Sir David Willcocks at the Royal Albert Hall
Saturday 16 May 2010 saw members of the Choir performing at the Royal Albert Hall with the choir's president Sir David Willcocks.
The concert was to celebrate Sir David's 90th birthday, and his significant contribution to choral music. It included pieces chosen by him, performed by The Really Big Chorus, among whom were members of CBBC.
Rallying the troops for the day was Tony Thornburn, who cajoled, seduced and bullied us to buy tickets, remember music, and follow his excellent Google Street View directions to High Street Kensington for a pre-concert lunch.
Following an afternoon rehearsal (with some female choir members trying all manner of means to be noticed by Sir David from our lofty seat in the gods) we regrouped for the concert. The choir was in full regalia (well new T-shirts anyway, and Nigel wore an alto red rose).
The choir numbered more than 2000, and the Choristers of King's College Cambridge performed as a surprise for Sir David. CBBC and Exeter Festival Chorus had an honourable mention as choirs under Nigel's direction, Nigel being an ex-pupil of Sir David. A fellow King's Singer during Nigel's tenure, Brian Kay, gave a speech about Sir David, and an original oil painting of him was auctioned for the British Heart Foundation.
Following the concert, the choir had photographs taken in the Green Room with Sir David and the soloists, and Nigel and Sir David were able to catch up on old times.
Workshop 2010
What a Workshop! It was standing room only when over 250 people attended the CBBC’s annual Workshop on Saturday 23rd January - and they came from all over the UK. One party came from Highworth Choral Society, near Swindon, who were currently preparing the featured work, the Mozart Requiem for performance in the Spring.
In her closing remarks Chairman Janet Read thanked Nigel and Marcus and Workshop organiser Richard Young and his team of Stewards, and all the other members of the CBBC who had made the day such a magnificent success.
We all look forward to next year's Workshop which will take place on Saturday 29th January 2011 and we will be studying Mendelssohn's Elijah. It's bound to be a popular day so if you'd like to come you should book early to reserve your place, via the Workshop Page!
The Choir visits Leipzig
On October 24th 2009 the choir was privileged to perform in St Thomas's Church, Leipzig. Afterwards an email was received from a German lady who had stayed in the same hotel.
On Saturday morning in the Thomas Church we were so fortunate as to listen to part of your rehearsal
for the concert which you did on Saturday night. Unfortunately, we were not able to attend this concert.
All I want to do is tell you that I found even the rehearsal fantastic, and I enjoyed staying with you
at the hotel. I had the opportunity of talking to some of you, and I must say your choir seemed to me
a group of so likeable people with a good sense of British humour.
When I was told the name of your conductor - Nigel Perrin - I remembered all of a sudden
five of six names of the former King's Singers. My friend and I
used to be the most enthusiastic King's Singers fans when we were school girls - they were our "boy group"...
Please give my best regards to Nigel Perrin and my warmest thanks for countless hours of sheer enjoyment.
To me, the King's Singers' mixture of simple perfection and great fun (very British!)
and the way they made their musical journey through hundreds of centuries has never been topped.
I remember concerts when by the end the audience (including me) was simply mad with enthusiasm,
and I cannot remember how many encores the Singers had to sing.
I am sure that your choir has the same level of perfection, and I very much regret having listened to
just so little of your concert programme.
It was a pleasure meeting you! Good luck to the Choir and best regards to all of you
The Junior Choir and their new conductor
Children of the CBBC Junior Choir gave a charming, short performance at half-term to their parents, families and the choir. Under their fab new conductor, Adrienne Hale, the juniors sang four songs in two or three-part harmony, with great tunefulness and discipline. The presentation was much enjoyed by all present, and the children are now preparing their contribution for Carols by Candlelight. Click here for more details on how to join the choir.
Juniors meet 'Joseph' at launch of Mid Somerset Festival programme
Children from the CBBC Junior Choir were among those lucky enough to meet Craig Chalmers, the star of Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, at the launch of the Mid Somerset Festival programme in the Guildhall, Bath. Craig was appearing at the Theatre Royal as part of a nation wide tour of the show.
The Juniors were amongst those invited to the launch because they are well known competitors at the Festival.
Overheard at committee meeting
"When it comes to blouses, women are going to fall out"
"The bottoms are not up for grabs"
Will Todd Workshop
What a fabulous time we had when Will Todd arrived on Monday the 1st of June to conduct a Workshop rehearsal on his composition Mass in Blue. Singing blues (jazz) is not the Choir's natural style and Will's cheerful and enthusiastic approach helped us to better understand the style and genre and hence to be able to attack the piece with more gusto. We can't wait for the performance at the Wiltshire Music Centre on Saturday 4th July 2009.
Bath Festival Performers
Congratulations to Bob Hussey and Mary George who took part in a successful 'new' Handel opera as part of the Bath International Music Festival. The Battle of Quiberon Bay was made up of music from various Handel operas, which provided a setting for the battle between the English and the French. The Bath Chronicle reviewer wrote, "The result was a hugely entertaining hour standing around the baths listening to arias and music played on period instruments with the odd bit of fisticuffs between the opposing sides. You could choose which flag to listen under as you picked up your glass of Champagne on the way in."
Thankyou from Bath Festival
"On behalf of the Music Festival I would like to thank you for your part in making Party in the City the huge success it was. We were delighted with your contribution and audience feedback has been excellent. We hope you enjoyed taking part and had fun too."
"Next years Party in the City is Fri May 28th!"
Choir Trip to Leipzig, 22 - 25 Oct 2009
Well over 50 people are now booked to participate in the choir tour to Leipzig.
The concert will be performed on the Saturday. The venue is the famous Thomaskirche. The present building dates back to the 15th century but is most famous for its connections with Bach. He was the choir director at the church from 1723 until his death in1750. Other well known composers and musicians have performed there over the centuries. The church is also home to two organs. The 'Romantic' organ dates back to 1885 but is no good for performing works by Bach, so a new organ, known as the Bach organ, was installed in 2000. Fortunately Marcus is accompanying us on the trip, so we will have the benefit of hearing it at its best. The famous trumpeter, Crispin Steele-Perkins has also been engaged to perform at the concert.
We travel to Berlin early on the Sunday so we can have a full day in that interesting city before flying back to Bristol late that evening.
Junior Choir at the Mid Somerset Festival
The CBBC Junior Choir, led by Simon Carr Minns, gave a confident performance at the 2009 Mid Somerset Festival, in the sumptuous setting of the Guildhall Banqueting Room. The children entered two classes, singing pieces from different genres in two-part harmony. In the first they performed Do You Hear The People Sing from Les Miserables and Panis Angelicus by Cesar Franck, with exemplary Latin pronunciation and nice light and shade. In the second class they sang Rodgers & Hammerstein’s You’ll Never Walk Alone from Carousel at a steady tempo applauded by the adjudicator, Douglas Coombes, for giving them the opportunity to be expressive and to show off some effective long notes. They ended with Abba’s Thank You For The Music – probably their best number, although it may have been too early in the morning for them to sound as if they truly meant the words, a point made kindly by Mr Coombes. They looked immaculate in their purple and black and were warmly supported by a phalanx of parents. Unfortunately the MSF does not have a category to suit a choir whose ages range from 8 to 15 and so, up against some teenagers able to give more sophisticated performances, we did not come away with a trophy this time round… but the choir was definitely a credit to the CBBC and enjoyed the experience. We finished with chocolate cake to celebrate Simon’s birthday.