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Are you looking for our Big SUMMER Wind Orchestra and Choir? Join us on 21st June!
Can children take part in the event?
Can children take part in the event?
Yes, but only if they are accompanied by an adult at all times who remains responsible for them.
That can be an adult performing somewhere in the band or choir, or an adult in the audience for the whole event (i.e. in sight of their child at all times).
We are a very family-friendly event and we welcome all musicians to perform, of any age!
But we cannot take responsibility for unaccompanied children.
Can I leave my bag/instrument case/belongings somewhere while we perform?
Can I leave my bag/instrument case/belongings somewhere while we perform?
No. You must look after your belongings at all times.
Attach them to your chair perhaps while performing, and stay vigilant and look after them, we are in a public space.
There are left luggage facilities at both Kings Cross and St Pancras International stations (mainline rail, not the underground), for a fee.
Do I need to practice before the event?
Do I need to practice before the event?
Not at all!
You are welcome to look over the music sent out digitally in advance. But we don't expect anyone to practice.
We deliberately select or commission arrangements of well-known songs such that everyone should roughly know how the melody goes, to help fit everything together.
We perform for the joy of making music together, and we don't expect perfection. We are a supportive environment for everyone to come and have fun.
Can I only attend for part of the event?
Can I only attend for part of the event?
Yes, this is fine.
If you are leaving part-way through, try to sit on the end of a row to make this easier.
If you are joining part-way through, drop us an email in advance and we can try to reserve a seat.
Can I bring my unusual instrument?
Can I bring my unusual instrument?
Yes, absolutely!
We love special instruments - contrabass flute, sousaphone, you name it!
But we are a small operation without time to make special sheet music for everyone individually.
All of our sheet music is arranged for standard wind orchestra/concert band instruments.
Contact us well in advance and we can look over our sheet music collection together, to see what will work best.
Do you mind which instrument I bring?
Do you mind which instrument I bring?
If you want to swap between related instruments, you can choose freely.
We receive many messages such as "have signed up with flute, let me know if you would rather I play picc", or similar across the band.
But with literally hundreds across the ensemble, it is near impossible to pick and choose instruments for balance.
So, we aren't really worried that you could play another 4 instruments "if preferred" - please make your choice of what you would like to perform with, and bring it!
Do you have practice recordings I can use?
Do you have practice recordings I can use?
We don't expect anyone to rehearse, we must emphasise this!
But if you feel more comfortable trying the music out for yourself before attending, please do.
We don't have perfect example recordings of all the music ready to practice with, because lots of our music is written from scratch just for us.
However, you can find videos from previous years here to try and play along with. These videos use exactly the same sheet music.
2024: YouTube - The Big Christmas Wind Orchestra and Choir. (Part 1)
2024: YouTube - The Big Christmas Wind Orchestra and Choir. (Part 2)
The choir music notation is unusual, how do I read it?
The choir music notation is unusual, how do I read it?
To save space when printing, the choir sheet music is written in "short score" format.
This means that the sopranos and altos share the treble clef line, and the tenors and basses share the bass clef line.
So, the lower notes in the treble clef, with the note stems usually pointing downwards, are for the altos.
The higher notes, with the note stems pointing upwards, are the soprano part (usually the melody, sometimes a descant).
The tenors and basses follow a similar pattern.
There's a little more detail at this link: How to read Choral Music
Also, just ask around on the day! There will be well over 100 in the choir and a real mixture of experienced singers with people totally new who love to sing.
Someone nearby will be happy to help.
Where can I send my feedback about the event?
Where can I send my feedback about the event?
Just drop us an email! We love hearing from participants, and we act on any good ideas wherever we can (or explain why it's not possible)
info@bigchristmaswindorchestra.org
What have we improved from past years, based on your comments:
Send the music in advance so we can read it - done!
Conductor needs a podium - done!
Sit the choir in voice sections - we will try our best from the start, though we can't guarantee that late arrivals will all find the right spot
Tenor recorder music - we're working on it, fingers crossed
Can we have a roof? Sadly this is not so easy - we are grateful for all of the support we get from Kings Cross as our hosts, and they do not have any roofed spaces available around their markets and other events. The bigger we get, the more and more difficult it becomes to find a venue at all...
Charity collections while we perform - this is managed by the individual charities themselves. We send advice on numbers of collectors, needing card machines as well as buckets, and needing to be actively moving around the audience to maximise donations. But this is beyond the remit of the BCWO&C organisers, any charity invited to collect during our performance runs this themselves.
I have another question!
I have another question!
Send it over to info@bigchristmaswindorchestra.org - we monitor messages all year round.
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