PRESS RELEASEMonday, August 16, 2010
Bath music man Grenville Jones is calling open house for anyone who fancies joining a choir. Grenville is best known for his famous Last Choir Standing Bath Male Choir but he leads a number of other groups. He is also planning a brand new no audition fun for all evening choir in the Autumn.
Leaflets and flyers will be going out across the city inviting singers to open rehearsals at St Bart’s Church in Oldfield Park through September and October, “Come and try,” is the message.
Emma Rushe is one of the young singers in THE Bath Chorus. She went for an audition when Grenville started his new mixed voice choir after parting company with The Silver Ring Choir in January 2009. Says Emma:
“I used to really enjoy singing at music college and when a friend told me about Grenville starting a new mixed voice choir in Bath I decided to go along and audition. The choir is very friendly and of a great standard with over 90 singers. We have performed at the opening night of the Bath Christmas switch on with Nicolas Cage as well as in Wells Cathedral and Bath Abbey.
“There have been concerts with Hayley Westenra and Aled Jones at the Bath Forum. And we have some big dates coming up including two major Charity concerts and our show with ACM on December 11th.“
John Roch sings with Bath Male Choir www.bathmalechoir.org. He says:
“I am one of the relatively new members. I used to sing but Bath Male Choir is different. The music is great and when we perform at concerts the experience is brilliant. If you love to sing then don’t be put off by the word 'Choir', come along to one of our Open Nights www.grenvillejones.biz/open-nights.html and give it a try. You won’t regret it. ”
John’s wife Hilary is a member of Grenville’s 50 strong Stockingtops group. They are singing at Wiltshire Music Centre on September 25th with Bath Male Choir.
Another choir started by Grenville is the Bath Thursday Good Afternoon Choir which is taken by Francis Faux who works with Grenville. It is for everyone, no auditions, just join and enjoy singing in the daytime! Russell Eagles is a member. This is what Russell has to say...
“I joined the choir when it was started by Grenville in May last year. I have no singing background although I was a music student many years ago. I have always nurtured a feeling to be involved in the world of music.
“The music we sing is lively and modern. Francis Faux is our inspirational conductor and Grenville officiates when Francis is absent. If you want an uplifting, enjoyable afternoon and be part of a happy family away from all your troubles then come and join us.”
And the new singing group? Grenville explains;
“People keep asking me if they could join an evening choir which doesn’t have the pressure of auditions so that is the next project!“
Full details can be found on www.grenvillejones.biz singing is one of the most popular hobbies in the UK, now is your chance to give it a try.
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Press enquiries to Grenville Jones on 0777 828 2934 or 01761 472468 office or email jonesgrenville@aol.com
Wednesday, May 6, 2009A UNIQUE new singing project starts tomorrow afternoon (Thursday May 7th) in Bath. Bath Choir leader Grenville Jones knows first hand about the huge interest in singing. The BBC's Last Choir Standing had a major affect on the resurgence and his Bath Male Choir hit top five on the 2008 programme; a remarkable achievement for a group who only formed in 2007. Grenville’s next project will tune up in Bath tomorrow (Thursday May 7th). The Good Afternoon Choir will be just that, an open Choir with no auditions for retired and unemployed people. Everyone will be welcome with the accent on harmony singing and, in Grenville’s words: “Everything from Alleluia to Abba!” He is also the founder of a charity called Golden-Oldies, which has attracted worldwide attention. ”Goldies”, as it has become affectionally known, provides fun rock and roll singing sessions in community homes for isolated and lonely people and is having a profound effect on people’s lives. In 16 months it has progressed from 5 weekly singing sessions in Bath to over 50 across the west of England. The Good Afternoon Choir project in Bath will link in with Bath Spa University, which has a strong reputation for music excellence. Young music degree students will be given the opportunity to act as trainee conductors of the Good Afternoon Choirs. An X-Factor-type audition will take place in May to pick the two students who will work with the choir for the next 12 months. This will conclude with a concert in Bath with each student conducting one half of the performance. The first meeting of the choir is at the United Reformed Church, Argyle Street Bath from 2 – 4pm on Thursday May 7th. Everyone is welcome. Have a good afternoon and sing with the Good Afternoon Choir. www.goodafternoonchoir.org
