An interview with our concert manager Veronica

We asked our Soprano 2, committee member and concert manager Veronica Shaw to tell us all about herself and her role. Read on to find out what challenge she has taken on every year since her “retirement” and what she enjoys most about being Concert Manager for the Wayns....

So how long have you been a singer, Veronica?

I have sung in choirs since the age of 11, when I joined the school choir. I’ve moved around a bit so have sung in The City of London Choir, Bristol Choral Society, The Birmingham Bach Choir, The Phoenix Singers in Shrewsbury, The Bournemouth Symphony Chorus and, of course, The Waynflete Singers (since 2003). I also currently sing with The Winchester Fusion Choir, an inclusive community choir who sing pop and folk songs as well as musical theatre numbers – all for charity. It is a total contrast to The Wayns and great fun.

What did/do you do for a living?

For most of my career I have been in Primary Education, spending the last 15 years as headteacher of Itchen Abbas and Scantabout Primary Schools. I absolutely loved being a headteacher but decided to take early retirement in 2016 as I felt it was time to pass on the challenge to others. Since then I have volunteered at Citizens Advice in Eastleigh, a role I find both challenging and rewarding. I specialise in debt advice, but have recently become a volunteer supervisor and also train new recruits.

Tell us about your family?

I am the mother of two wonderful young adults – Fran (32) and Ben (28), who have flown the nest and live in London and Stevenage respectively. Tragically their father, Howard, died in 2001 at the ridiculously young age of 45. I moved to Winchester following Howard’s death in order to be nearer to his family who live(d) in Eastleigh and Chandlers Ford. I wanted Fran and Ben to stay close to their cousins, aunts, uncles and paternal grandparents. It was a great decision as we have all thrived in Winchester and I still love living here.

Do you find time for any hobbies other than singing?

I love walking and, together with a friend, I have undertaken a different long-distance footpath each year since my retirement. So far I’ve walked The Severn, Wye Valley, South Downs, Test, and Shropshire Ways, as well as The Norfolk Coastal Path/Peddars Way. I’m just about to start The Macmillan Way West from Castle Cary to Barnstable.

When did you become concert manager for the Wayns?

I joined the committee in November 2022 and was asked to be concert manager as David Reece was stepping down after six years in the role. I had just finished liaising between The Bournemouth Symphony Chorus and the Wayns for the Mahler 8 concert at the Royal Albert Hall and felt I had the capacity to take on a more substantial role supporting the choir.

How far in advance of concert day does work begin for you as concert manager?

I attend the programming committee meetings, so have some say in the content of our concerts.

The dates for cathedral concerts are decided by the committee, including Andy of course, to ensure he has no other commitments. I then propose the date to the cathedral, but it is often only pencilled in at the initial stage as the cathedral has a long and quite complex system for confirming dates with us.

For the summer term, when we sing elsewhere, the committee decides what sort of event they want and I put out feelers to suitable venues and get a mutually convenient date agreed.

What do you do between then and concert day (apart from singing at rehearsals with the rest of us!)?

I liaise with the orchestra/musicians who have been booked, giving them the information they need for the rehearsal/concert day.

I also liaise with the venue to ensure that we have all we need (staging, personnel, bells for the interval, timings, parking details, refreshments if applicable and so on).

As the concert day nears, I check everything is running as expected and make sure that everyone involved in the concert knows what they are doing. I confirm the final numbers of participating choir members and put together the seating plan which I run past Andy.

Occasionally there are other things to do. For example, I sourced and hired the chamber organ for the most recent concert, going on George's recommendation on this occasion.

As you know, at the final choir rehearsal I inform the choir about what they need to do on the day of the concert.

Pre-concert checks with Andy

So what happens on concert day?

For a cathedral concert I arrive around two hours before the rehearsal time. I label the seats for the choir and ensure the soloists have their chairs. I welcome the orchestra manager and show them the green rooms for before and during the concert. I ensure they have all they need and help them to arrange their music stands and seats or get anything else they require. I check with the vergers to ensure they know what is going on and ask them for anything particular we might need.

At the rehearsal break, as you know, I go through the details for the concert with the choir.

After the rehearsal I go home, but get back an hour before the concert to make sure the programmes are in the right place, with a table ready for the sellers. I check the coat rails are in situ and the seating is still all as expected. Ten minutes before the concert I line the choir up and ensure everyone is on stage at the right time.

After the concert I remove the seat labels and thank the orchestra manager before I head off home.

Last minute adjustments to the seating plan

Working out staging with the supplier of the chamber organ

You mentioned other people involved in putting on a concert. Who are they and what do they do?

Lea Holmes manages the planning committee and she books the orchestra/musicians and soloists.

Sarah Jones is in charge of publicity- producing flyers, posters, social media content. Kate Baker is the new treasurer who deals with everything financial. Sue Rees deals with buying/hiring our music, Chris Town produces the programmes, and Committee chairman Daniel Benton always steps in to help if things aren't going to plan. But there are other people who organise many other things- e.g ticket sales, flowers for the soloists, choir folders, parking, to name but a few... It really is a team effort by many choir members.

