On Tour in Cyprus with Blackburn People’s Choir 27 May to 3 June 2017

Manchester Airport, early – very early – 27 May 2017. You can spot fellow joint choir members a mile away. It’s all that red and black. It looks so smart. It’s all so exciting.  

“What’s with all this red and black? Are you a hen party?” What? Gill, Gill, Pat, Shelagh, Sheila, Barbara, Anne, David, David, Michael, Chris, Joe, Jeff et al?

“No. we’re a choir?”

And didn’t they find out? The singing began as we waited at the gate to board the plane for Istanbul. This set the tone for the rest of the trip. There was a lot of singing. As well as the rehearsals and concerts we sang after meals in restaurants, as we walked through the streets of Famagosta and at other airport gates.                    

But oh, the joy of international travel.

“Do not worry, Madam,” they cried.

“We’ll upgrade you to business class.”

But then they stuck me back in economy.

Complimentary upgrade, my arse!

At Istanbul there was further woe,

No seat for me on the plane.

So we refused to board

And sang in protest, again and again and again.”

Well, the power of music, you see. We all got there, worked and played hard, and got back safely home again.           

Other “found” words:

GWENNNN!!

Gwe –en! Are we nearly there yet?

Gwe-en! This holiday’s all right. Beat. What’s going on?

To plan this itinerary was the one and only Gwen.  And Oh! What a job she’s done.

With apologies to Neil Diamond: Song, Sun, Blue.

Friends abound par excellence.  

Mountain View, you will last for the rest of our lives.       

The renegade group from the choir

Tried to sing higher and higher

OAS doo, doo, doo, doo

Like 2 B (PC) BESIDE THE C side

And what did this joint choir do?

In Salamis they sang from their Schlik,

In Kyrenia – raised cash for the sick

In old Famagosta

A great belly buster

Brought comfort to the wise and the thick.

Much of the above comes from a competition Gwen organised. Folk were invited to write a catch-phrase to encapsulate what this venture was all about. There was a very loose interpretation of “catch-phrase” and some very clever pieces emerged. Other words were simply overheard on the coach.  

I asked a few people what the highlights of the trip had been.

Answers included:

Singing at the restaurant with the sunset

The pirate boat trip

The big concert in the amphitheatre (where we raised over 5000 Turkish lira for the North Cyprus Cancer Charity Trust – about £1000)     

Singing in the Abbey  (Bellapais Monastery)

 

In fact, every single event was named by someone.

For me personally a great moment came as we walked off the stage at Famagosta and were warmly congratulated by the university choir who were about to come on. They know what we’re about so well. (I Know Him So Well) Language barriers or divided countries didn’t seem to be an issue in that moment.  

We sang One Day Like This and listened to the heart-felt applause after Jeff explained the connection with Manchester and why this song was important right now. That certainly brought a lump to the throat. A children’s choir also performed and were in the audience. Always, they started clapping as we were finishing the last bar of the piece.

A warm, warm audience, in any case, and another performance at the concert was by a trio: an Armenian, a Greek Cypriot and a Turkish Cypriot. No doubt everyone in that theatre wishes upon the same bright star and sleeps under the same big sky. (Somewhere Out There)        

There was that moment too as we sang after lunch when in the middle of Somewhere Out There, a bird flew out. Several people were in tears.    

Perhaps though the “friends abound par excellence” was the most important point. Ordsall A Cappella Singers and Blackburn People’s Choir have known each other for quite a while and even share a few members. Now we’re getting to know each other a lot better. And our voices are beginning to blend more closely as well.                      

          

Newsletter 11 May 2017

Newsletter 8  May 2018   

Mirror, mirror on the wall, whose singing communicates with all? 

“You need to watch yourselves singing in the mirror,” says Jeff. In my study, which is where I tend to practice in between rehearsals, I can see the exact spot where I could put a mirror. At some point I’ll get that organised.

However, I have a useful alternative that works better in the winter than now when the days are getting longer; I never pull down the blind in my study except occasionally when “sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines” (our mate Bill just gives and gives, doesn’t he?). This means once it’s dark I have a perfect mirror – the window. There is a snag, however. The folk in the house that backs on to ours also have a couple of studies upstairs and they never close the blinds, either. In fact, I’ve been waved to now and then. I can hear them thinking “What is she doing?” Maybe one day they’ll pop round and I’ll tell them.

I’ll tell them that singing is good for the body and for the soul. For me personally, singing, and in particular singing with a choir is such a contrast to what I do the rest of the time, working pretty much on my own and having to be different from everybody else. Singing in a choir involves a group effort where you do not want to stand out.  

If the neighbours do pop round, I’ll also invite them to one of our concerts and to sign up for this newsletter.

So, maybe, even when the mirror is in place, I’ll carry on signing to the garden occasionally.             