Friday, April 24, 2009Photo call Thursday May 7th 2pm - 4pm, United Reformed Church, Bath Have a “good afternoon” with the Good Afternoon ChoirMORE and more people are joining choirs and taking up singing as a hobby. There are rock choirs, work choirs and community choirs, but sadly, many older people whose choir has been the centre of their social life for years have to face the fact that as their voices age, the choir they love just may not want them anymore. A new singing project in Bath could change all that. Bath Choir leader Grenville Jones knows first hand about the huge new interest in singing. The BBC's Last Choir Standing had a major affect on the resurgence of interest in singing and his own Bath Male Choir achieved top five status on the 2008 programme; a remarkable achievement for a group of men who only formed in 2007. Many of the members had no previous choir experience yet Bath Male Choir, now with over 90 members, is in huge demand for concerts across the UK. Grenville is also the founder of a charity called Golden-Oldies, which has attracted worldwide attention. ”Goldies”, as it has become affectionally known, provides fun rock and roll singing sessions in community homes for isolated and lonely people and is having a profound effect on people’s lives. In 16 months it has progressed from 5 weekly singing sessions in Bath to over 50 across the west of England. Grenville’s next project will start in Bath next Thursday (May 7th). The Good Afternoon Choir will be just that, an open Choir with no auditions for retired and unemployed people. Everyone will be welcome with the accent on harmony singing and, in Grenville’s words: “Everything from Alleluia to Abba!” He explains: “I have conducted many choirs and have been faced with the unpleasant task of re-auditioning older choir members, an experience shared by fellow conductors across the UK. Many elderly choir members have belonged to their choir for most of their life. It has become the bedrock of their social world, their friendships and in many cases the way they enjoy holidays through singing tours abroad. Then they are told that their voice is not good enough any more, a devastating thing to hear. “In Latvia there are a series of retirement choirs which singers move on to when they reach 70. Then there is no unpleasantness or bad feeling involved. The Good Afternoon Choir in Bath is a pilot and I hope the concept will take off across the whole of the United Kingdom. “People will be able to travel to their choir rehearsal during the daytime, making use of free bus passes. They will not have to be concerned about dark nights and evening parking charges, and they will be home in time to enjoy the 6 o’clock news. But this will not be an inferior group musically, it will be group of singers who work to achieve a high standard and entertain its audiences. “Another unique aspect of the Good Afternoon Choirs will be singing in five-part harmony. As well as the traditional soprano, alto, tenor and bass lines, we will introduce the opportunity to simply sing the melody line. This means that anyone who has no previous singing experience can sing the tune to their heart’s content. There will also be social trips and opportunities to meet up with other Good Afternoon Choirs.” Uniquely, The Good Afternoon Choir project in Bath will link in with the Bath Spa University, which has a strong reputation for music excellence. Young music degree students will be given the opportunity to act as trainee conductors of the Good Afternoon Choirs. An X-Factor-type audition will take place in May to pick the two students who will work with the choir for the next 12 months. This will conclude with a concert in Bath with each student conducting one half of the performance. The first meeting of the choir is at the United Reformed Church, Argyle Street Bath from 2 – 4pm on Thursday May 7th. Everyone is welcome. Have a good afternoon and sing with the Good Afternoon Choir. For more information please contact Grenville or Nikki on 01761 472468 or visit www.goodafternoonchoir.org
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
ONE thing is for sure: Bath will be the all-singing and all-dancing place to be over the Spring Bank Holiday this year from May 1 – May 4.
For the last two years, Bath music man Grenville Jones has organised his Bath Showcase charity concert at the Bath Forum on the first Saturday in May. These have raised over £30,000 for local community groups, working with the Chairman of Bath & North East Somerset Council who has chosen the groups who receive the support.
This year, in his inimitable style, Grenville is going a few steps further, turning the Showcase idea into a weekend of music called Bath Sing for Life. Grenville started talking to local businesses last summer, looking for sponsorship support.
He has raised over £20,000 to date. The main Bath Sing for Life sponsor is Wessex Water, with a long list of other backers.
Grenville explains:
“Bath was buzzing on that Spring Bank Holiday last year, but apart from my showcase concert there was very little else happening. This year things will be different. Not only will there be the Bath Sing for Life concerts, but James Whitehead is also running his Bath Dance Festival that weekend, and of course there is the annual Bath Spring Flower Show at Royal Victoria Park.
