carols & Festive Favourites in the Borough Gardens, 16th December 2021

Having missed out on performing at Christmas 2020 because of the pandemic, Kathie was delighted to announce that her three adult choirs (Viva, Heart & Soul and Dorchester Community Hospital Choir) had been invited to sing carols in the Borough Gardens in December. Along with Durnovaria Silver Band, the choirs led a selection of well-known carols, and also sang a few of their own festive favourites, including Carol of the Bells and Silent Night. Along with a lantern parade, a children’s chorus of Away in a Manger, and the rousing melodies of the Durnovaria Silver Band, a chilly night in the park became a wonderful festive extravaganza! The event was very well attended by the people of Dorchester and we can’t wait to do it again in 2022!

Bandstand and carol singers lit up at dusk

Christmas Carols in the Borough Gardens, December 16th, 2021

Adult Choirs Term Dates: Spring 2022

by Caroline Harborow

Viva! term dates:

Thursday 6th January  – Thursday 7th April

***No choir on Thursday 24th February (half term holiday)***

 

Heart & Soul term dates:

Tuesday 11th January – Tuesday 5th April

***No choir on Tuesday 22nd February (half term holiday)***

 

DCH Choir term dates:

Wednesday 12th January – Wednesday 6th April

***No choir on Wednesday 23rd February (half term holiday)***

Adult Choirs Term Dates: Autumn 2021

 

Viva! term dates:

Thursday 2nd September – Thursday 16th December

***No choir on Thursday 28th October (half term holiday)***

 

Heart & Soul term dates:

Tuesday 7th September – Tuesday 14th December

***No choir on Tuesday 26th October (half term holiday)***

 

DCH term dates:

Wednesday 8th September – Wednesday 15th December

***No choir on Wednesday 27th October (half term holiday)***

When Time Lost Its Edge

by Caroline Harborow

Members of Viva! The Dorchester Women’s Choir during a recording session at The Lighthouse Arts Centre, Poole in July 2021. We performed When Time Lost It’s Edge, a song commissioned for a nationwide Covid themed project composed by Karen Wimhurst. Viva performed  alongside members of the Dorset County Hospital Choir, students from Thomas Hardye School, the BSO community Chorus and Karen’s choir , Palida.
Our performance and others from around the country can be watched using the following link:
www.asongforus.org

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Virtually Viva!

Singing together even when we’re apart…

Screen Shot 2020-05-07 at 19.57.18

When choir rehearsals were understandably cancelled due to social distancing measures, we were imagining weeks of solo singing into hairbrushes, warbling in the shower, and chirruping into the ears of our locked-down family members.

But! Thank you Zoom app! And thank you Kathie for being determined to keep us together. Because now we have a way to meet up every week and sing our hearts out simultaneously, even though we’re scattered across Dorchester and beyond!

Although on Zoom we can’t all hear each other at the same time (we would go crazy!) we can learn our parts bit by bit with Kathie’s instruction, and then practise the songs in overlapping harmonies as we become more familiar with the music. In addition, Kathie has chosen recordings of some of our old favourites (Somewhere Only We Know, Hard Times and Amazing Grace, to name a few so far)  that allow us to individually sing layered above the entire choir harmony, giving a real feeling of togetherness.

If you haven’t joined us yet on Zoom, come and give it a try! Keeping that feeling of singing together as a choir is such a mood-booster and when we ‘un-mute’(!) at the start or end of the session the usual Viva chit-chat and laughter ensues! If you’re not sure how to work Zoom, drop Kathie, Wendy or Caroline an email and they’ll be happy to guide you.

Look forward to seeing you all again this Thursday, at 7pm (our new regular time whilst ‘virtual’!).

Viva Women’s Choir Commemorates Holocaust Memorial Day

by Caroline Harborow

Viva Women’s Choir were honoured to be asked to return to sing at Dorchester’s Holocaust Memorial Day Event this January 24th.

Viva sang No More Silence, a folk song by The Burns Sisters.

Held at the Corn Exchange, the theme of this year’s commemoration was ‘Stand Together’, and the event included readings and presentations from Sunninghill Preparatory School and The Thomas Hardye School.

Read Dorchester Echo’s article on the event here.

Viva big/small hall timetable January 2020

by Caroline Harborow

Here is the hall timetable for Viva rehearsals at the Silver Band Hall:

Jan 9th: Small hall

Jan 16th: Big hall

Jan 23rd: Small hall

Jan 30th: Big hall

Feb 6th: Big hall

Feb 13th: Small hall

Feb 20th: Half term holiday, no rehearsal

Feb 27th: Small hall

Mar 5th: Big hall

Mar 12th: Small hall

Mar 19th: Big hall

Mar 26th: Small hall

Apr 2nd: Big hall

Viva! – Big hall/small hall timetable

by Caroline Harborow

Hi all, here are the dates for the halls for autumn term 2019. It’s a little easier to remember this term as we simply alternate each week.

Sep 5th: big hall

Sep 12th: small hall

Sep 19th: big hall

Sep 26th: small hall

Oct 3rd: big hall

Oct 10th: small hall

Oct 17th: big hall

Oct 24th: small hall

Nov 7th: big hall

Nov 14th: small hall

Nov 21st: big hall

Nov 28th: small hall

Dec 5th: big hall

Dec 12th: small hall

Dec 19th: big hall

 

Viva! – Car parking at the Silver Band Hall

by Caroline Harborow

Car parking: we now have permits to use part of the Youth Centre car park (grass/tarmac behind the Band Hall) as long as we display a permit and comply with a number of conditions.
On evenings we are in the Community Room we cannot use the parking adjacent to the larger Band Hall and we need to seek on street parking.

Viva! Autumn Term Dates 2019

by Caroline Harborow

5th September – 24th October Viva! Autumn term (part 1)

31st October Half term break (no choir this week)

7th November – 19th December* Viva! Autumn term (part 2) *TBC depending on Christmas concert date

Summer Harmony Singing Workshop

Summer Harmony Singing Workshop August 2019

Summer Harmony Singing Workshop August 2019

A wonderful time was had by all at the Summer Harmony singing workshop at Brownsword Hall in Poundbury this August. Kathie welcomed lots of new faces along with current members of Heart & Soul and Viva to join in singing some new rounds and multi-part harmonies, along with a few old favourites, such as ‘Lime in the Cooking’.