Welcome to FORTISMERE PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE
Fortismere MUSIC Centre
Join in with Choir
Fortismere Community Choir started in 2009 and is based in Muswell Hill, north London. It is an ambitious unauditioned choir which comprises singers of all abilities – whether you are accomplished and able to read music or whether you simply enjoy singing but cannot read music, a warm welcome awaits you.
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Under the guidance of musical director Marvin Perrott, the choir has gone from strength to strength, performing works such as the Requiem Masses by Mozart, Duruflé and Fauré, Haydn's epic oratorio The Seasons, Beethoven's Missa Solemnis and most recently Rachmaninoff's Vespers.
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If you are interested in joining us (even if you are unsure which voice you are) you are welcome to attend one or two rehearsals without obligation. We are particularly looking for tenors and basses. As a regular member, we would ask you to pay a termly subscription (£75 per adult, reduced to £50 for students) per term in order to cover costs.
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The choir meets at Fortismere School every Saturday in the music block in North Wing, from 10.30am to 1.00pm during school terms. Access is through either North Wing (Creighton Avenue) or South Wing (Tetherdown). There is also a very important coffee and cake break incorporated into the rehearsal time!
The choir performs at least twice a year (usually in St Andrew’s Church on Alexandra Park Road) with the Fortismere Community Symphony Orchestra and some wonderful professional soloists. Above all it is a great opportunity to get to know people from the local community who have links either directly with the school or to the locality, and to enjoy singing together with people who share a love of music.
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The choir is incredibly lucky to have access to professional musicians – a great musical director, accompanist, orchestra and soloists all of whom further enhance the experience.
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The choir has a steering committee and an active social network. Relaxed but supportive home-based sectionals, carol singing and parties all help to create a friendly atmosphere at rehearsals and events. If you would like to join our choir please email fmcinfo@fortismere.org.uk to arrange to attend a rehearsal on a trial basis.
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We are currently rehearsing the Missa dei Filii by Jan Dismas Zelenka (a contemporary of J S Bach), for our Christmas concert with audience carols at St Andrew's Church on Saturday 9th December at 7.00pm. Rehearsal aids (piano recordings of each part) are available here:
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Sopranos | Altos | Tenors | Basses | Altos Cum Sancto Spiritu v2
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Marvin L. Perrott
Community Choir Musical Director​
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Marvin studied Early Music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and has extensive experience both as a singer and conductor. Equally at home in the concert hall Marvin has performed as a soloist in the Messiah, Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers and Bach’s H-moll Messe at the Aldeburgh Music Festival. In 2004 Marvin formed the Clemens non Papa Consort, a group whose aim is to perform lesser known works of the Baroque, Renaissance and Classical periods to a high artistic standard. He has been Musical Director of the Community Choir since 2015.
John Eady
Community Choir Répétiteur & Accompanist
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John studied music at King's College London, the Royal Academy of Music and cello at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. In 2002 he started to learn the organ at the St Giles International Organ School and in 2006 he became a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists. He is a freelance cellist and organist, manages his string quartet named Four Strings Attached, and is organist at St Magnus the Martyr, London Bridge.
We all know we've got exceptional cooks in our midst. Who can forget the myriad of salads, divine Jansson's Temptation, or green-orange spinach-lentil roulade at Christmas parties? As for cake - well, that's what we come for on a Saturday morning!
So in 2018 we created a Cakes & Party Food recipe book. Jane Dorner (soprano) worked really hard to collate, illustrate, and design the book, and arrange production. Choir member and artist Sarah McMenemy produced a wonderful cover for it. Thank you to everyone who contributed.
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Cakes & Party Food is on sale at our concerts and at rehearsals for £10 (or 2 for £15).
