It's been a busy year so far. In December of last year we were awarded a £1000 grant from the BBC Performing Arts Fund to put on a singing course and the first quarter of this year was spent organising that and having lots of fun in the process.
It started in March and came to an end two months later with a 'friends and family night'. The course choir were warmed-up by visiting coach (and ex-Guildford MD) Mike Warner, coached 'under glass' by Mike Taylor and Paula Taylor-Williams, and performed the three songs they'd learned to an appreciative audience. Guildford Harmony and quartet Karisma entertained and NoteOrious - a top UK a cappella quartet and LABBS gold-medal winners - topped the bill.
At the end of the course, we have gained some new members and so have some other choirs in the area. It's fantastic for Guildford Harmony and a tribute to MD Andrew Edgley who was, of course, key to the success of the course. "We've achieved our main objectives and I'm really pleased that so many people have discovered or re-discovered a love of singing," he says. "It's been really worthwhile."
In the middle of all that our 30th birthday was marked with a celebration cake and some bubbly - and the next event is this year's 'Song Launch weekend' which will mark the start of preparations for Convention in earnest.