“If you live in Bath, get your guest room ready and ask your friends from around the UK. Let’s make our city a lively and happy place to be between May 1st and 4th.”
Bath Sing for Life will be raising money for Dorothy House Hospice Care, Forever Friends and Golden Oldies. Grenville’s target is £30,000.
On Friday May 1st, there will be 4 concerts all starting at 7.45pm featuring local singers. St. Mary Bathwick will welcome the Bath Minerva Choir and the Paragon Singers. This concert is sponsored by Thring Townsend Lee & Pembertons and Zenith International.
The Bath Cantata Group and the Jane Lilley Singers will be in concert at St. Stephen’s Lansdown. Rotork Controls and Buro Happold are the sponsors.
St. Luke’s Wellsway will welcome the Bath Community Gospel Choir and the RUH Community Choir, sponsored by The Podium and Bath Chamber of Commerce.
St. John’s Catholic Church in South Parade will host a concert by the ‘Last Choir Standing’ top five, The City of Bath Male Choir with Grenville Jones’ new choir, THE Bath Chorus. The sponsors here are Mowbray Woodward Solicitors and Richardson Grove Accountants.
“I would like to especially thank all the choirs, who are taking part without charge. Friday concert tickets will all be priced £12.50 and I hope that the people of Bath will turn out to pack all of the four churches, so we can really get the weekend off to a fantastic start,” adds Grenville.
As well as the Dance Festival events taking place on the streets of Bath through the weekend, Saturday will see talented young musicians from Bath Spa University playing at city centre venues such as The Podium, Milsom Place, Jolly’s, M&S and BHS.
The Rodolfus Choir are without question one of the premier youth choirs in Europe. Aged between 18 and 25, they are all aspiring professional musicians who have been selected from the annual Eton Choral courses. They regularly record on Radio 3, were the choir chosen by Katherine Jenkins to sing on her CDs, and are led by Ralph Allwood from Eton College. They will be in concert at Bath Abbey on Saturday evening May 2nd, a concert featuring popular choral music from across the ages that is bound to sell out very quickly.
One of Europe’s leading organists, David Goode will also play at the Bath Abbey concert.
Also on the Saturday, the Bath Forum will host a singing workshop for young people aged between 9 and 17 called Worldsong. Sponsored by Bath Building Society, the workshop will be taken by one of the leading youth choir conductors in the world, Mike Brewer OBE.
This workshop is being supported by the music advisor team at Bath and North East Somerset Council. On Saturday evening at 7.30 p.m, the workshop will form the basis for a concert, which will also feature the Curtain-Up theatre group, the Bath Youth Gospel Choir and Cantilena.
Top jazz vocalist Clare Teal will headline at the Bath Pavilion on Sunday evening May 3rd, the final Bath Sing for Life event for the weekend, sponsored by Tesco. Appearances on shows like Parkinson have put Clare right at the top of the jazz tree. Supporting Clare at the Pavilion will be the fabulous Stockingtops all-girl swing group, another evening not to be missed.
Other local sponsors backing Bath Sing for Life are Ralph Allen Press, World Market Travel, First Office, Money Wise, Cross Manufacturing, Touchstone, Aqua Sulis Guesthouse, The Royal Hotel and Tolley Cottage. Media supporters are the Bath Chronicle and GWR West.
With the support of the Council, promotional literature will be sent all around the UK targeting visitors to the city. Group travel and accommodation are in the capable hands of Bath-based European Connoisseurs Travel.
See www.bathsingforlife.org.uk for full details. All concert tickets are available from the Bath Festivals Box Office, tel. 01225 463362 or call Rosie at Grenville’s office on 01761 472468.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
The work of Golden-Oldies founder, Grenville Jones has been recognised in the 2009 City of Bath Mayor’s Citizen of the Year Awards.
The awards recognise individuals working in the community across the City and local people are invited to nominate the people they think should be acknowledged.
Grenville’s nominees were Cyril Watson and Margaret Fielding who are both regular Goldies at the Monday morning Blagdon Park singing session. This was the first session started by Grenville in January last year. It now has over 30 people who sing and smile to the hits of the 50s, 60s and 70s.
Both Cyril and Margaret attended the Mayor’s Parlour in the Guildhall yesterday (Tuesday 17th March) when Cyril read out his nomination. He said:
“Grenville and the Goldies have given so many elderly people something very special.
