Three Concerts, One Day, Buxton Fringe 2024

 

Now we have added something new to our repertoire.  We are accustomed to singing in the bath and have frequently done so at one of our favourite venues Victoria Baths, Manchester. Now we have upstaged ourselves: on Saturday we sang in the well.

Yes, we had the privilege of singing in Buxton’s beautiful Pump Room. This recently restored Grade II listed building was initially used for locals and visitors to “take the waters”.  It now houses a small café and gift shop and, of course, the well.

The acoustics there are quite magical and we sang around the well, facing each other which was also a little different.

The water in is still much of the time but every so often bubbles up. Charmingly it did so as we reached the tenth bar of Why Walk if You Can Fly.  Almost as if it too was enjoying the music.

We had our normal two concerts at the United Reformed Church in the morning and St Mary’s in the afternoon.  At both churches we were looked after kindly. We couldn’t offer tea and cakes in the morning as we had to leave promptly because there was another booking straight afterwards. Anyway, we probably wouldn’t have been able to go to the Pump Room if we had. But there was plenty of cake at St Mary’s later. 

 

Our audiences were lovely too: so receptive and welcoming. We always enjoy chatting to them after our concerts.   

We did something a little different this year. Choir members introduced blocks of songs: ones that create a calm atmosphere, some that offer peace, others that celebrate nature and finally love songs, each about a different sort of love.  

For the final ten minutes in each concert we sang favourite songs from our repertoire.

As ever, it was a lovely day out and socialising with fellow choir members over lunch, over a drink after our final concert or over a meal on the way home all adds to the fun.

The icing on the cake has to be the warm-hearted review by Jean Ball: https://www.buxtonfringe.org.uk/reviews2024mus.html. And naturally we are delighted about being nominated for an award.     

Inner Space, 15 July 2024

 

We are excited at the moment and really looking forward to our two concerts as part of the Buxton Festival Fringe, so it’s probably quite appropriate that we took part in the Inner Space event held at the Friends Meeting House, Mount Street on Monday 15 July. It brought us some focus.

We sang two sets: one at the beginning of the evening and one at the end as the participants came forward to receive a gift of sweets and a small card with a message of affirmation. We received such gifts, too.  

For the rest of the evening we were actual participants of the main event. We were invited to listen to the gentle and wise words of Sister Jayanti, participate in two meditations and calm that inner space which is the most effective starting point for change. This is something rare and strange for most of us. And yet, the next evening at our regular rehearsal, several choir members who’d attended commented on how well they’d slept the night before and how mentally and emotionally refreshed they felt.

Sister Jayanti had the measure of us. “It’s the way you work together and the way you support each other that counts.” Is that what makes the magic work? Yes we must sing the right words,  in the right order, open our mouths,  and know when to look at our MD and when to look at others in the choir or in the audience and even know how to recover from a mistake but it is that intuitive cooperation that brings an extra dimension. That harmony with each other and with Jeff, and not just in musical terms, though that is naturally important.   

Two days later I would discuss with a fellow committee member what our USP (unique selling point) might be. Our strap line is “Singing form the Heart of Salford”. “Heart” is emphasised in the graphic. Does this need a tweak? Should it be “Singing from the heart in Salford”? 

 

We’re singing a few songs at the moment that might be very appropriate for the troubled times we live in: Grant Us Peace, Deep Peace, Oh Earth Loving Mother, Colours of the Wind, Cool Moon, Deep in the Night and even some covers of popular songs bring the sort of affirmation that Inner Space offer: Love is the Sweetest Thing, Make You Feel My Love, Why Walk When You Can Fly and   Everything I Do. Several featured on Monday evening – including some of the covers.      

And is this a good omen? The photo of us that Inner Space used to advertise the event shows us outside St Mary’s church another time at Buxton

It was a magical evening and as ever good to perform together. Inner Space, thank you for having us.