Tag: Walsall
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Do you hear it?
People Sing is an event delivered by St Matthew’s Church, Walsall and friends as part of Walsall MakerFest. The inaugural event in 2024 attracted local choirs to showcase their talents individually before joining in for a final singalong, and this year we’re back. Bigger and bolder for 2025, with more slots of 15-20 minutes for…
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Reset / Contentment
I’ve [almost] completed my to-do list for the end of the month and I’m sat in The Table reflecting and gathering for the coming weeks. There are day job things to do that are the usual flow of work, and the West Midlands Business Festival has kicked off this morning which is two whole weeks…
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New music for Easter
I’m finishing up a presentation piece for Holy Saturday (April 19th, 2025) in conjunction with my employers at St Matthew’s Church, Walsall and St Gabriel’s Church, Fulbrook just down the road. Fr. Mark has been wonderful in supporting the project, and development has been partly funded by a generous grant from St Peter’s Saltley Trust.…
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Brass Band Play Day
Join Steve Pritchard-Jones and the wonderful West Midlands Police Band as they lead an open day of playing a selection of band pieces at St Matthew’s Church this May. Members of my band, Great Barr Brass, also play with the police band, and there’s an outside chance I’ll be picking up a trombone and playing…
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Mortal, can these bones live?
Imagine my delight recently to be invited by Lichfield Diocese Green Team to join them on a study day in Walsall. I’ll be helping out with sung worship, playing with Rev Rich Clarkson who I know through the 12 Song Challenge, and then working during the day to pen a new hymn for our act…
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New Year Resolutions?
I’m 10% into the “new” year, and not yet set on anything I want to change so badly I’ll make it a special focus. I guess I need to make more good music, lead more sung worship in the churches that ask me to, work harder with some of my friends on our collaborative efforts,…
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Deck the Mall
The Saddlers Centre is our local shopping destination. They have a public piano. Last month I was honoured to be asked to play the public piano at its post-lockdown re-launch, and when Becki the lovely person who manages the centre asked me if I did any Christmas music. Evidently, the answer is “yes”… and so…
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Civic Carolling
Just a quick note to say how much I enjoyed the Civic Carols last Sunday at St Matthew’s Church. The Christmas Choir were stunning, and it was a privilege to lead them from the organ, wearing what can only be described as my new favourite jacket. Thanks to everybody in the choir. You are all…
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Community Choir
As part of my work for St Matthew’s Church, I run a community choir on Wednesday evenings at 19:30. We meet in the church centre (St Matthew’s Close, on the right as you enter the close) in the Main Hall and we share a hot drink and chocolate biscuits before spending a happy hour singing…
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Following the Star
Well, we’ve reached Advent, and I for one am exhausted. Post-lockdown, we always knew this year would be hard but I didn’t expect so much change. If you’d like to get involved in anything going on between now and Christmas, this is a rough list of what I’m up to and where you can catch…