Reading Phoenix Choir

April 2010 - New Musical Director

After a comprehensive recruitment process during which candidates for the post attended interviews with representatives from within the Choir assisted by an experienced choral professional and also undertook rehearsals with the Choir, Reading Phoenix has appointed a new Mussical Director, David Crown from Oxford. As a conductor he studied with among others Colin Metters (Professor at the Royal Academy of Music) and has received excellent reviews for his work (including in The Times). In September 2007 he was asked to take over as Director of Chapel Music at Somerville College in Oxford. David will take up his appointment as MD of Reading Phoenix later this year

Jan 2010 - The Hexagon Concert

January 30th was another cold winters day but the choir had finally reached the Annual Hexagon Concert day. Everyone was filled with a sense of excitement - yet also one of cold dread. Phoenix is a well oiled machine - but the main difference this year was we did not have our usual driver. Was the concert going to be a success? Would we remember all the words or even more challenging - the dance moves?
Much to everyone's delight and relief the auditorium was almost full and the concert was a great success. Many people played their part, ranging from Sheila Quinney who does the beautiful flower arrangements to Guillaume whose first concert it was, to Shirley and Terry and their band of helpers who sell programmes, to Mike with his wonderful lighting effects and of course to Megan, a very talented folk musician who delighted us all with her thought provoking songs. Then there are all the choir members who have worked incredibly hard to learn an almost totally new repertoire in under six months.
There are a number of people who need special mention - Stephen Blinman whose wit and charm provided a seamless link between each song and of course our three conductors - Rachel, Chris and particularly Steve, the driving force and programme organiser, who all did a fantastic job to ensure we were note and move perfect.

Sep 2009 - Facebook and Twitter

Love them or hate them you have to accept that social networking sites are here to stay so, as the saying goes if you can't beat them, then join them! We have now launched an official Reading Phoenix Facebook site. Log-in, as normal on Facebook, search for Reading Phoenix Choir and register as a fan. Share your views on the 'wall'. All our fans are welcome. You can also follow us on Twitter by typing twitter.com/readingphoenix in your address bar. Finally, aware that not all our friends are Facebook or Twitter fans, we are developing a Forum accessible from this website with sections for Guests, Ex-members, Patrons and Current Members. Watch this space for further details.