This report can be best illustrated by the comments I have received in feedback from those who came to the event (below).  It is encouraging that  about ten new members joined us at our next rehearsal, despite the constraints for some of rehearsing on Saturday afternoons.

• No matter how experienced a singer you are, nor how many choral days you have attended, there is always something new to learn, and that was what happened on the choral day with Andrew Padmore.  He certainly blew some fresh air into us and made us think about singing, voice production and the fun of it in general.

• What an enthusiastic teacher - impressing a fellow teacher is always a difficult thing to do and he did it with abundance.  We shall always remember the buttock clenching moments in future practices!  We felt it to be a great privilege to take part in the day. Thank you to the catering support team, an excellent repas.  

• I enjoyed his reasoned explanation for correct posture and its relationship to being in tune. The pace of the day was excellent - the mixture of work and play well managed.

• What a wonderful day! We apparently spent so much time doing what some may have regarded as silly songs and exercises, yet still got through a work that was unknown to many of us, and in which there were some interesting rhythms even if the notes were not too difficult.  Certainly I didn’t know this work at all.  And the exercises – well, we all felt and performed better after them as well as enjoying doing them.  They were also excellent ice-breakers.

• I had a lovely time - Andrew Padmore was very good at keeping us all involved, changed activity when you might begin to feel you'd done enough of something, and there was no wasted time. Breaks lasted more or less long enough and re-starts were prompt.  Greg Smith's jokes on the piano helped it all along too.  Andrew told us if we were not tired by the end, we hadn't been working hard enough.  What nonsense, I thought!  I was fine until I got home, but then had to go to bed early to recuperate.

• It is always refreshing to sing with other groups and the 6 of us from the Easingwold Singers were made to feel very welcome.  Andrew Padmore was full of infectious energy and his enthusiastic approach kept us all amused and at the same time kept us working hard to produce a good sound. His tips about singing and breathing exercises will no doubt prove useful beyond today and his knowledge about 'The Armed Man' made us able to concentrate on the tricky bits which will be invaluable to future rehearsals and ultimate concert. I hope you will pass on our thanks to the BBC Performing Arts Fund for supporting this event.

• Thank you for a super day on Saturday. I found it quite inspirational. Andrew's enthusiasm was infectious and I have found myself practising the breathing exercises regularly - even in the car!  There was plenty of variety as he broke the sessions up with exercises and made everything fun as well as challenging. I had a lovely day and will be coming to join you in October!