A Cappella and Cake back on the menu at Buxton Fringe

 

Yes, it’s official. The “and cake” is back in our repertoire.  And what a spread it was at St Mary’s yesterday in Buxton. It all looked lovely and certainly the piece of ginger cake with lemony icing I enjoyed was delicious.   

We’ve been going to the Buxton Fringe since 2010, though of course we were unable to visit in 2020 and 2021.

We usually have glorious weather but yesterday it rained pretty well all of the day.  I was reminded of that very first time, back in 2010. In earlier years we used to busk at The Palace Hotel, and a little around the town, then have the concert at St Mary’s in the afternoon.  We were not very well known that first year, though our efforts around the town were appreciated.  Then just before three o’clock there was a cloud burst. The carnival and fun fair were taking place just around the corner and people rushed to the church for shelter …. And we had an audience.

Yesterday, by contrast, I began to worry that we might overfill the church.

Our morning concert was still Simply A Cappella. Another performer was coming in at 12.00 so there wouldn’t be time to do cake and tea. We actually wanted o tome to Buxton on 16 July but were unable to book the United Reformed Church. Note to self.  Book venues for 2024 next week.  

The Purple Room at this small church, a short walk from the High Street is a very pleasant space. It can actually seat 85 but a smaller audience doesn’t look lost.  We didn’t have to worry about that though; there were only a few seats left.  And the seats are very comfortable.  

St Mary’s is a completely different sort of space, with a different but equally effective acoustic.   We’ve are always very  welcome and we are grateful to our friend s from St Mary’ who yesterday  helped us set up, made the tea, set out the cakes and helped to clear up at the end.  A great joint effort.

Naturally, the music is even more important than the cake, or whether or not we have an audience,  and we certainly enjoyed singing in both concerts.

We split our repertoire into loose themes this year: blessing, peace, ones we know and love and new material. Various choir members said a little about each section. One of our members reminded us that one of the reasons we enjoy coming to this festival is because of the gorgeous scenery we see on the way. Yes, it was lovely even in the rain.  

Then, the magic happened again.  There really is something rather special about working with another twenty or so other singers to get as balanced and as beautiful a sound as possible. You’re suddenly grateful for all the hard work Jeff puts us through every Tuesday.  It is hard work, but it is also a heap of fun. That ratchets up on both counts when we have the privilege of performing in such a lovely festival.   

News February 2020

We’re now well into the new year and busy at rehearsals learning lots of new music. Remember , you can take  look at what we’re up to on our blog and Facebook page to get a flavour of it all.  

2020 is already filling up. Here are some of our planned activities.

7 March We’ll be taking part in the Salford ChoralCompetition. It’s lovely to enter a competition so close to home.  This will be our fourth year now.  It’s always a very enjoyable occasion and as ever at these events it’s good to see what other choirs are doing. We always get useful feed-back form the judges.    

14 March We’ll be supporting the Alzheimer’s Society’s GLOW Walk form 7.30 p.m. until 9 p.m. at the Helly Hansen Watersports Centre on Salford Quays.

4 July Swinton Grove Family Fun Day. We’ll be supporting this event again. We’ll be there right at the beginning, helping to open the event.  We’ve attended this event many times before and it’s lovely.  Good food including excellent ice cream on offer.  If you come along, you may be able to combine it with a visit to the Gaskell House.    

11 July We’re off to the Llangollen Eisteddfod for the whole day. We’re not competing but we’re performing. This is a public-facing event. If you happen to be there that day, look out for us. This was a new venture for us last year and we had a lovely time. This is another occasion when we not only get the opportunity to perform but also to hear some other great singing.   

   

18 July Buxton Fringe Festival As usual we offer two concerts: 11.00 a.m. at the United Reformed Church and 3.00 p.m. at St Mary’s. Tickets are already on sale. More details https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/ordsallsingers  This is one of our A Cappella and cake events so you’ll also be able to enjoy some delicious snacks. The Buxton Fringe anyway is full of delightful entertainment.  Take a look at their brochure https://www.buxtonfringe.org.uk/programme.php Items are being added constantly.   It’s a very special year this year, out tenth and coincides with fifteen years of the choir’s existence. So perhaps there’ll be a really special cake.

And we face an additional challenge. Last year we won the music award. Now what do we do?

One thing is sure: we’ll enjoy ourselves.

6 September  Lowry Open Day We’re not quite sure of the timing of this yet but watch this space. We took part in this last year and it was good fun.  Here’s a flavour of it from last year: https://thelowry.com/whats-on/open-day-2019/  

6 December  (oh yes, we like to plan ahead) 

We’ll be singing at Light Oaks Park, Salford. Find out about the Friends of Light Oaks Park here: https://lightoakspark.org.uk/

Some of our events are still under discussion and awaiting confirmation.  These include charity concerts, community events, private events (at least one wedding!), workshops and no doubt plenty of Christmas activity in December and late November.  Watch this space. 