Have you had any concert day disasters to deal with?

I haven't been doing the job for very long so there haven't really been any major disasters as yet.

The worst concert day issue was in Christchurch last October. The orchestra manager arrived expecting to have more space than was allocated, which would have meant re-doing the seating plan, which had taken many hours to put together. We resolved this by moving the audience back, otherwise there would not have been enough space for the choir and I would not have relished the task of choosing who to drop at the last minute!

Finally, what do you enjoy most about being concert manager?

It is very satisfying to feel that I have been part of organising such a wonderful event. Now that I know more about how much goes into the planning and preparation, I feel great pride in knowing that I have played a part in bringing it all together.

If you would like to be involved with or contribute in any way to helping with our concerts or the running of our choir, then please contact our committee chairman Daniel Benton. The committee always welcomes additional members to help to share the workload!

Wayns Augmented - February 2024

Wayns Augmented -February 2024

Welcome to our new half-termly blog, Wayns Augmented. If you have any ideas, suggestions or content for future blogs then please contact Jacki Donnellan or Sophie House.

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The new year began well for the Wayns as we were returning fresh from a successful Christmas concert. Many felt that the balance of sound between the English Chamber Orchestra and us the choir was just right, and the opportunities for congregational as well as choral singing made for a truly festive occasion (as well as providing us with a ready-made standing ovation- but of course this would have happened anyway!!) Our thanks as always to Andy Lumsden and all those who work behind the scenes to make the concert happen.

Those of us who watched the latest season of Netflix series The Crown over the Christmas break that followed may have spotted our very own Andy Lumsden on their screens, as there is a very clear shot of him conducting at the very beginning of a scene filmed in the Cathedral. This link will take you to a Youtube clip if you’d like to take a peek!

You may also like to hear more about the Grammy that was recently awarded to Andy and the Cathedral Choristers, as mentioned in the last Wayns Weekly. Here is a link to an article about it on the Cathedral website, and here is a link to an interview with Andy and two of the choristers on Radio Solent (2 hrs 25 mins in).

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Welcome to our new members

We have grown in number this half term having gained four new members in this term’s auditions, with our longstanding member Sandra Brown returning to singing with us after a break. We welcome them all warmly!

We asked our new members to tell us a little bit about themselves:

 Rachel Cristofoli A1- I've sung in choirs since I was 8 years old when I started singing with the IoW Youth Choir. I live in Kings Worthy and moved to the Winchester area 30 years ago when I joined the Winchester City Festival Choir. I work full time in Winchester as a Director of a small Market Research Consultancy. Aside from singing, my main hobby is swimming (both in the pool and open water) and my typical day kicks off with a long swim before work. I'm delighted to be part of The Wayns and really pleased I finally plucked up the courage to audition.

Annabel Larard A1 - I live in Medstead. I run a project called Primary Robins that brings singing into the lives of children that have little or no exposure to music. Singing has always been an important part of my life and I am thrilled to be joining the Waynflete Singers.

Kieron Brear B1- I've been singing in choirs for over 20 years around the south. As well as classical music, I've sung a range including pop and show tunes. My biggest gig was in a choir backing Fatboy Slim when he headlined the Bestival festival. I live outside Salisbury and I'm looking forward to making quality music with the Wayns.

Maddy Thompson S2 - I am a Consultant nurse in palliative medicine at Winchester Hospice and Hampshire Hospitals. I live in Winchester with my family and am looking forward to returning to choral singing again after a few years off!

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We break for half term shortly before St Valentine’s Day which seems a fitting end to a half term which began with the wonderful news of Andy Lumsden’s engagement. We are grateful to Andy Hayman and George Castle this half term for the times they have stepped in to lead our rehearsals, helping us to march forward with our Bach and Handel - quite literally, on one occasion! No doubt we will continually, continually, continually make good progress next half- term...

Have a happy half term holiday!

New Year Update

Welcome to 2023 ! Thanks to all who came to our Christmas concert in Winchester Cathedral.  It was wonderful to be singing to a completely full audience, and also to hear the enthusiastic participation in the audience carols.

 We are starting this year with a coronation-themed concert on March 18th in the Cathedral.  We are performing several large-scale works composed for previous coronations, including Elgar’s Coronation Ode (written for the 1902 coronation) and Walton’s Te Deum (1953).  We are delighted to be working again with the wonderful Bournemouth Symphony orchestra, as these works require large forces.  The Elgar is relatively rarely performed, and is the work in which Elgar first set the words and music of “Land of Hope and Glory” together : it’s a great piece to perform.

 On June 4th we will be holding a “Come and Sing”, which will also be coronation themed.  If you would like to sing with us, keep watching this space and we soon be providing details on how to sign up.  We will work together in the afternoon and then the come and sing forces will perform the works in the evening, along with some extra works performed by the Wayns.  As always, we are very open to new people joining the choir, so if you enjoy either the concerts or the come and sing, do consider auditioning.

Beyond that, future dates for your diaries are October 14th in Christchurch Priory for a Brahms concert, also with the BSO, and our next Christmas concert on December 9th in the Cathedral.

We very much hope to see you at the concerts !