 |
|
News Flash
Advertisement for New Members wanting to sing with
Dundee Choral Union
Anyone interested in an audition should contact the General Secretary, Mrs Kay A S Simpson who will notify you when auditions will take place. All prospective members of Dundee Choral Union are required to audition before the Musical Director (Norman Beedie) Concert Secretary (Iain Gray), and Steward of the Chorus (Moira Nicholson), there will also be an accompanist. The purpose of the audition is to ensure that all members of the Choral derive enjoyment and satisfaction from producing musical performances of as high a standard as possible, given the amateur status of the choir. The audition will require you to:
(a) sing a piece of your choice not exceeding three minutes
(b) undertake a SIMPLE sight reading test
Dundee Choral Union meet on Monday evenings between September and March at 7.10pm prompt until 9.10pm in High School of Dundee, Trinity Hall, Euclid Crescent, Dundee. Cars may be parked in the School Playground.
Appointment of New Musical Director
Following our highly successful 150th Anniversary Concert when he conducted Verdi Requiem, Norman Beedie, DRSAM LRAM ARCM, has been appointed Musical Director with effect from September, 2008.
Born in Dundee, he was involved in a wide range of public music making from an early age, as pianist, flautist, organist and conductor. While studying at RSAMD he won the BBC Scottish Young Musician Competition and this led to recordings for the BBC. Following his studies in Glasgow he was awarded a Sir James Caird Travelling Scholarship to continue studies in Rome and in Paris with Nadia Boulanger. Described by her as, “…a real artist, a real musician…”, she appointed him as a professor at the International Conservatoire, Fontainebleau, where he subsequently became Assistant Director. Norman has performed in UK, Europe, the Far East and Ukraine and has given masterclasses in USA. He was founder conductor of Classic East Symphony Orchestra which regularly performed concerts in Peterborough and east Anglia and was Principal Conductor of the City of Peterborough Symphony Orchestra for ten seasons. He was for many years Musical Director of Ramsey Choral Society and co-Artistic Director of Ramsey Arts Festival. Norman is a professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.
We are delighted to announce that Patricia MacMahon FRSAMD ARCM LRAM has recently been appointed Patron/Hon. President of Dundee Choral Union.
During her career, Pat has specialised in concert, recital and oratorio work, frequently recording for BBC. Her profession has taken her to Israel, Aix en Provence Festival, Norway, St. Petersburg and Brussels and she has performed with the English Chamber Orchestra in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Barbican and St. John’s, Smith Square in London, all the major Scottish orchestras and has frequently appeared at the Edinburgh International Festival. She sang with the John Currie singers from its year of inception in 1968.
Pat is closely associated with the music of Scotland, having recorded music by many native composers, including the highly acclaimed award winning series “A History of Scottish Music”.
As well as fulfilling professional engagements, Pat taught singing at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama for over thirty years and she received an Honorary Fellowship in March 2000. She is still very much sought after by students at home and abroad. Pat has taken many masterclasses, including visits to the Royal College of Music in London, the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, the Samling Foundation Masterclasses with Sir Thomas Allen and Malcolm Martineau, the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, Oporto in Portugal and Lake Placid Institute International Voice Seminar, USA. She has adjudicated and examined throughout the UK and as far afield as Hong Kong and Singapore.