'On the Beat'

The Newsletter of the Essex Police Choir

SPRING 2010

In this edition we take a look at the charities the choir is supporting in 2010.

Brainwave - Registered Charity No. 1073238

Established in 1982, Brainwave now has three centres in England with the South East Centre based in Witham. These centres have proven a beacon of hope for many families of children who have suffered brain injury such as Cerebral Palsy, have a genetic condition such as Down’s syndrome or Development Delay. When a child attends Brainwave, they, and their parents, spend a whole two days at the centre where they are assessed by a dedicated team of Physiotherapists, Occupation Therapists, Educational Therapists and many other professionals who focus on what the child can do, not what they can’t. Together, they work with the family to devise a unique programme, specifically designed to suit that child’s needs, which will help and encourage them to unlock the child’s potential. Many hundreds of children have benefited from the Brainwave Programme and some achieve levels independence far beyond the expectation of their parents and doctors. If you would further information please visit the website at www.brainwave.org.uk

Essex Air Ambulance -Registered Charity No. 1108989

The Essex Air Ambulance was launched in 1998 to serve the people of Essex. The air craft carries a highly skilled crew of doctors and paramedics bringing sophisticated life-saving equipment to a patient within the first few minutes of an emergency. Based at Boreham Airfield near Chelmsford the Air Ambulance has flown over 10,000 missions. It costs around £250,000 per month to cover all charitable costs and aircraft operations. Unlike other NHS emergency services, Essex Air Ambulance is a charity providing a free Helicopter Emergency Medical Service for critically ill patients. They rely solely upon the generosity and goodwill of the people and businesses of Essex to remain operational and keep saving lives. If you would further information please visit the website at www.essexairambulance.uk.com

Festpol 2011

In June 2011 the 9th International Festival of the Police Orchestras and Choirs will take place in the city of Prague. Seventy-five(!) ensembles from Austria, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic have taken part since the inaugral festival, which came to life in June 1995. This will be a welcome return to Prague for the choir who took part in the 2003 festival. The aim of this event is to promote close personal contact among the "guardians of the law" of these countries which is extremely important for cooperation of the police at the international level. During the four day festival the choir will perform publicly in concert halls, gardens and on the largest squares of the city. They will also take part in Prague Castle concert, a parade in the city centre with a final concert on the Old Town Square.

Choir supports Haiti event

The concert at Christ Church in February (right), organised by the Rotary Club of Chelmsford, was a resounding success. The choir, supported by Musicality, raised £1,300 on the night with proceeds going towards ‘Shelterbox’ aid for the Haiti survivors and local charities.

WINTER 2009

20th Anniversary Charity Concert

Following a difficult journey from Cornwall on the Friday, the Kessenyan Singers arrived at Police Headquarters for refreshments and a rehearsal. This gave us the opportunity to meet our new friends and rehearse the joint items in preparation for the concert. With 80 singers in the Cathedral the staging for the concert was going to be a logistical nightmare. In his usual efficient manner Roger controlled the rabble long enough to explain his ideas with some lovely coloured charts. Some listened; some even took notes, while others, following a few glasses of wine and long journey, just slept. Thankfully the Saturday night in the Cathedral was once again a resounding success. The 430 members of the audience were given a wide ranging repertoire from the choirs from showtunes to popular chart hits, as well as the habitual accomplished performance by the band under the guidance of Bandmaster Keith Manners.

The choir were also delighted to perform for the first time in front of the new Chief Constable. The concert ended with both choirs joining to sing a selection of songs from Les Misérables. After the concert both choirs retired to the Miami Hotel for the ‘afterglow’, where once again the food and drink flowed. The weekend had once again been successful where the choir made new friends and very much looks forward to joining with the Kessenyan Singers in the future. The money raised from the evening was added to proceeds from the Christmas concert and presented to the chosen charities at our Christmas Concert. Once again the choir would like to thank the Kessenyan Singers and very much looks forward to reuniting with them in the future.

Christmas Concert

The choir rounded off a successful 2009 season in style with an enjoyable Christmas concert at Trinity Methodist Church in Chelmsford. The choir’s charity concerts have once again continued to be successful, with £5500 being raised this year from the two concerts. The cheque presentation took place at the Christmas concert in Chelmsford where representatives of the Stroke Association and the Prostate Cancer Charity both received cheques from the choir’s chairman David Hylands. The choir would like to thank everybody who has supported them in 2009 and looks forward to seeing you again in 2010.

Choir supports Polio event

The concert at St Botolphs Church on 7th November, organised by the Rotary Club of Colchester Centurion, was a resounding success. The proceeds are to go to Rotary's 'End Polio Now' campaign. This has been running since 1985 when Rotary decided that it would embark on a project that would immunise 2 billion children around the world, to eradicate this crippling childhood disease. In 2005 Polio was endemic in only 4 countries, instead of the 125 that existed 1985 and instead of 1,000 children a day being affected by the diseases, only 1,293 were reported in the first 10 months of this year. The choir, supported by the winner and finalists of the Rotarian’s Young Musicians of the Year, raised just under £1,000 on the night.

Choir welcomes new members

The choir would like to welcome Marie Copping (Soprano), Suzanne Warring (Alto), Wendy Cowell (Alto) and Adrian Cowell (Tenor).

