Songs From The Shows

The concert was staged in Bamford Chapel so the lighting was very generic and there was no set, the singers (28 persons) were all sat across the front space creating a visual stage area, all the soloists moved to stage right to perform their songs. There were no costumes, the ensemble were dressed in  their own  clothing. The concert opened with "Another Op`nin, Another Show" attack was missing from the off but that could have been down to nerves as they had a nice strong finish. Sue Fletcher performed "So In Love", it is worthwhile to note that by choosing to sing from one particular side as opposed to a central spot you need to take great care as a performer to connect with all the audience and not just the one half on your visual diagonal, tone , pace and diction was good. 

The whole ensemble treated us to "Clam Bake" from Carousel, it really was a treat - diction was fabulous, the words were beautifully clipped, projection was great , pace was perfect. The My Fair Lady selection was good vocally , I would take care though -  in the "Ascot Gavotte" the whole ensemble seemed to take a breath at the same time, it really does slow down the pace and momentum and is very obvious to the audience, also, if you are doing the head turn as if watching the horses start and thunder past then all heads need to turn as one - it`s all about the timing for the visual impact. Colin Garside-Trickett gave a lovely gentle performance of " On The Street Where You Live , it had light and shade, he emoted well, engaged the audience and I really was transported to that street. Steven Miller gave us two stunning performances in the South Pacific section, he had a lovely tone, diction was great, some amazing light and shade - again, i had a visual picture painted by his singing.

"Put On Your Sunday Clothes" from Hello Dolly showed some glorious sounding  harmonies, unfortunately it had a bit of a shaky start with not everyone coming in on the definite beat but there was much more attack as the song built to it`s end. Greta Shellard performed "Something Wonderful" from The King and I, it may sound an odd thing to say but she sings with her whole voice, she doesn`t hold back , I could hear the emotion, diction was fabulous, her timing was exquisite, she told the story, she believed what she was singing and she made me believe too.Dave Edwards performed "The Sentry Song" from Iolanthe , he had a great presence and connection with the audience was superb, pace was excellent, diction,enunciation , projection and comedic timing was good. There were a lot of other good solo`s during the concert but  I have only selected a few standout performances to mention. 

Lynn Lee was the Musical Director for this concert she also performed "Something Good" with Gerard Marsden from The Sound of Music. Peter Shellard and Peter Fitton compered the concert and kept things moving along. Personally I liked the selection picked for the concert, it was nice to hear some of the less obvious songs sung .Thank you for your hospitality, myself and my guest enjoyed your performance and look forward to seeing you all again very soon.

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