Chairman’s Newsletter 2025

Welcome to the Spring newsletter.

Our Spring concert with Richard Strivens, Peasants, Nobles and Nuns, is just a few weeks away now and everything is finally coming together for a great performance. Here is a reminder of some relevant details:

Concerts: Friday 9 and Saturday 10 May at 7.30 pm in St Mary’s Church.

Rehearsals:   Monday 28 April, 7.15 pm, GHS

Monday 5 May, 7.15 pm, St Mary’s

Wednesday 7 May in St Mary’s, with orchestra. Setting up chairs and rostra at 5.30 pm, rehearsal from 7.15 pm.

Dress is white tops, long black bottoms (trousers/skirts as preferred!).  Men wearing bow ties; mauve scarves will be provided for the women.

 Please distribute our posters and handouts, and encourage family and friends (and even passing acquaintances) to come to the concert; we need to sell plenty of tickets.

 Thank you to James Morley-Wilkinson for all his hard work as rehearsal pianist for this concert.

 Thanks to recent volunteers, we now have the required number of Trustees.  However, we always need extra people to help with, for example, Front of House, preparing the church/stage for concerts etc, and, of course, selling tickets.

 Current trustees are:

Alison Jewitt, Chairman

Anne Churchill Stone, Treasurer

Samantha Cragg, Secretary

Yvonne Sanderson, Becky Woodworth, Liz Bendor-Samuel, Alison Jerred, Stewart Pinkerton, Robin Wakefield, Ros Letellier, Esther Matthews

 Subscriptions are due now: £95 to the KAOS account at Lloyds, sort code 30-99-50, account number 17303963, reference ‘Subs’.  Please direct any queries to our Treasurer, Anne Churchill Stone.

 Since the AGM on 3 March many of us have got together for various reasons. KAOS and Woodstock Music Society joined forces on 15 March to sing at Jon Charlett’s memorial service under the baton of our previous Musical Director, Paul Ingram.  Jon’s family were delighted with our contribution to the service and Paul said our singing was fantastic. 

 On 28 March Dale Tranter put together and chaired a quiz at Islip Village Hall, attended by about 25 members and friends in 6 teams.  It was a fun event, enjoyed by everyone there – the reigning champions held on to their chocolate crown and a donation was made to KAOS funds.  Thank you, Dale! 

 The following day another group of around 25 current and previous members assembled at the Ghurkha Village for a meal in honour of past member Naida Christie.  Naida died in July 2024 aged 100, and her family contributed to the cost of our meal as a thank you for our friendship and support, which they said helped Naida stay young over so many years!  Naida’s twin sister, Brenda, who was also a staunch supporter of KAOS, died in February and her family appreciated that KAOS was represented at her funeral, too.

More dates for your diary:

 We are holding another Come & Sing event on Saturday 21 June, featuring songs from South Pacific and some other Rodgers and Hammerstein numbers.  KAOS will provide the soloists and the basis of the choir, and we hope to attract new singers and potential new members.  Visiting singers will be charged £15 (£7.50 for accompanied 14-17 year olds), with no charge for KAOS members. There will be a concert at 4.30pm and tickets for this will be available on the door. The event takes place in St John's Church, Garden City, Kidlington.

 The Autumn show will be on Wednesday or Thursday to Saturday, 22/23-25 October 2025 in Gosford Hill School.  Andrew Churchill Stone is working on a fully staged cabaret-style production, based on the story of a cabaret venue from the 1920s through highs and lows including closure and turning into a bingo hall up to a triumphant reopening.

The Christmas Concert will be on Wednesday 17 and Thursday 18 December in St Mary’s Church as usual.  Concert rehearsals will start on Monday 3 November.

Message from Woodstock Music Society:

Members of KAOS are invited to join WMS’s 50th anniversary concert to sing Haydn’s Creation on 4 and 5 July.  Rehearsals begin on 24 April.  Anyone interested in singing should contact Becky (rebecca.woodworth65@gmail.com or at KAOS rehearsal).