Geoids Amateur Operatic Society was founded in 1930 by the Geography and Geology departments of Kings College, London. On field trips students would gather and sing Gilbert and Sullivan so they formed a group, called themselves The Geoids (which means "of the earth" - hence Geography and Geology) and began singing to audiences.
The group has since lost its contacts with Kings and its dedication to G&S, but it is affiliated to NODA (National Operatic and Dramatic Association) and we have close ties with other performing societies around the country.
Over the years our members have enjoyed exploring a wide variety of theatrical genres, from pantomime to light opera, tap to salsa and Sondheim to Noel Coward. We usually put on two shows a year - in the spring and at Christmas - as well as a variety of workshops and concerts during the summer.
As well as performing, the more social aspect of Geoids continues throughout the year with an annual dinner for members and friends, barbecues, quiz nights, theatre trips, scratch performances, play readings and lots of visits to a variety of pubs!
The performing membership is made up of people aged from 17 to 70 but the most important thing is that we all like to sing, have a good time and make exciting and entertaining theatre.
Annual membership of Geoids is £15 and we have a Friends Scheme for people wanting to get more involved.
If you would like to join us or would like some more information, then send an email to secretary@geoids.org.uk or check out the FAQs page. Alternatively, click here to download the membership form and send it with your cheque to the address on the form.
Geoids Committee
President: Ann Howard (find out more about Ann below)
Vice Presidents: Astrid Hennessy, Beryl Hyde and Kim Insley
Geoids is run by a committee of three officers and up to six members who are elected at the AGM each autumn. The Committee is responsible for choosing shows and casting them in conjunction with the director and musical director. The Committee is also responsible for booking the theatre and ensuring that funds are raised and spent appropriately. They also organise social events.
Officers:
Chair: Stephen Beeny, please use the contact us form
Secretary: Colin Mason, secretary@geoids.org.uk
Treasurer: John Day, treasurer@geoids.org.uk
Members:
Simon Bass
Gesine Garz
Lindsey Kettle
Kay Sandford
Society Musical Director: Tudur Eames
To get in touch with the committee please use the form on the Contact Us page.
To visit the committee area click here. Please note, this is a password protected area and is for use by committee members only .
Our President: Ann Howard
Ann Howard as Carmen and David Hughes as Don Jose in the Bizet opera Carmen.
We are very proud to have Ann Howard as our President. Ann has had an extremely successful operatic career, singing major roles at Covent Garden, New York’s Metropolitan Opera and the Vienna State Opera, as well as at other major opera houses worldwide. But her roots are with this company as she started singing with Geoids, straight from school, in the 1950s.
As Ann Swadling, and given her strong mezzo-soprano voice, she quickly took many lead roles in Geoids, where she also met her future husband Keith. Professional work started to appear at which point she took the name of Ann Howard. In 1960 she undertook her first professional engagement at Covent Garden and things moved rapidly in 1962 when she won a year’s scholarship to study in Paris – Keith travelled with her and acted as her pianist.
Work offers flooded in and Ann sang an amazing variety of roles, but she feels that singing Carmen at the ENO was the opening for all her subsequent freelance work which led to such a rich career in opera houses around the world - not only in the most famous international venues but also in South America, Mexico and Africa.
Ann is a wonderful raconteur and entertained us all recently with some marvellous tales and gossip about her time on the professional opera circuit. Surrounded by posters and photos of her work, she was charmingly self-deprecating about how her career developed from being a humble Geoid who couldn't read music, to being an international star - her career boosted by Placido Domingo (after seeing her perform, he ensured that she sang on New York's most prestigious stage without even having to audition!).
One wonderful tale involved her singing Carmen in a Spanish bull ring in front of an audience of thousands, when she was stranded on stage alone after a real bull-fight scene!
As Ann often notes, though she took the path of opera, her career could equally well have gone down the route of what used to be called musical comedy.
She had auditioned and been given a key part in the original London production of My Fair Lady, but unfortunately was already contracted for a full season of panto and couldn’t take up the offer. Ann especially loved the time when she used to perform in panto and has fond memories of one season playing opposite Tommy Steele. In fact she can still be seen today in a spoof she did with Eric Idle for a Royal Variety Performance – she had performed with him in the ENO’s Mikado and he asked her to join him in a comic routine for the variety show – the result is still regularly re-shown on TV in one of the ‘100 Funniest Moments’ compilations.
Ann worked many times for the BBC and there are various recordings of her stage performances including The Merry Widow and Hansel and Gretel. Currently, as well as being our wonderful president, Ann privately teaches singing.
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Ann Howard with the cast of Mother Goose, December 2006. |
