Wayns Augmented - May 2024
Welcome to the Wayns Augmented blogpost for May ’24
Our most noteworthy event this half term was of course the announcement that Andy Lumsden will be leaving his post as Director of Music at Winchester Cathedral. For those of you who don’t follow social media, here is the statement that we posted to our social media platforms on hearing the news:
“Following the announcement that Andy Lumsden is stepping down as Director of Music at Winchester Cathedral, we would like to express our gratitude for all he has done for music in Winchester, his outstanding direction of the Waynflete Singers and the inspirational impact he has had on the wider choral world.
We are delighted that he will continue as the Waynflete Singers’ DoM at least until a permanent successor is fully established at the Cathedral. He will conduct us for our July 6th Summer concert , our Christmas concert on December 7th , and what promises to be a very special Verdi Requiem in early April 2025.
We are deeply grateful for his continuing support and direction.”
In our rehearsal room it has been business as usual and we are happy to have progressed this half term under Andy’s continued outstanding direction with our Brahms, Lambert and Bernstein (with a little help as usual from George and Andy H, who have both been phenomenal!)
We are fortunate indeed that for us “business as usual” also means that we’ve enjoyed some talks during rehearsals by our wonderful programme writer Duncan Eves, helping us to understand better the longing in the Leibeslieders and the uniqueness of the Lambert. Duncan also very kindly agreed this term to take a break from his busy life to give us an interview- this is something that is really not to be missed and you can read it in the next blog post!
NEW MEMBERS
We also had our usual termly open rehearsals and auditions which has resulted in these three new members, to whom we extend a very warm Wayns welcome!
Selina Hepworth, A2
“I moved to the Andover area a couple of years ago, from north Dorset, where I sang in the Bryanston Choral Society. I have been involved with music making, in one form or another, both instrumental and vocal, all my life and am delighted to have been accepted into the Waynflete Singers. I look forward to making music with you all.”
Helen Rowland S2
“I am delighted to be joining The Waynflete Singers after a four year break from singing, having previously sung with Winchester City Festival choir. I have lived in Winchester for more than 18 years having moved here when our girls were young after a short stint abroad. I have worked across the public and charitable sectors over the years and am currently Director of Student Support at the University of Southampton. Singing brings me immense joy and is good for the body and soul - thank you all for such a warm welcome!”
Lizzie Wayne, S1
“I have recently moved to Winchester, having lived in and around London for many years. I still commute in a couple of days a week, where I work for the artist Marc Quinn (we currently have an exhibition on at Kew Gardens I should probably be promoting!)* My background and speciality is photography, but being a small team my role also encompasses a variety of design, retouching, 3d, videography, printing, and whatever else my boss dreams up. My love for choral singing began whilst I was studying Art in Cardiff and had the incredible opportunity to sing with the BBC National Chorus of Wales for 3 years. I have since sung with community choirs and am thrilled to be once again singing with a choir of your calibre.”
* https://www.kew.org/kew-gardens/whats-on/marc-quinn
Wishing everyone a happy half term holiday- may we sing no forlorn madrigals, but rather dance in the city down the public squares!
The idea behind our Wayns Augmented blog is to help keep us connected as a choir, to share our knowledge and experiences and to boost our musical camaraderie! . If you have an idea for a future blogpost then please don’t hesitate to contact Sarah Jones or Jacki Donnellan
