Choir Society

The Christchurch Cathedral Choir Society (inc) was established in 1982 and is a network of subscribers, both individual and corporate, which support and promote the Cathedral Choir.
 
There are many ways in which the Society supports the welfare of the Cathedral Choir, and these include
 
Donating a scholarship for a chorister
Funding social outings for the choristers
Promoting and supporting the visit of the Oxford Layclerks and other visiting choirs
Purchasing music and cassocks
Managing and protecting the historical archive material of the choir
Keeping in touch with former Choristers, Choirmen and Supporters.
 
The Choir Society Committee is elected each year at the Annual General Meeting. The Committee is largely made up of Old Choristers, Old Choirmen and parents of Current Choristers.
 
If you would like to be part of this network, you will find a membership form here to complete and return. Annual subscription is $25.
 
We do wish to make contact with as many Old Choristers as we can, and keep in touch with them on a regular basis. If you know any Old Chorister that you think might be interested in joining the organization we would be very grateful if you could put them in contact with us.
 
You can write to the Society at
 
The Christchurch Cathedral Choir Society (inc)
PO Box 855
Christchurch
New Zealand
 
Please also feel free to contact the President of the Society, Tim Andrews at the address above or by phone 021 662 905 or email tim.andrews@mitre10.co.nz

Choir Society Brochure

The following brochure contains information and images related to the Choir Society and a membership application form. PLEASE NOTE: The brochure notes an annual subscription cost of $20.00 This has recently been increased to $25.00.

Choir Society Report 2010/2011

It is with great pleasure that I present my first report to you in my role as President of the Society.

The principal aims of our organisation are four fold

1.To support the Director of Music and the music team.

2. To promote the Choir and broaden the attractiveness of the Choir Society's social and financial goals to the Cathedral Regulars and former Choristers.

3. To develop a social and support programme for the Choir and Choir families, to encourage Choir parents to initiate social events amongst themselves, and to invite parents onto the committee.

4. To preserve the archival material and heritage of the Choir.

This year our major objective has been to reassess the relevance of our society and explore further ways support for the Choir can be provided. Our aim was to consult widely amongst the choir community but unfortunately the February earthquake has changed all of our priorities, at least in the short term. An immediate concern now is that archival is retrieved and protected.

During the year our committee identified a number of areas that we think we can have a significant role to play in and activities that can be developed in the future. Most importantly we need to increase our membership numbers and make contact with all ex choristers. Firstly this requires assembly of an excellent data base and access to email addresses, and then production of a newsletter of sufficient quality that ex choristers will want to receive and be happy to subscribe to by joining our organisation. This could be developed into a data base of historical photographs and material that could be accessed directly online. The use of Facebook and other social media should also be developed to encourage young ex choristers to stay in touch with us.

With a growing membership and funding, we can then look to expand our activities. We have many projects we would like to undertake. We would like to have more money in our hardship fund, we would like to help the Choir travel, we would like to provide more music and items such as cassocks and we would like to ultimately find an archive room for records and photographs to present publicly the wonderful tradition of the ChristChurch Cathedral Choir.

On the committee's behalf I would like to thank the Director of Music for his support of our objectives and patience in our constant requests for ex choristers to participate in an evensong once a year. I would also like to thank the Dean for his encouragement of the Society's aims and activities, and I would also like to thanks the Cathedral staff, the Headmaster and Grammar School Staff and also our Patrons.

I would like to express my appreciation to the committee for their support and thank Linda Roe and Andrew Manning who are retiring from the committee as their children grow and leave their time in the Choir. Thank you to Hans Van Schreven in his role as Secretary and Felicity Richards in her role as Treasurer. Thank you also to our Honorary Auditor, John Scott.

Finally, my sincere thanks to you all. Without your support as financial members of the ChristChurch Cathedral Choir Society none of our ambitions could be realised. It is an honour to support our great Choir under the leadership of Brian Law and we wish them well in their endeavours during this difficult time.

Tim Andrews

President

May 2011