Autumn 2009

Trip Down Memory Lane

The Essex Police Choir is having a year of exciting events as it celebrates its 20th anniversary. The Force already had a well-established Band and Musical Society when a meeting was held at Police Headquarters in March 1989 to discuss forming a Choir. Potential choristers included serving and retired officers, support staff and family members. By its first AGM in September 1989 there were 28 members who sang from music borrowed from Tiptree Choral Society, to which the Choir's musical director, Norman Eastbrook, belonged. Twenty years on, Norman - head of the Force Photographic Department - is still waving his baton at the Choir which has grown to around 55 men and women, several of whom were in at the beginning.  Since the first concert was given to Boreham Women's Institute in December 1989 the Choir has taken part in around 250 concerts all over Essex and East Anglia, and also acquired a taste for foreign travel. Participation in the 1993 International Festival of Police Choirs in Victoria, British Columbia was so much enjoyed that two years later the Festival was held on home ground in Chelmsford. As well as a return trip to Canada in 2000 the Choir has also sung in such elegant cities as Paris and Prague. In May, to mark its 20th anniversary year, the Choir travelled to Southern Ireland to perform two concerts.

While the Choir represents the Essex Police, which has encouraged its value for public relations, members are self-funding, but financially supported by an active Friends group which organises a wide range of fundraising activities.The Choir makes no charge to an organisation which requests a concert, and it is a source of pride that over £200,000 has been raised for charitable purposes and good causes in the last 20 years. The Choir's concerts have helped donate money to many local and national charities.

Holy Trinity, Long Melford

In September the choir travelled over the border into Suffolk to perform at Holy Trinity Church in Long Melford, whichis widely regarded as one of the finest wool churches in England.  With a number of tickets sold in advance the evening had been well publicised in the area and a large audience quickly filled the Church.With the summer break and 8 weeks since our previous outing, the concert was a welcomed return to the stage for the choir.

The night offered an opportunity to perform a number of new pieces from the 2009 repertoire such as Calon Lân, All that Jazz, World in Union and One Day More, in preparation for the 20thAnniversary Concert at Chelmsford Cathedral in October.  The choir was joined by its special guest, Fiona Whittaker from Musicality.  The event helped raise £900 for the Church Restoration Fund.

 In this edition we look at the Prostate Cancer UK which is the second of our chosen charities for 2009. The Prostate Cancer Charity was set up in 1996 in response to the urgent need to increase investment in prostate cancer research and to raise public and political awareness of a long neglected disease. Their mission is to fight prostate cancer on every front – by funding and encouraging research, providing support and information for diagnosed men, and their friends and family, and campaigning to improve the lives of men with prostate cancer. 

The Prostate Cancer Charity is the UK’s leading charity working with people affected by prostate cancer. They provide the most comprehensive range of services of all the prostate cancer charities and offer the only UK-wide prostate cancer Helpline supported by specialist nurses who provide free and confidential information and support to anyone affected by prostate cancer. They receive thousands of calls to the Helpline every year with 38% of these calls come from the South East of England.

SOLD OUT! - Annual Charity Concert – Chelmsford Cathedral,

The annual concert has once again completely sold out six weeks before the big night. With the programme now finalised an exciting night is expected with our guests the Essex Police Band and the Kessenyan Singers.  Doors will open at 6.45pm.

In August the Choir performed at the United Reformed Church in Witham.  The event helped raise over £1000 in support of Cancer Research.

In early May, 70 members and friends of the Essex Police Choir travelled to south west Ireland for a five-day tour, including two concerts.Remarkably no one was lost in transit as the group flew from Stansted to Kerry airport, reaching their final destination The Heights Hotel, Killarney.

On the Saturday night we joined the Duhallow Choral Society at a venue in Kanturk, a small town in Co. Cork.The choir were warmly received by our host’s, including local dignitaries and representatives from the Garda.We ended the first half of the concert to a rapturous standing ovation.Following a quick interval and manic CD sales, the second half started with our hosts performing from their repertoire with pieces which will certainly be added to our music library.The concert closed with the choirs joining together for a number of pieces including a rousing rendition of One Day More from Les Miserables.Following the presentations an area was cleared for the start of the ‘after glow’, with plenty of food and drink, and our hosts quickly got us into the swing of things with traditional Irish dancing.

On the Sunday evening we headed to Listowel in Co. Kerry to join the Kerry Choral Union and like the previous night the concert included a number of joint items involving over 100 voices.  The days included tours experiencing the local sites and sounds of the Dingle Peninsula and Ring of Kerry. Our thanks must go to all the drivers at O’Shea’s coach travel who transported us safely around this lovely region and to the staff at The Heights Hotel in Killarney, who made our stay a most memorable one.

The concerts were a credit to the choir who showed true professionalism throughout, as well as making new friends with choirs who share a love of singing.Hopefully, our hospitability can be returned as we invited the choirs to visit Essex in the future. On a final note – we had five days of glorious sunshine – not an umbrella or raincoat was seen. Who says it always rains in Ireland? Did anyone bring the suntan lotion?

2009 Charities – Stroke Association (Registered charity No. 211015) 

In this edition we look at the first of our two supported charities for 2009.  The Stroke Association is the only British charity solely concerned with combating stroke in people of all ages.  The charity funds research in prevention, treatment, better methods of rehabilitation, and helps stroke patients and their families directly through its community services. These services include dysphasia support, family support, information services, welfare grants, publications and leaflets.  The Stroke Association also campaigns, educates and informs to increase knowledge of stroke at all levels of society, acting as a voice for everyone affected by stroke.

Lunchtime concert – Success!

Once again the Chelmsford Cathedral’s lunchtime concert performance in May was a resounding success. The cathedral filled quickly as the choir once again performed to around 500 people.

Tiptree Music Festival

The choir returned to what is regarded as their spiritual home in June for a concert with the Essex Police Band as part of a new month long music festival at St Luke’s Church in Tiptree.  Other concerts were performed by; Kids Choir 2000, Essex Concert Band and the Colchester Accordion Band.

Doreen’s return

We are pleased to announce that Doreen has fully recovered from her little accident and is back playing the ivories.  The choir would like to thank Clive Eastbrook who supported us during Doreen’s absence earlier this year.