Sing and Swing Again

This super concert was directed by Josephine Owen and featured members of the Society along with performances by the thirty-one piece Barnsley Concert Band under the direction of Richard Hanson, and was a wonderful evening’s entertainment.

The selection of music and songs had been cleverly put together to suit the performers and also to appeal to the audience.  We were introduced with an opening of ‘Sing’ and ended with another joint performance ‘American Trilogy’.  Throughout the concert the audience were kept entertained and engaged by the talented band and singers.  The joint performances were amazing considering they had only had a limited number of opportunities to rehearse together.  In particular the pieces Skyfall (featuring Chris Wakeford) and Barcelona (featuring Wakeford and Marilyn Sykes) were very impressive.

The Band gave renditions of The Magic Flute, a tribute to Louis Armstrong, Rock & Roll Explosion, Chicago, Les Miserables along with Bohemian Rhapsody - all of which were beautifully played.  The Jersey Boys numbers and the Best of Bond performed by the singers were well rehearsed and, as with all the numbers, they were well performed by the group.  Act Two was introduced with a joint piece ‘Blue Skies’ and  the group went on to sing a range of Lloyd Webber pieces including songs from Phantom, Starlight Express and Tell Me On A Sunday.

I enjoyed all the soloists, with my personal favourites being ‘Only You’ with Les Smith and Sally Bembridge and ‘All I Ask of You’ with Chris Wakeford and Anne Wakeford.  All of the solo and group pieces had been well-arranged to complement the performers.

With a full band movement around the stage was limited, but well carried through by the performers who chose a range of positions to add variety and interest.  They are looked very smart in their co-ordinating outfits.

Many congratulations on a super piece of collaboration which was very much appreciated by the audience.

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