Whip-cracking Away with Family and Friends 16 January 2016

So, what better to do on cold January evening than come along to our Friends and Family concert held at Brunswick Parish Church, which several choir members attend?  Oh, yes, the sleet began to fall just as we all set off but the church was warm and cosy and a friend or two or three or four came along. 

This is now the third Friends and Family concert we’ve offered.  Always free and always with cake. We’re torn. At Brunswick Parish Church, it's easier to stay longer, lots of room, but it will probably have to be a Saturday or Ordsall Hall, very Ordsall, rather romantic, we have to leave promptly and it can only hold a smaller audience but we can use it easily enough on a Tuesday.  Let us know what you think by adding a comment here.         

My goodness weren’t our top-up acts something?  Daisy, also one of our talented young sopranos but an established artist in her own right, offered two fabulous solos.  Ella presented some lesser-known Ralph McTell numbers. The Mad Donnas were as professional as ever. John (aka Elvis, Clint, Superman and many others) told his stories of RALPH and other dog-turd lifting machines.  (Yes, that’s right). Not to mention the whip-cracking cow-girl, Marilyn, who turned our musical director into a cowboy, our secretary into a show-girl and one unsuspecting bass – we think actually our chairman had been the target – into an Indian Chief.

We enjoyed singing and we think our audience enjoyed listening. Naturally we paraded the four – five songs we’re entering for the ManchesterAmateur Choral Competition (MACC). “I got a bit bored,” said Jeff in our rehearsal on Tuesday, “of being told how much people liked R …..” So, that’s a big thumbs up for  R …. then. (Aha, under wraps until after the MACC --- unless we’ve put you in the know.)        

We also trotted out parts of our older repertoire some of which we’d not touched since November and we were pleased to note that we still know these pieces. 

It all felt very good.

Then, of course, there was the cake.

If you were there, and /or you’ve been to one of our other Friends and Family concerts, don’t forget to let us know what you think! Post a comment here.   

A Day at The Manchester Amateur Choral Competition

The Royal Northern College of Music is quiet at 8.40 on the first Sunday of February. A few dedicated students make their way to practice rooms. The folk who are arranging this great event quietly set up. The café looks as if it might open any minute. 

Early Sunday morning at the RNCM

It’s not quiet for long, though. Coaches start pulling up outside. The choirs start arriving. The café opens. There’s a buzz as the chatter gets louder and louder and we start to swap notes with other choirs.

The choirs line up to take their turn in practising walking on and off the stage. It takes quite some organisation to put all of the morning choirs through their paces. At last, though, we’re all done and the day begins in earnest.     

It’s always a fun day. There’s the excitement of waiting for your slot and then giving your performance. It’s interesting to see what other groups get up to. And yes, we get to hear some great singing.

We can probably safely say that we found some common ground with every single choir we watched and we probably learnt something from them too.