The MACC and In Concert 25 / 26 February

It’s been a busy but beautiful weekend. First we had the Saturday evening concert at St Peter’s House, just a few metres up the road from the RNCM where the main event would happen.       

What a privilege it was to listen to Volya Ukranian Male Voice Choir, who incidentally were placed in the competition the next day, and Men2Sing, another great male voice choir. 

Volya Ukranian Male Voice Choir - with red boots

Men2Sing watched by members of Ordsall A Cappella Singers  

  “There’s some bass and tenor envy in the room tonight,” said Jeff. Yes, he was right. That   said though, all of the parts held their own both in this pre-competition event and the competition itself. We had to. We sang spread out and not in our groups. It’s a bit scary to begin with, but my, aren’t you forced to take responsibility? I personally ended up loving it. 

The MACC is always a great day.  We were fortunate in being one of the first choirs to sing. I guess that’s partly because we’re fairly local. It did mean that we could then relax and watch some great performances and listen to some fabulous singing. 

Excitement building 

The costumes, too, are always, fascinating. We have our delicate purple flowers, there were the vibrant red dresses, rainbow coloured jackets, gold bands, yellow ties, smart suit jackets, touches of red and many, many other stunning looks. And talking of rainbows, winning choir Rainbow Connection were spectacular in that way too. Their red and white blankets intrigued everyone. 

Of course, not only do we have bass and tenor envy, as far as Volya are concerned, we also have boot envy. Their red boots are glorious. 

Well, we didn’t win and we weren’t placed in the first three. However, one of the judges admitted to having a thrill run down his spine as we sang. Two of them beamed at us during the performance. In the summing up at the end, we were surely included among the choirs “who improve year on year.”

It’s always a lovely way to spend a Sunday. 

And our next competition is …. next Saturday. Bring it on.                           

Newsletter 15 february 2017

Dear all,

We’re now getting very excited about going to the MACC. Last night we had quite an intense rehearsal. We hardly sat down at all and we didn’t really notice that we’d been on our feet for the best part of two hours. We spent the second half of our rehearsal singing in a different part of the room from normal, with clusters of people from each part in several places.  Challenging but rewarding. It really makes you focus in a similar way that the small group singing does.

And we have an extra concert. See STOP PRESS below for extra details.

The evening before the MACC we’re singing with two other choirs: the Volya Ukranian Male Voice Choir and Men2Sing. This takes place at : Manchester Universities' Catholic Chaplaincy
Avila House
335-337 Oxford Rd
Manchester
M13 9PG

And it’s FREE. Book your ticket by clicking on the link below.              

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.    

STOP PRESS STOP PRESS STOP PRESS STOP PRESS STOP PRESS STOP PRESS 

 

Extra new concert Saturday 25^th February 2017

The Manchester Amateur Choral Competition is hosting a concert this year and has invited some of the best talent from around the country to come and sing.
Join us on Saturday 25th February for a fantastic evening of music before the competition heats up on Sunday.
Tickets are Free!

Book yours here.

 

 

Manchester Amateur Choral Competition 26 February 2017 

… fondly known as the MACC. Yes, we’re entering this again. The songs have been selected … more or less ….. Ha, ha, they’re a secret! We sing for fifteen minutes. It is open to the public – click on the link above -so you might like to come and support us. There is a fantastic atmosphere and although the choirs are in competition with each other they are also very supportive of one another. Guaranteed you’ll hear some great singing.       

Salford Choral and Vocal Festival 4 March

How could we not join in this?  It will to some extent be similar to what we’re doing for the  MACC – note how close together the two events are. But there’s more. In addition, we’ll be entering some small groups of up to ten people. This is something we’ve been working on recently. We’ve been meeting an hour early and singing in small groups – often with just one person singing each part. That really stretches you. It’s a sharp contrast to singing in the bigger choir but it’s great because you can really hear the other parts clearly.  

Find out more about the festival here.          

 

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.

Newsletter 24 January 2017

Dear all,

It’s a been a little while since we’ve had a newsletter so now we have one or two bits and pieces to tell you. We’ve had to firm up one or two details and we did have a break over Christmas but now we’re speeding along again.

Christmas seems a long time ago now, but it you want to know what we did then, take a look at our blog.  This is always a fun time of year but it’s also good to get back to our normal repertoire and to learning some new songs.  And we’re doing that in spades.  

Last Saturday, 21 January, Jeff ran a very successful workshop for us where we were able to consolidate a few things. This is just another bonus of belonging to a choir. What a great way to spend a Saturday.  

