41 Interview by Steph Woolvin
Jean Judge
Leader of the Dartmouth Rock Choir.
Now in its fourth year, the ‘Dartmouth Rock’ choir is growing in numbers and popularity. They have over 60 members, most of whom are getting ready for a Christmas performance at the Flavel. Steph Woolvin found out a little more about the choir and its leader, Jean Judge …
J
ean has always sung in choirs and when she moved to Dartmouth five years ago she searched around for one that performed acapella pop/rock songs, but alas none could be found. So in 2013 she decided to set one up herself: “Our first meeting was on St George’s Day – 23rd April – I mentioned it at my zumba class, put up some posters and gave out a few flyers. We hired St Clement’s Church Hall and my husband Peter and I set out a couple of rows of chairs, saying; ‘Well, if 10 come that’ll be fine, if 20 turn up we’ll be thrilled’ – 70 people walked through the door that night!” The choir rehearse every Tuesday and perform at
various venues in Dartmouth including the Flavel and the Memory Café. They also regularly appear at the Music Festival. There is no requirement to read music, as songs are taught by ear, and there are no auditions. Only two rules apply – members need to be able to sing in tune and hold a part (which may be different from the main tune). Jean says it’s quite relaxed and she thinks most people in the choir would describe her as upbeat and patient with a good sense of humour, except when a concert is drawing near: “I do tend to turn into a bit of a slave-driver when we get close to a performance! But we all have to remember this is a hobby and it has to be fun or there’s no point.” She says the members get on so well that she’s had to start rehearsals 15 minutes earlier because the tea and biscuit break is getting longer and longer with everyone chatting. “It really is amazing what music can do, whatever sort of day you’ve had. Even if you don’t feel in the mood to head out on a rainy Tuesday evening,
the feeling you get when you leave after two hours of uplifting singing is fantastic – you can’t beat it.” They sing numbers such as ‘If I Fell’ by the Beatles,
“The feeling you get
when you leave after two hours of uplifting singing is fantastic – you can’t beat it”
‘Chasing Cars’ by Snow Patrol and ‘Fix You’ by Coldplay. Jean admits she needs her horizons widening a little when it comes to song choices: “I’m stuck in the 60s, so am always open to song suggestions. There are times when I haven’t had a clue about a song and have had to come home and look up the band! I often get ideas for new songs from music playing in cafés and supermarkets; everyone else is putting baked beans in their trolleys and I’m writing down song titles!” Jean has always sung in the ranks in the past and never imagined herself running a choir. She started at the age of six in her
Croydon Sunday school, then moved on to competitive music festivals, folk clubs and amateur dramatic produc- tions. She began singing in acapella community choirs about 20 years ago and has managed to find choirs everywhere she’s lived. She’s had a varied working life. In Scotland she was
a production secretary for the BBC’s education depart- ment. She helped create radio programmes for schools and met a few familiar faces along the way: “I used to chat
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