exile Groups

The first group to have been formed, and the largest, the choir is made up of a core of about fifty and a pool of about two hundred. From this, each event has a choir of around seventy-five for most events, but it can vary from sixty to 110. There are no auditions for the choir, which performs in a variety of styles from blues to Gospel. All are welcome, particularly in the 18-35 age-range. The choir usually rehearses Oct-March in the UK and Jan-March in South Africa. The choir manager (UK) is Sara Dewar and in South Africa, Tanya van Schalkwyk.

The band has evolved into an entity in its own right after starting out initially as a support for the choir. Exceptional musicianship is required for membership of this group, which is of course by invitation only. The band rehearses to an informal schedule agreed by themselves, and is managed by Dave Biddulph (UK) and Garth Airey (SA).

The only Origin singing group for which members must first audition, the singers exist principally to provide a musical front for Origin's "Praise Night" programme, informal evenings usually held in churches in Scotland. There is little rehearsal, and members are expected to perform with a single rehearsal, and improvise parts rather than sing to strictly agreed ones. Auditions are held regularly, and the singers' manager is Sara Dewar.

The orchestra is drawn from a pool of around 300 musicians, all volunteers, and of a high standard of performing ability. Many music students, pros, ex-pros and teachers make up this group, along with talented amateurs. In this way, many gain in experience from playing with more experienced players, and while the participation is strictly on a volunteer basis, the sharing of knowledge and experience that is part of this process is valuable to many younger players. Musicians in Scotland or the Western Cape who would like to be part of this group should register with us.

Origin's string quartet performs usually as part of the "Praise Night" programme, but has also been known to take the occasional wedding and outside gig. The group are extremely flexible, as happy with a Mozart quartet as 'busking it' from a piano score.