We began our evening of The Best of British as part of the Chichester Festivities with Robert Pearsall's There is a Paradise on Earth - a perfect description of Champs Hill where we performed to a packed house.
Accompanied with his usual poise by Chris Hatt, we went through many British institutions - Shakespeare, G & S, Noel Coward, Edward Lear, Elton John, Rice & Lloyd-Webber, Peter Warlock, The Beatles, The Weather, The Underground, The Pre-Raphaelites and of course, Cricket...
Excellent to be part of the Chichester Fest again, and to be in The Music Room at Champs Hill in the West Sussex countryside was splendid.... we have performed here before only at private parties... we look forward to being here more [in fact, another dinner next month beckons!]
The Music Room also houses part of a wonderful art collection... an all-round artistic experience.
Thursday, 30 June 2011
Monday, 27 June 2011
Thorndike Arts Centre, Rochester
Excellent to be part of an artistic flourishing in Kent; Rochester Grammar School has created the Dame Sybil Thorndike Arts Centre within its grounds and set about making it a viable artistic and commercial concern. All power to Richard et al; their elbows and all other sharp points. These will require to keep it wonderful is this current climate.
However, no casue for concern for the first two events - both sell-outs; firstly The James Taylor Quartet [how splendid], and then us...
Also performing before our concert was the girls' choir NChant, excellently led by Choral Director, Carolynn Woodman... Rochester GS is that very rare thing, a secondary school specialising in music... and the girls showed how delighted they are to have an excellent Arts Centre in which to perform.
There are many other choirs, and instrumental opportunities at the school and further afield in Kent... great to see local youth music having such strength in depth.
The members of Nchant were lovely enough to enjoy our pearls of wisdom to them in a quick workshop/performance in the afternoon; however it is clear that Carolynn trains them excellently...
A glorious vocal evening for the good people of Rochester...[& I was back in my house by 11.50pm]... we wish the Arts Centre every success...
However, no casue for concern for the first two events - both sell-outs; firstly The James Taylor Quartet [how splendid], and then us...
Also performing before our concert was the girls' choir NChant, excellently led by Choral Director, Carolynn Woodman... Rochester GS is that very rare thing, a secondary school specialising in music... and the girls showed how delighted they are to have an excellent Arts Centre in which to perform.
There are many other choirs, and instrumental opportunities at the school and further afield in Kent... great to see local youth music having such strength in depth.
The members of Nchant were lovely enough to enjoy our pearls of wisdom to them in a quick workshop/performance in the afternoon; however it is clear that Carolynn trains them excellently...
A glorious vocal evening for the good people of Rochester...[& I was back in my house by 11.50pm]... we wish the Arts Centre every success...
Tuesday, 21 June 2011
Taj - press night
A wonderful evening at the Taj, 51 Buckingham Gate....
Despite the rain the press were royally entertained by three acts... all providing music for the summer season at this gorgeous hotel.
Last Friday, the rain drove us inside, later in the summer we will be in the courtyard in the open air.... which will be splendid!
The concerts were started last year, and should be excellent.
On 8th & 9th July and 5th & 6th August we will be performing songs from classic West End and Broadway musicals.
Soprano Bella and Viva Live Music will have four nights too...
On this night, each act did a small bit, and also had a guest young singer called Jack, who showed his Bublé-esque credentials at the age of fifteen!
Let's hope the weather is more favourable for us all over the next few months...
Now, back to learning German words and music for Saturday in Stuttgart...
PS: Cricket CD is coming so soon!
Despite the rain the press were royally entertained by three acts... all providing music for the summer season at this gorgeous hotel.
Last Friday, the rain drove us inside, later in the summer we will be in the courtyard in the open air.... which will be splendid!
The concerts were started last year, and should be excellent.
On 8th & 9th July and 5th & 6th August we will be performing songs from classic West End and Broadway musicals.
Soprano Bella and Viva Live Music will have four nights too...
On this night, each act did a small bit, and also had a guest young singer called Jack, who showed his Bublé-esque credentials at the age of fifteen!
Let's hope the weather is more favourable for us all over the next few months...
Now, back to learning German words and music for Saturday in Stuttgart...
PS: Cricket CD is coming so soon!
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
Alan Jay Lerner plaque
No this is not a shock 25-years-after-his-death announcement of the great man's dental issues, but a joyous celebration of the playwright-lyricist [he did not like the word librettist!] at St Paul's Covent Garden, this lunchtime. After a quarter of a century, Liz Robertson, AJL's widow, unveiled his plaque to celebrate his long association with England and the West End.
Liz and the vicar of St Paul's, Simon Grigg planned the event, and asked our old friend Hugh Wooldridge to organise the whole thing - and splendidly he did so...
On hand many greats from the stage... one highlight being Wouldn't it be Luvverly sung by six separate Eliza's... more-or-less spanning the six decades of My Fair Lady's existence. [Sally Ann Howes, Katie Knight-Adams, Jill Martin, Amy Nuttall, Jean Scott & Liz herself.]
David Firman and Jason Carr played on two pianos to accompany... marvellously and extempore! Rehearsal, reschmersal.
Anthony Andrews was glorious emoting Arthur's Proposition speech from Camelot... Jasper and Tony Britton outdoing each other in father and son speechifying. Tim Rice & Don Black gave their lyricists' perspective on his excellence and wit. Russ Abbot & Gerard Kenny sang, as did boys and girls from Laine's Theatre Arts and the West End Chorus... beautifully.
...and what did we do, I hear you cry... well, we accompanied Sir Tim in his ever-excellent rendition of the Alan Jay Lerner piece from Paint Your Wagon, Wand'rin' Star. Many said this was the comic highlight of the event... I think that is a compliment...
