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Many of the Jay Singers were members of the 1994 Norfolk
and Norwich Festival Chorus, which was directed that year by Jeremy Jackman.
Jeremy’s talent for giving his singers a lot of fun while getting the very best
out of them prompted a small group of us to organise a weekend reunion with him in
early 1995. Little did we suspect that within just a few years we’d have become
established as one of Norfolk’s favourite choirs with a lively style all our
own and a repertoire ranging from the thirteenth century to modern close harmony
– all delivered with the same care, commitment and infectious enjoyment.
We do not meet regularly, but get together every month or so
in North Norfolk for a weekend of rehearsals. The
original core from the Festival Chorus has gradually been augmented by other
talented singers and we now number 28 at full strength. Some of the founder
members, who first joined as students, have moved away to work but several
still return for Jay weekends from as far afield as London. We range
in age from 20s to over 60s and most professions are represented as well as
some more esoteric occupations – such as preserving the ecology of a marsh in
the Norfolk Broads whilst managing a herd of black sheep and simultaneously
writing a book about Noel Coward ! When global warming raises the sea level
around North Norfolk so that the land between
the sea and the sky
disappears altogether, the Jay Singers will have enough
expertise among the scientists, farmers, gardeners, excellent
cooks, doctors, sailors, computer wizards and any number of
creative managers,
teachers, publishers and so on who make up the choir to build and equip
an ark
and sail – singing happily – into the sunset.
Jeremy Jackman
Director of Music
From singer (the cradle – 1990, most
notably as a member of The King’s Singers) to conductor sounds like a
case of poacher turned gamekeeper. “Not so,” says Jeremy. “The two have
existed side by side since I first conducted my local church choir at the
age of 14. They are really two sides of the same coin. And it’s not as if
I never sing anymore; I sing in rehearsals (demonstration saves a thousand
words): it is true that I try not to sing in public these days – I make
other people do my singing for me.” And composing and arranging? “OK, this
coin has three sides. I’ve always said that if it exists and it’s good
I’ll use it; if it doesn’t, I’ll write it. I’m really a very practical
person – except when it comes to changing light bulbs or putting up
shelves.”
Jeremy regularly conducts four choirs
and an orchestra (good title for a film?) and directs workshops and
masterclasses in this country and abroad. He lives as quietly as his
profession allows in a Victorian house in North London. ‘‘A few cracks here
and there, and a little bit of subsidence front left. The house, on the
other hand, is in pretty good nick for its age. The fact is, none of us is
getting any younger. When I was The King’s Singers ‘outside-left’ I was
told once that I had a rubber face. As a conductor, after a concert in
Liverpool I was told by a member of the audience, ‘You have a very
expressive back: I could have watched it all night.’ A compliment, I’m
sure, but it doesn’t say much for Merseyside TV schedules.’’
You can find more information about Jeremy and his work
on his website:
www.jeremyjackman.co.uk |
