6 March Update
- wisken
- Mar 7
- 4 min read
Week 8
This week you can read about:
Rehearsal update
Date for the diary:
Sunday 6 April - West Norwood Feast
'Getting to know you' - COTH Member profile - this week, it's our amazing Kathy Kettell!
Rehearsal
At this week's rehearsal we performed some vocal exercises to feel where and when we are using our soft palette - particularly when there are transitions between notes. This put us in good shape for some of the trickier transitions in Girls Just Want to have Fun which we revisited this session. We also did some further work on What Happens When a Woman. You can practice all of our songs by visiting our Lyric & Audio Library.
DATES FOR THE DIARY
SUNDAY 6 APRIL West Norwood Feast
We are booked to sing at West Norwood Feast a 'volunteer powered self-funded street food market festival'. As you can see from their website https://westnorwoodfeast.com, this is a community event with around 100 stalls set up across three hubs along the high street in West Norwood. We will be singing on the the Artisans stage near the leisure centre at 14.30. Please note this is a change to the previously noted time of 13.30 to make sure Elena can participate and conduct us at this event. More details will follow but you can REGISTER for the event here, via our Performing page.
QUICK PULSE SURVEY
There is still time to fill in our pulse survey (if you haven't already done so) via this link:
GETTING TO KNOW YOU - COTH Member Profile
Each week we'll be speaking to different members of the choir so you can get to know them a little better. Please speak to Vicky if you'd like to be featured.
Picture on the left: taken at the Terracotta warriors in Xian, China
Picture on the right: an old one of Kathy on an album cover when she worked in the music biz
Kathy Kettell, COTH Member
Tell us a little bit about yourself - where you're from/where you live now etc.
I was born in the USA – my dad is American and my mum English. When they got divorced, we moved to the UK – I was about 10 at the time. So, my early childhood was spent over there, living in different parts, as my dad was a military pilot and later a civilian one.
We initially moved up north, near Blackpool, then gradually made our way South. I came to London to study and stayed. I got a teaching qualification, but after I graduated, I started working in a recording and rehearsal studio, where I met my, now ex, partner, who is the father of my 3 grown up children. He was a front of house sound engineer, who used to tour with bands. I then went on to work in a music business PR company, where I used to write blurbs for up-and-coming bands and sometimes travel with them.
After I had children, I needed a job that would be more compatible with their lives, so was able to put my old teaching qualification to good use! About 15 years ago I re-trained as a social worker and that is what I am doing now, working in the Wandsworth Early Help service.
I love to travel, and it is my dream to go to far flung countries now I am not bound by school holidays and travelling with children, yay!
I love festivals, theatre, films, dancing and challenging myself. I am learning Spanish, slowly, but want to be semi fluent when I travel to Mexico City next year.
My first grand child was born 6 months ago, so I am now a very proud nanny. I moved from Crystal Palace to Addiscombe a couple of years ago and am very happy living there with my beloved little dog, Indie!.
What are your favourite songs:
To get you in the mood for a big night out
I love Indie music and pop punk and will jump around my kitchen listening to The Mountain Goats, The Front Bottoms, Mom Jeans, but also some classic dance tunes like Titanium by David Guetta.
To lift your spirits when you are feeling blue
Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen at full volume or anything by the Killers
To belt out at the karaoke
Islands in the Stream
Are there any types of music you're not keen on and why?
I will give anything a listen but probably would not choose heavy/industrial rock music, given the choice.
What brought you to Choir on the Hill and how long have you been singing with us?
I have always found joy in singing and knew I wanted to be in a choir again. I started at the beginning of 2020, then left when we went into lockdown and started again in about 2022.
Which female musical artists do you admire and why?
I love someone who can belt out a great song – like Aretha Franklin, Adele, Cyndi Lauper but I am also an admirer of new artists like Chappelle Roan and Olivia Rodrigo – who are strong young women with lots to say!
Who are your female role models?
I really admire the politician, Dianne Abott. She has had to endure relentless abuse but manages to rise above it. She is a woman of conviction, who has stuck to her principles. Also, my American grandmother who died 2 years ago at the grand age of 109. She had an amazing lust for life and was driving a little red sports car at the age of 90.
Tell us a surprising or little known fact about yourself.
I am a union rep and had to deliver a speech to 2000 delegates at a conference in Brighton in 2023.
What is your favourite thing about being part of Choir on the Hill?
Apart from meeting great women every week, I always love the performances! Something magical happens when we get on a stage…