     

Forthcoming Events

You can also often find details on our Facebook page and we’ll usually put links on Twitter as well.

At most of our events you can get tickets on the door. However, we do recommend getting tickets in advance where we offer this. It helps us and it guarantees that you won’t be turned away at the door. We’ve not had to do that yet but we’ve come close to it.    

24 June St Thomas Church Huddersfield

We’re performing for Hand to Mouth, a Christian charity, at St Thomas Church, Huddersfield, St Thomas Gardens, Bradley, Huddersfield HD2 1SL. £5 for adults £2 for children,  including refreshments.

The concert begins at 7.00 – and features cake as well.

    

Swinton Grove Family Fun Day 8 July

As we have done for the last few years, we’ll be opening this event at around 12.00 noon. It’s always a fun event and even though we squelched around in the mud a little last year, it stopped raining just in time.    

 

Victoria Baths 9 July and 10 September

We’ll be singing at about 1.00 p.m. and 2.15 on both occasions, though watch out for updates on this newsletter. If you’ve not been before the Victoria Baths are well worth a visit. 

We now are singing there regularly a couple of times a year. You can read about our previous visits here.     

Buxton Fringe 15 July 2017 

 

We’ll be singing at our usual two venues:

United Reformed Church Buxton 11.00  a.m.

St Mary’s Church Buxton 3.00 p.m.

Book your tickets at www.ticketsource.co.uk/ordsallsingers/events If this link doesn’t work copy and paste it.

Tickets: £5.00 full price, £3.00 concessions, children under five free, family ticket £12.00 (up to four people, one of whom must be a concession)       

Also with cake. Naturally.

I’d like to add here that we had a great time last month when we performed at St Mary’s as part of their centenary celebrations. You can read a full report here.   

Ordsall Festival 22 July

This takes place in Ordsall Park Salford. We’ll be performing at home, in effect. It’s always good to remind ourselves of where we come from. We’re not sure of exact timings yet but it will be sometime in the afternoon.  

  

Looking further ahead

We’re already looking to the autumn and winter. Dates will no doubt soon fill up.

Happy singing and listening everyone.

 

St Mary’s Centenary Buxton, 22 April 2017

The light shines through the window at that back of the church, casting a pool of brightness on those of us at the front. Will we do the Shakespeare one, we wonder?   “Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines,” he tells us. What a sharp contrast to the very first time we performed at the Buxton Fringe, when a sudden storm brought us our audience as folk rushed for shelter. 

Actually, it wasn’t too hot. It was just right. Look at the photo we managed to take outside. 

“Those of us who are kneeling had better stand at the back. We don’t want them seeing our wet knees.” 

There was no need. It was actually warm enough that by the time we started our performance the dampness had gone. 

What an obedient audience, we thought – or at least hoped. We’d said doors would be open by 2.45 and by 2.40 there were only the helpers and one guest. We needn’t have worried. Everyone else was outside enjoying the sunshine. By 3.00 p.m. the middle of the church was pretty full. There were many familiar faces in the audience. The friends of St Mary’s Church are now our friends. They always look after us so well.  

I spot a Buxton Fringe badge. “We meet at last,” says the wearer.  It is Keith Savage who  is the Buxton Fringe, and who reviewed us and highly commended us two years ago. We’ve exchanged several emails over the years. Keith and the people who run the Fringe are always so helpful and enthusiastic, too. 

Once again, it is quite magical performing with the people we rehearse with every Tuesday evening. We don’t stand in our parts and Jeff only conducts I Say a Little Prayer. We have to do a lot of counting and really end those phrases well. Someone writes in the comments: “Lovely professional sound and clear diction.” We manage then? We are helped also by the warmth of the audience. On the whole, also, I think we rather like this new regime of being “scattered”.  

It is a real privilege to help St Mary’s start their centenary celebrations. They have a whole series of events and have produced a pretty little post card. Well worth a visit. 

Cake, of course, is also glorious. What a spread!   

    

“Hope you get home all right,” says one of the church members. “There’s snow predicted.” What?  Perhaps we need to refer to our mate Bill S’s words again. “Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May.” Well, it’s not May yet, actually, and Buxton is pretty high up. 

We don’t sing the Shakespeare song. Not this time.   

There isn’t a problem with snow either. The drive home is glorious.         

Newsletter 8 March 2017

Dear all,

What a month it’s been. Last time I was telling you that we would be going to the MACC,  on 26 February with an extra concert the night before and then about the Salford Vocal and Choral Festival on 4 March. Now those have been and gone and we’re pleased with what we achieved.

The MACC judges assured us that we sang better than they’d ever heard us do before.  Is this perhaps as it should be really, if we’re continuing to make progress? Ah, our MD is working us hard – and it pays off.     

And, er, we won the Salford Vocal and Choral Festival. 