And now we have a few events lined up for you. See below.         

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.     

 

Manchester Amateur Choral Competition 26 February 2017 

… fondly known as the MACC. Yes, we’re entering this again. The songs have been selected … more or less ….. Ha, ha, they’re a secret! We sing for fifteen minutes. It is open to the public – click on the link above -so you might like to come and support us. There is a fantastic atmosphere and although the choirs are in competition with each other they are also very supportive of one another. Guaranteed you’ll hear some great singing.        

Salford Choral and Vocal Festival 4 March

How could we not join in this?  It will to some extent be similar to what we’re doing for the  MACC – note how close together the two events are. But there’s more. In addition, we’ll be entering some small groups of up to ten people. This is something we’ve been working on recently. We’ve been meeting an hour early and singing in small groups – often with just one person singing each part. That really stretches you. It’s a sharp contrast to singing in the bigger choir but it’s great because you can really hear the other parts clearly.  

Find out more about the festival here.          

 

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. I’ll send out a short note once we have the link for booking.              

 

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.

A couple of housekeeping items:

I’m sending out this newsletter to all those who have signed up for it AND to all choir members.  I do the latter so that you can easily pass it on to friends and family. You may therefore be getting it twice.  DO NOT UNSUBSCRIBE – you might unsubscribe from the wrong one and then not get vital choir messages. Let me know if it’s a problem.

I’m also now posting a copy of each newsletter on the blog. Therefore if you’ve deleted the email you can still access the info on our blog.          

Happy singing and listening everyone.

The Frost Fair Whitworth Art Gallery 4 December 2016

We’re wrapped up against the elements, taking the word “frost” seriously. We battle to find parking spaces and diverted buses as the road works on Oxford Road and the sheer number of people visiting the Frost Fair pose a few challenges. Despite these difficulties we arrive at around 12.00 ready to sing at 12.30. 

We’re delighted to find that we’ll be singing inside in the café.  A small stage has been set up. 

There’s an odd moment as we rehearse in the corridor outside; people stop to listen. We just do the first few bars of each song. Nevertheless, our impromptu audience seems pleased. 

We sing for just thirty minutes. Assistant Musical Director Daisy introduces us and everyone stops eating to listen. There’s no confusion in Going to Bethlehem and Heard About a Baby -   have WSA and SAW pinned down.  (Shepherds, angels, wise men)

The café at the Whitworth Gallery anyway is a fabulous space - you feel a little as if you are up in the trees. The light is delightful on this clear December afternoon. 

Our full Christmas repertoire just fits the half hour and we finish off with a rousing Holly Jolly.  

Then we can go and visit the Frost Fair. There is some enticing food and there are some unusual crafts on sale.  

Another down, then, and two more to go:    

• Saturday 10 December 11.45-2.30 Dunham Massey    
• Tuesday 13 December 4.00-5.30 Christmas Market St Ann’s Square.    

Christmas Markets 2 29 November 2016

This time we are in Brazenose Street. It is the coldest day of the winter so far and warm clothing is more important than uniform. It’s dark, anyway, and no-one will notice the pale fluffy jumper and the dark-grey striped trousers. There are a few fairy lights and purple hats anyway. Our feet and the tips of our fingers freeze but the words and the tunes come out nevertheless. 

We sneak in a few others: Can’t Help Falling in Love, I Will, Here Comes the Sun, and Here, There and Everywhere / Long Winding Road. Well, why not? It’s what we do. 

A group of ladies stop to watch. They are very appreciative and even join in one or two. I wonder whether they’re part of a choir. When they’re not actually singing, they’re moving to the music. 

A man gives us his card.  “I’ve got two chapels,” he says. “I’d love you to come and sing there.” Wow! 

We keep going for the full hour and half with just a ten minute break.

“Last song!” says Jeff before I Will. 

“We ought to finish with a Christmas one,” says an alto. 

“We’ll see.”

Then comes Carol of the Bells, followed by O Little Town of Bethlehem and Once in Royal David’s City. So we do finish full of Christmas spirit. 

All 30+ of us then make our way to a nearby restaurant for the annual meal out. It’s great to warm up again and eat drink in good company. There is much chat and laughter and a few origami Christmas trees….     

But we’re not done yet. There is more:  

Sunday 4 December 12.30 Whitworth Art Gallery Frost Fest Food and Drink

Saturday 10 December 11.45-2.30 Dunham Massey    

Tuesday 13 December 4.00-5.30 Christmas Market St Ann’s Square.