Cosying up at "A Winter Warmer"
| Type of post: | Choir news item |
| Sub-type: | No sub-type |
| Posted By: | Debbie Groves |
| Status: | Current |
| Date Posted: | Fri, 27 Dec 2024 |
What a fabulously festive and joyous concert, and a perfect end to the year!
Our Christmas concert, "A Winter Warmer", took place with a full and appreciative audience.on Saturday 14th December, at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Pyrford
In a cosy, cabaret-style setting, our guests settled in with wine, beer and sumptious festive grazing boxes, seated at round tables adorned with ambient lighting, and were treated to a wonderful programme of seasonal choral pieces, led by Musical Director Hugh Beckwith and accompanied on piano by Harry Baker. Around 80 members of the choir performed several new seasonal pieces alongside some old favourites (given a bit of a jazzy and - in one case - gospel twist!), and a couple of traditional carols which the audience joined in with gusto!
It was the first public outing of a version of a traditional carol, "Wassail", arranged especially for Elmbridge Choir by Charlie Perry , a friend and musical colleague of Hugh. We were thrilled that Charlie joined us for the evening to hear his composition performed for the first time. The choir also performed a carol which was selected as a finalist in the BBC Radio 3 Carol Competition in 2022, Set to a poem by Niall Campbell, "A Winter's Brightening", written by local composer and professional freelance singer, Donna Deam, the piece conjures up a mood of love, winter, warmth, cosiness and hope - perfectly fitting for "A Winter Warmer".
J
oining us for the evening were the Mayor and Mayoress of Elmbridge (Cllr Neil Houston and Veronica Houston), the Mayor of Woking (Cllr Louise Morales), and Andy Robertson from Rentstart, our beneficiary charity which supports those experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness. Following the concert, Andy wrote "I had a really lovely time on Saturday, the whole event was excellent and the choir were amazing! We raised £650 on the door, which I am really happy with!".
Our Christmas concert, "A Winter Warmer", took place with a full and appreciative audience.on Saturday 14th December, at the Church of the Good Shepherd in PyrfordIn a cosy, cabaret-style setting, our guests settled in with wine, beer and sumptious festive grazing boxes, seated at round tables adorned with ambient lighting, and were treated to a wonderful programme of seasonal choral pieces, led by Musical Director Hugh Beckwith and accompanied on piano by Harry Baker. Around 80 members of the choir performed several new seasonal pieces alongside some old favourites (given a bit of a jazzy and - in one case - gospel twist!), and a couple of traditional carols which the audience joined in with gusto!
It was the first public outing of a version of a traditional carol, "Wassail", arranged especially for Elmbridge Choir by Charlie Perry , a friend and musical colleague of Hugh. We were thrilled that Charlie joined us for the evening to hear his composition performed for the first time. The choir also performed a carol which was selected as a finalist in the BBC Radio 3 Carol Competition in 2022, Set to a poem by Niall Campbell, "A Winter's Brightening", written by local composer and professional freelance singer, Donna Deam, the piece conjures up a mood of love, winter, warmth, cosiness and hope - perfectly fitting for "A Winter Warmer".
J
oining us for the evening were the Mayor and Mayoress of Elmbridge (Cllr Neil Houston and Veronica Houston), the Mayor of Woking (Cllr Louise Morales), and Andy Robertson from Rentstart, our beneficiary charity which supports those experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness. Following the concert, Andy wrote "I had a really lovely time on Saturday, the whole event was excellent and the choir were amazing! We raised £650 on the door, which I am really happy with!".
