Civic Sunday – singing for the Ceremonial Mayor of Salford 31 May 2015

By 9.30 we are all gathered in St Clements Church Ordsall and Salford Quays. We’re in our home parish and in the place from where we get our name. It’s raining gently outside and it’s cold for May. Yet, as we’re reminded later, “It’s a glorious day, despite the weather.”  

The warm-up goes well and a few folk who have arrived early are appreciative.

At ten on the dot the Mayoral party arrives and enters the church with due ceremony. Peter Dobbs looks splendid in his robes.

Singing at St Ninnian’s, Chortlon Arts Festival

A light almost-summer evening at the end of an unpredictable bank holiday Sunday. St Ninnian’s Church is half full already and they keep on coming. Chorlton Arts and probably our own Facebook page have done us proud. By the time we’ve finished our warm-up we have a more than respectable audience. Late-comers have to sneak in the side entrances to the pews.

“We have other appearances coming up. Twice at the Victoria Baths. 6 June and 7 September,” Jeff tells the audience during a break between songs.

“We’re from there!” cry a group of folk half way back on our right. Indeed they are. We recognise our old friends from that lovely building, though today they’re not wearing tier name badges.  

And of course, we mustn’t forget Buxton. 25 July. Details here. We normally have a great day. Why not come and join us?    

We work through our repertoire and bring out in public for the first time Bring Him Home and Viva la Musica! All goes well. Singing in churches seems to suit us and naturally we include Deep River, Joshua and Kum Bah Yah.

An interval gives us a chance to mingle with our audience over tea and biscuits. Tea, cake and biscuits are a hallmark of the Ordsall A Cappella Singers and tonight is not different. We do recognise some family and friends. As well, though, there are some mystery guests. What motivated them to come, we wonder. Will they come again? We hope so.

There is cake, too, backstage, kindly donated to the choir. Thank you so much. You have the measure of us!

Thanks to St Ninnian’s, Chorlton Arts festival, and all choir members for a great evening.  

       

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. 

Last performance of the year – Football Museum with mulled wine and mince pies

What did I say yesterday? We’re more secure now and usually have at least three for each part? Ah. An early start at 5.30, some terrible weather conditions that caused equally terrible traffic and a few sore throats and coughs reduced us to one soprano and two female tenors. At first at least. Then a few more folk arrived and we had a respectable three or four for each part. A certain temporary male tenor who has also been known to sing bass and even soprano was very welcome and kept us in check. Well he has to keep us all in check anyway. That’s his job.  

All in purple and black with added tinsel and hats.

Ordsall Hall Family and Friends Concert

“Our spiritual home,” Jeff calls it. Quite right too: in fact, the day I joined the choir was the very first time it rehearsed in OrdsallHall. And haven’t we come on since then? In those days you worried that you might be the only one in your section. Now we think we’re hard done by if there are only three.

It’s a lovely place to sing in. It was beautiful before its renovation. Now it is gorgeous. It’s good to see the more natural colours of the wood. The displays are enticing and it’s clear that a lot of interesting activities go on for people of all ages. And there are the ghosts, of course. They didn’t seem perturbed by our performance. The atmosphere was warm and friendly.

This was a private concert. Guests were the friends and family of choir members. There was room for seventy audience members and there are over forty of us in the choir, most of whom were there last night. So, it was by invite only.

Double- Gig-Sunday

The Trafford Centre

My, we’re busy. Two events on one day and two more to come before we finish out year!

Sunday 14 December found us singing for one hour outside the upper level of Debenham’s in the Trafford Centre. The big worry had been “Will we be able to park?” It wasn’t a problem in the end. A tip off from someone in the know told us where we could get in easily, get out again afterwards and only have a few yards to walk in order to get to our rendezvous. Getting there early helped. In fact, it didn’t get really crowded until we were about to leave and other drivers hovered around our parking spots.

It was festive, what with our Christmas repertoire, our normal repertoire, purple hats and tinsel and enough footfall to create a buzz without it getting manic.

Singing amongst the books

A Tuesday evening not long before Christmas. A steady stream of customers pass through Waterstone’sDeansgate, Manchester. They have extended opening hours. It’s good to see people buying books as gifts and for themselves. A group of people gather on the first floor near the escalator. They’re dressed all in black and each wear a smart purple orchid. Some have a purple Christmas hats as well. 

Yes, that’s right. It’s Tuesday, so it’s Ordsall Acappella Singers’ night. Except this week we’re at Waterstone’s instead of our normal rehearsal venue. We perform all of our Christmas songs and some of our normal repertoire. Two songs about bells. Two lullabies. Why can I remember the German words to Still, Still, Still more easily than the English ones?  Did I learn it once before in German?  And two holly jolly ones. Amongst others. And in addition Kiss the Girl, I Got Rhythm, Joshua (including scary eyes) and Deep River. Amongst others.

Waterstone’s is housed in a good old Manchester building with the type of high ceiling we love. We hope we are singing in “merry measure” like the song says. We enjoy ourselves, anyway. It’s always good, singing together.  

We have a small but appreciative audience and some people we’ve not met before take photographs. Others, normal book browsers, don’t seem to object. We’re there from 6.00 until just after 7.30. Then many of us go out for a meal together.  What a lovely evening!