Quotes from the judges: “Fantastic engagement with the audience”  “An excellent dynamic group. The harmonies were tight – well done.”

There were a lot of firsts around the two events and indeed the concert the evening before the MACC:

·         The first time we’ve performed without a conductor

·         The first time we’ve sang scattered instead of in voice parts (and it seems that this improved the harmonies)

·         The first time our small groups (the Ordsall Chord and the Ordsall Tone Rangers) performed in public. Incidentally they did well too at the Salford Festival with comments: “ Lovely blend of harmonies, the light and bouncy feel of the song was well conveyed ” “ a super programme, super interaction”.

Our concert on 25 February with two other choirs was also very rewarding. It was there that we tried out our new regime. It worked, so we risked it also at the two competitions. It seemed to work there too.

Of course, we also made friends with two new choirs. All three events were delightful as they brought us into contact with other people who love singing.   

You can read more on our blog about the MACC and the concert the day before here.      

You can read more about the Salford Vocal and Choral Festival here.

Forthcoming Events

You can also often find details on our Facebook page and we’ll usually put links on Twitter as well.

At most of our events you can get tickets on the door. However, we do recommend getting tickets in advance. It helps us and it guarantees that you won’t be turned away at the door. We’ve not had to do that yet but we’ve come close to it.    

 

Buxton St Mary’s 22 April Centenary Concert 3.00 p.m.

We have been invited to provide a concert for St Mary’s, with whom we have become great friends over the years that we’ve been going to the Fringe Festival at Buxton. They celebrate their centenary this year. Tickets will be the same price as for our main Buxton concerts:

£5.00 full price

£3.00 concessions (children, unwaged, senior citizens)

Family ticket £12.00 – up to four individuals in one party, where at least one person must be a concession

Children 5 and under free.

The church is arranging the ticketing for this and it should be available by the end of the month. It will be possible to pay on the door but only if there are seats remaining. Book your ticket here to guarantee a place. 

 

Buxton Fringe 15 July 2017

We’ll be singing at our usual two venues:

United Reformed Church Buxton 11.00  a.m.

St Mary’s Church Buxton 3.00 p.m.

Book your tickets here.  Prices as above.

Victoria Baths 9 July and 10 September

We’ll be singing at about 1.00 p.m. and 2.15 on both occasions, though watch out for updates on this newsletter. If you’ve not been before the Victoria Baths are well worth a visit. 

We now are singing there regularly a couple of times a year. You can read about our previous visits here.     

Happy singing and listening everyone.

 

The MAPAS Choral and Vocal Festival 4 March 2017

Another weekend, another choral festival.

How could we not take part in this one? After all, it is run by the Salford Music and Performing Arts Service.  MAPAS. We are indeed the Ordsall A Cappella Singers and Ordsall is very much part of Salford. 

The venue was easy to find as was on street parking. The MAPAS banner outside helped. We were well looked after. And as the information from the organisers told us there was a “tuck shop” in operation. Note, this the first year they’ve had adults at the festival. Well, the coffee was very welcome in any case. 

A warm up space was provided for us, and though it was little tight, it worked. Jeff’s magic chewing gum really came into its own in this small space. Sorry, can’t say any more about that as it’s a trade secret though if any younger fans and followers are reading this and have worked with Jeff, you’ll know what I mean. Guys, it really worked for us grown-ups. Especially the bit about the ceiling. (Oops- hope the caretaker’s not reading this.) 

We were fortunate to be able to go into the auditorium and listen to the adjudication of the children’s section. Already we were impressed with the detail given and wished we could have got there to hear the youngsters. Still 9.00 a.m. may be a tad early for an adult who’s worked all week and might it have been a bit intimidating for the young people. One to think about for next time.  

       

We tried out for the first time our small ensembles – The Ordsall Chord and the Ordsall Tone Rangers.

“Great names, by the way,” said one judge. 

We heard some lovely sounds from the other choirs. We meant every clap of our enthusiastic applause. As the judges said, it was clear that every single participant loved what they were doing and gave as much as they could. We know all about that.

Every single group that performed was either highly commended or awarded honours. 

The atmosphere throughout was relaxed but the critique was at once encouraging and constructive. This festival has a particular ethos, a solid one and one that encourages all to enjoy making music. Read about the festival here.   

  

Indeed, we had very positive feedback from the judges as did our two smaller groups. They recognised the risks we took in not standing in our parts and not having a conductor. It seemed to pay off. Now we must concentrate on finishing phrases together especially where they end in consonant. Could we manage with just a root note intro and not all four notes?  They really appreciated our engagement with each other and our audience. Working on that for so long has also paid off. 

This was a lovely morning and sure, we’ll come again next year if you let us.  

Wait - what's that at the front?

 
By the way, we won!              

Look at our fabulous shield.