CURTAIN UP - LATEST NEWS

Our friends in Vevey, Total Musical Theatre, are organizing a singing workshop in September. Led by UK-based, professional Musical Director Sarah de Tute, the workshop is designed to assist singers of all abilities to develop their vocal, musical and communicative capabilities in a safe, collaborative and supportive environment.

Dates: 23rd-24th September 2023, 10h-17h.

Prices: CHF 150 for members of TMT, CHF 180 for non-members.

See the flyer for more information on the workshop and on how to register.

Tickets for our youth show, High School Musical, will be available from Monday the 24th of July. A 15% discount is offered to GAOS members during the first two weeks of sales. Code is: GOWILDCATS. Remember, you can buy as many tickets as you want using the code, but it should not be shared with non-GAOS members.

To help us reach as many people as possible, please share the flyer and poster as widely as you can, making sure posting is allowed. Thank you!

Recently, bikes have been parked in the costumes corridor. For two reasons, please do not leave bikes or anything else in this space. The corridor is a fire escape, and therefore needs to be kept clear at all times. Secondly, because of the recent spate of e-bikes and scooters bursting into flames, we cannot take the risk of this happening in a fire escape and next to the costumes. Please either leave your bikes in the corridor next to the barn or chain them up by the toilets. Whatever you do, please do not leave batteries unattended on either e-bikes or scooters. 

Thank you very much for your understanding.

As previously communicated in Curtain Update, the Choral Group held a workshop, led by Julian McNamara, from the 7th to the 9th of July. This was followed by an informal concert and an apéro-dinatoire.

Photos courtesy of Karin Divià

Here's what Maureen, a Choral Group member, has to say about it:

"Bless our wonderful Susan Lloyd, founder of the Choral Group way back in the eighties, for our delightful pastoral Summer Concert, despite ongoing ill health! Not only did Sue persuade our dear faithful friend Julian McNamara to fly over for our long working weekend, but she hosted him too!

Personally I don't know of anyone who has done as much for GAOS as our valiant Sue - I joined in 1976 and have seen it all...

Enormous thanks to Julian for all the work he put into preparing and adapting his delightful choice of charming folk songs especially for our Choral Group! Julian has a such a brilliant, inspiring and fun way of teaching and we hope he'll come back again soon (shortly freer in retirement). Julian told me that he has kept in touch with Roger Eggleston, our first and long-term Director, and was in fact using Roger's Score of English Folk Songs!

As for our patient and long-suffering accompanist, Joan Cambitsis, you are a star, and I don't know how you do it! Thanks are also due to Carolyn Hornfeld for her efficient administration and of course, perfect Swiss organization from Karin Divià!

Thanks to our faithful Committee we were able to rehearse all weekend in the beautifully equipped Salle Communale de Founex!

Cheers all round from Maureen."

And here's what Sue Sell had to say as an audience member:

"The 'Salle Comunale de Founex' opened its doors for a perfect summer's evening with friends.

Our GAOS Choral Group pulled it off once again. With dedication and talent they entertained us with their amazing voices and harmonies. We were enchanted by delightful music from Kirsty Griffiths on her 'Beautiful' harp. What a joy it was to watch and admire Julian McNamara in full swing, enjoying the concert he created over this exciting weekend.

The après concert was well catered and encouraged the audience to join in the fun, chatting to the choir and catching up with GAOS friends with a glass of wine and a delicious, copious buffet.

Thank you to everyone who made it so special."

Would you like to help greeting the audience, checking tickets and making sure nobody falls in the orchestra pit? Then contact our Front of House manager, Frou Frou, and let her know which performance(s) you are available for.

Alternatively, do you fancy helping keep our audience fed and watered? Get in touch with Nabs, who will be running the bar for this show!

The Sub-Committee established last October has concluded its work. The resulting Code of Conduct is now available on the website, together with a poster which will be displayed at HQ. A proposal for amendment of Schedule E in order to incorporate the new procedures into the Constitution will be presented at the next AGM. We thank all the volunteers who participated in this process.

The production team is pleased to announce the cast for the January 2024 panto - Pinocchio. We thank everyone who auditioned, and encourage them to get involved in the show in other capacities if they were not selected.

After several years as Technical Manager and Facilities Manager (together with Karin Divià) and many, many shows at the sound desk, work is taking Jon Nixon away from Geneva. Please join us in wishing him the very best in his future endeavours.

His departure will leave a vacancy in the Committee. Also, while the current members are happy to continue doing the jobs you elected them for, we would like to encourage any GAOS member who would like to stand to do so. Get in touch if you'd like to know more!

The peaceful backwaters of the Rhône River in Peney provided a perfect setting for young and very long-time GAOS members to share picnic treats on the 24th of June. Most of the group walked the 50 or so minutes from our HQ, following along the Nant d'Avril stream through the forest. The weather was perfect and the conversations enjoyable. A number of our predictably faithful members sent their regrets due to their participation in Geneva's Fête de la Musique, as one might expect! All agreed, "Let's do it again."

The move upstairs has been delayed due to planning permission issues. The Facilities Sub-Committee is working hard with the building owners, architects and cantonal authorities to solve the issues. We will keep you updated as and when we have more news. In the meantime, the costumes store is being sorted and cleared up, ready to move, whenever that may be.