Another lovely surprise was seeing our old friend Brian who played the thief in Commuting a piece written for TLQ by Stephen Oliver and which we performed in the Covent Garden Festival as part of our Stephen Oliver Trilogy in the 1990s, directed by Simon Callow. Excellent to see Brian who is now retired, but was in early productions of Lerner shows... and was busily meeting old mates.
Other faces/names sighted... Trevor Nunn, Amanda Barrie, Christopher Biggins, Margaret Hodge (such fun!) and a message was read from Andrew Lloyd Webber, who was unavoidably watching one of his own shows [and Camelot too!] at the Stratford Festival, Canada.
Also unavoidable was the champagne reception at The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane (busily gearing up for Shrek's opening night tonight) ...and a glorious sunshine-filled day for it too...
Liz and the vicar of St Paul's, Simon Grigg planned the event, and asked our old friend Hugh Wooldridge to organise the whole thing - and splendidly he did so...
On hand many greats from the stage... one highlight being Wouldn't it be Luvverly sung by six separate Eliza's... more-or-less spanning the six decades of My Fair Lady's existence. [Sally Ann Howes, Katie Knight-Adams, Jill Martin, Amy Nuttall, Jean Scott & Liz herself.]
David Firman and Jason Carr played on two pianos to accompany... marvellously and extempore! Rehearsal, reschmersal.
Anthony Andrews was glorious emoting Arthur's Proposition speech from Camelot... Jasper and Tony Britton outdoing each other in father and son speechifying. Tim Rice & Don Black gave their lyricists' perspective on his excellence and wit. Russ Abbot & Gerard Kenny sang, as did boys and girls from Laine's Theatre Arts and the West End Chorus... beautifully.
...and what did we do, I hear you cry... well, we accompanied Sir Tim in his ever-excellent rendition of the Alan Jay Lerner piece from Paint Your Wagon, Wand'rin' Star. Many said this was the comic highlight of the event... I think that is a compliment...
Another lovely surprise was seeing our old friend Brian who played the thief in Commuting a piece written for TLQ by Stephen Oliver and which we performed in the Covent Garden Festival as part of our Stephen Oliver Trilogy in the 1990s, directed by Simon Callow. Excellent to see Brian who is now retired, but was in early productions of Lerner shows... and was busily meeting old mates.
Other faces/names sighted... Trevor Nunn, Amanda Barrie, Christopher Biggins, Margaret Hodge (such fun!) and a message was read from Andrew Lloyd Webber, who was unavoidably watching one of his own shows [and Camelot too!] at the Stratford Festival, Canada.
Also unavoidable was the champagne reception at The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane (busily gearing up for Shrek's opening night tonight) ...and a glorious sunshine-filled day for it too...
Monday, 6 June 2011
Poznań
Well, I did say I would be honest.... there were very few blank faces and no awkward silences after our Polish introductions... we were told we could be understood very well... which is a relief; Mike even achieved a resounding round of applause after tackling the Polish for a 78 revolutions per minute record ...
We were excited that our Chopin went down well too... The Minute Waltz [à la Barbra Streisand, of course] and the Prelude in Eminor continuing into Jobim's Insensatez, which uses the prelude as a skeleton...
Our hosts Affabre Concinui - The Polish Chamber Singers were delightful and we have another excellent friendship in the vocal group world... we hope to be coming to Poland lots more.
We were excited that our Chopin went down well too... The Minute Waltz [à la Barbra Streisand, of course] and the Prelude in Eminor continuing into Jobim's Insensatez, which uses the prelude as a skeleton...
Our hosts Affabre Concinui - The Polish Chamber Singers were delightful and we have another excellent friendship in the vocal group world... we hope to be coming to Poland lots more.
Saturday, 4 June 2011
A pleasant evening
We have achieved Poland, and had a great evening watching Gaudium - a vocal octet from Bialystok, who performed the second concert in this mini a cappella festival here in Poznań... a fresh mix of Bach swingle-style, folk songs & classic standards... the highlight was for us the last piece... from Poland's Russian years about the love between the Soviet Union and Poland! - Zawsze niech będzie słońce - perhaps not a happy memory... but the piece was jauntily and jazzily arranged and the audience did not need irony lessons... For those who wish to know, the last word of this song title is pronounced "Swansea" - a bit confusing for us Brits...
I for one have only been to Poland once before for only 20-odd hours in 1990... a very different country back then. This was a hit-and-run concert with City of London Choir and Orch. performing the Bminor Mass in Wroclaw... we arrived to see crowds already forming before we had rehearsed, and then we did the piece without an interval... with the Cathedral so packed that many stood in the aisles and chancel for the whole performance... endurance for both performers and audience and they did love it so...
...but back to the 21st century...
Our turn tomorrow... we have a Polish coaching in the am, to make sure we do not introduce the next goat as a pong from Skitland... I promise to honestly report on the amount of blank faces after our introductions!
I for one have only been to Poland once before for only 20-odd hours in 1990... a very different country back then. This was a hit-and-run concert with City of London Choir and Orch. performing the Bminor Mass in Wroclaw... we arrived to see crowds already forming before we had rehearsed, and then we did the piece without an interval... with the Cathedral so packed that many stood in the aisles and chancel for the whole performance... endurance for both performers and audience and they did love it so...
...but back to the 21st century...
Our turn tomorrow... we have a Polish coaching in the am, to make sure we do not introduce the next goat as a pong from Skitland... I promise to honestly report on the amount of blank faces after our introductions!
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