“There are so many of us who stay at home with little to look forward to. The Goldies has got us out of our homes and we all love the sessions so much.”
From the first Blagdon Park session in Bath there are now over 40 sessions across the West of England attracting between 50 and 60 people.
The Golden-Oldies Charity works with a number of organisations including Somer Housing, Merlin Housing, Mendip Housing, Mendip District Council, North Somerset Housing, South Somerset Homes and South Somerset District Council as well as Swindon Borough Council and South Gloucestershire Council.
Goldies as it has become known has received international media coverage. It was featured on the BBC National News and TV crews from Canada and Germany have visited Bath to film Cyril, Margaret and friends raising the roof to Hi Ho Silver Lining.
Grenville’s work with the Golden-Oldies was also recognised in January by the Bath Chronicle when they named him Bath Man of 2008. This was not only for his work with the Charity but also for the success of his City of Bath Male Choir on the BBC’s popular Last Choir Standing series.
Aled Jones invited Grenville as guest on his Radio 3 programme, The Choir in September where he was keen to hear about the Golden-Oldies and Grenville’s growing reputation as being the man who gets people of all ages to sing.
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For more information please contact Grenville Jones on 01761 472468
Bath choir leader, concert promoter and PR man Grenville Jones has announced that he standing down from one of his Choirs, the Silver Ring Choir and launching two new music ventures in 2009 !
Grenville who lives at Peasedown has conducted the Silver Ring Choir of Bath for the past 11 years. During that time he has taken the choir from 35 to 90 singers and put it on stage with some of the biggest names in popular music including Katherine Jenkins, Alfie Boe, Hayley Westenra and Aled Jones. There have been recordings and TV appearances as well as highly successful tours to Europe, Canada twice and New Zealand.
Says Grenville:
" I have enjoyed many special musical moments with the Silver Ring and hopefully entertained thousands across the World, but there are only so many hours in the day. I wish the Choir good contented singing in the future, I made so many friends around the World with the Choir concerts and tours. "
Grenville will concentrate his enthusiasm on the City of Bath Male Choir20that he founded in 2006. In a short time they have become one of the most popular choirs in the UK reaching top five in the recent ‘ Last Choir Standing ‘ series on BBC TV and with over 90 singers now on the=2 0books .
As well as the Male Choir he also has his auditioned girls group - the 30 voice Stockingtops girls swing singers as well as the Golden- Oldies Charity he launched last year which is having such a profound effect on the lives of hundreds of elderly people across the West of England.
Goldies, as it has become known, has attracted world-wide publicity being featured on the national BBC 6 O’clock news as well as on Canadian, German and Australian TV. Grenville was the special guest of Aled Jones in September on his Radio Three programme ‘The Choir’. Aled’s interview centred on Grenville’s reputation for getting people singing and the success of the Golden-Oldies.
Grenville has also produced two highly successful charity showcase variety shows for the last 2 years at the Bath Forum raising over £30,000 for local organisations. In 2009 he will extend the Showcase theme to a whole weekend of music called Bathsingforlife from May 1-4. Local companies have pledged over £20,000 in sponsorship support and the weekend will again raise money for local Charities.
New projects from Grenville in 2009 will include a new auditioned Monday night rehearsal concert choir call ed THE Bath Chorus. Grenville wants to hear from talented singers who would like to join this new group who will sing in May at the BathsingforLife weekend.
A choir of 30 voices under this name sang at the first Golden-Oldies carol service at St Mary Bathwick last week. with Grenville as Music Director and delighted the packed congregation. A new mixed voice choir for Bath was born !
He also plans to launch a Good Afternoon Choir in the Spring, an idea he has been nurturing for the past few months. He explains;
“There are so many people who are retired but to still love to sing in a proper choir. Attending evening rehearsals is a chore, especially in the winter months. The Good Afternoon Choir will be just that, an afternoon social group who are not auditioned so anyone can join but who will sing in four parts and enjoy making friends and music.
"They will rehearse in the centre of Bath so Park and Ride will be an easy option to get into Bath and I will be introducing new young conductors for this group as well as working with University music students.
“I want to take the idea of the Good Afternoon Choirs across the UK in the years ahead.”
Find out more about Grenville’s projects on www.grenvillejones.biz20or call Nikki or Rosie at his office on 0176 472468.
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