Buxton Fringe 20 July 2019

 

We do cake!

The Fringe is alive and vibrant as ever despite the early morning rain. My sat nav brings me  via a crazy route and gets me there twenty minutes early. In time, in fact, to see the East Kent Morris Dancers cross the road in front of the United Reformed Church. Ooh.  Are they going to dance outside the church? Will it be a problem?  Of course it won’t.  We have rhythm and music as well.   

It’s still raining as folk begin to arrive, some anxious that there may not be any tickets left and others clutching the print outs of their advance booking. Meanwhile inside our gang is busy setting out teacups and the cakes, and, of course, rehearsing. 

“Don’t worry,” I say to those assembled in the lobby. “There’s room for all.”   

Our reviewer attends this first concert. You can read the full review here.  (You’ll need to scroll down).

We sing for an hour, an hour which just flies by. There are some songs they’ve heard before and plenty of new ones as well. Jeff puts us through our paces with The Water is Wide, The Blessing, Cool Moon, Poor Wayfaring Stranger, Over the Rainbow, I Say a Little Prayer, Somewhere Out There, I Got Rhythm, One Day Like This, Fix You, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Everything I Do, I Do it for You, Kiss the Girl and Here Comes the Sun. Amanda and Helen are our soloists.

Then the elves get busy again. There are cakes and tea aplenty. We also treat (well we enjoy it anyway) our audience to Sway as they eat and drink.  

The Fringe moves on. Minutes after we’ve cleared up another group arrives with a harpsichord and I exchange notes with their organiser about the fun that is the Buxton Fringe. As we stroll around in the now reasonably sunny Buxton we come across all kinds of interesting performances. 

Soon it is time to make our way to St Mary’s where we enjoy a very warm welcome. The tables are set up ready for the cake and the water is boiling. It’s a lovely place to sing and we recognise some regulars in the audience. 

Again the hour passes very quickly and soon we’re into cake and tea again. “I must help you to clear up this cake,” says one of our fans, taking another slice.

Our audiences are lovely and it’s always great to chat to them after our performance. We’ve also had, as ever, enthusiastic support from local businesses and organisations  who’ve taken and displayed our leaflets. 

Some of us go on to eat at the Tap House. Well it’s a brewery outlet and so it is noisy but the food is fine and the beer pretty good as is the company, of course. The staff are friendly, and hardworking.  

  

And outside the East Kent Morris Dancers are performing.      

Postscript   https://www.buxtonfringe.org.uk/awards2019.html 

News January 2019

Happy New year to all of our members, fans and followers.

2018 was quite a year:

Take a look at our blog and Facebook page to get a flavour of it all.  

We had a very full house at our first rehearsal of the year yesterday and wasn’t it good to get back together and sing after a two week break.    

Before the rehearsal our committee met and 2019 is already filling up. Here are some firm dates:

3 March the MACC  The Manchester Amateur Choral Competition. Read more about it here.   The general  public can purchase tickets and if you enjoy listening to choirs this is a real treat. A whole day of it for a very reasonable price.  And we’d love to see your friendly face in the audience.  

29-31 March  Rome Yes, some of us are off to Rome. One of our members has contact with a choir there and so we’re delighted to be working with the Coro della Colina. Extra rehearsals for some of us now!

15 June Chorlton Choirs festival We’ll again be taking part in this festival. It is a relaxed, quite informal occasion and was really good fun last year. It is open to a public audience. Details to follow.

6 July  We’re off to the Llangollen Eisteddfod for the whole day. We’re not competing but we’re performing. This is a public-facing event. If you happen to be there that day, look out for us.

13 July Swinton Grove Family Fun Day. We’ll be there right at the beginning, helping to open the event.  We’ve attended this event many times before and it’s lovely.  Good food including excellent ice cream on offer.  If you come along, you may be able to combine it with a visit to the Gaskell House.     

20 July Buxton Fringe Festival  Again we offer two concerts: 11.00 a.m. at the United Reformed Church and 3.00 p.m. at St Mary’s. Tickets are already on sale. More details here.  This is one of our A Cappella and cake events so you’ll also be able to enjoy some delicious snacks. The Buxton Fringe anyway is full of delightful entertainment.  Take a look at their brochure.  Items are being added constantly.   

Some of our events are still under discussion and awaiting confirmation.  These include charity concerts, community events, workshops and no doubt plenty of Christmas activity in December and late November.  Watch this space.