In normal times the members of Weymouth Choral Society would have gathered at a rehearsal to enjoy tea and cakes to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the appointment of their Musical Director, Helen Brind. However, unable to meet in person, members have spent the last few months composing greetings for Helen’s card. Another member sprayed a conductor’s baton gold and made a beautiful frame for it. These were presented to Helen by a socially distanced gathering of six in a blustery wind on Bowleaze Coveway. Longstanding member Geoff Pritchard made a short speech, detailing Helen’s place in the history of the Society and telling of the great affection in which she is held. Helen was also presented with a card, a bouquet and a statuette of a female conductor. Helen said she was delighted that her anniversary was marked in this way and expressed the hope that rehearsals in person might resume as soon as regulations permitted. In the meantime, music is emailed to members on a regular basis and those wishing to “meet up” join a Zoom rehearsal each Monday.
The accompanying video (coming soon) of the proceedings was somewhat compromised by the wind so you can see set out below the text of Geoff’s speech:
“We’re here today to mark a very significant anniversary, Helen’s 20th year as Musical Director of Weymouth Choral Society. Where have the years gone? For 22 years I acted as Minutes Secretary of the Society, a job like many in my life, I took on for, as I thought, a few years, but somehow got stuck with it, or found it interesting. I was also privy to most of the inner workings of the Society. For about five years at the end of the last century John Wycliffe-Jones, who had been Musical Director since 1978, indicated that he wished to retire in the not too distant future. A few names were put forward as likely successors and for various reasons nothing came of it. John Cooper became our Chairman in the late 1990s. A man of great charm and a good friend, John was a doer. He put out some feelers and he learned from James Davis, a good friend of the Society, about a young musician who, in his opinion, was the sort of Musical Director who would fit in well. So, in 2000 Helen met the committee and was appointed. And what an interesting time we’ve had in the last 20 years, as a browse through the file of programmes testifies. Oratorios, lighter works, a trip for some to Carnegie Hall for a premiere, newly published works, the now famous summer concerts (and equally famous teas!) and the broadening of horizons with Helen taking on the Musical Directorship of Barclays House Choir in Poole and the Weymouth Concert Brass (and a few others on the way!) which has led to useful musical connections. Then there has been the involvement of many of her talented pupils from the Dorchester Area Schools Partnership – a wonderful resource providing many of the talented young musicians of today and the future with opportunities for performance experience. I was the Clerk to the Governors at St Mary’s School Puddletown for 14 years where there is a large musical outreach and can testify the esteem in which Helen is held. So, on behalf of the members of the Society I am pleased to present you, Helen, with this token of esteem and affection to mark this milestone in your life and that of the Society.”
