abcd Convention Day 3

Day 3 always begins with the A.G.M. Usual sort of thing. Slightly different for me as I stand down from the council. Moved between the sessions with camera. The most interesting was that given by Paul Mealor on composing for Royalty. Later sat through a very authoritative lecture by Paul Spicer. He focussed mainly on Elgar's oratorios that aren't Gerontius and finished with an extract of Dyson's "Quo vadis". There is a lot of good stuff in those early 20th century English works. They should be done more often. After lunch Paul took the remaining delegates through some extracts from his own Easter and Advent Oratorios.

The Convention ended with a cup of tea and an hour of clearing up. Very pleased and very tired.

abcd Convention Day 2

As "home chair" it was a day of flitting in and out of various sessions with my camera, top and tailing the opening session and other bits and bobs. The only session that I sat all through was the "Carols for Choirs 5" launch which I top and tailed and ended up playing for the last 15 minutes. There is a lot of good material in the new book and it will be interesting to see how it develops.
Attended a reception in the fabulous Council House given by the Deputy Mayor.
The Gala Concert was excellent. Ars Nova were technically superb in a programme of challenging music. Most notable was their "light and shade". Cantamus were their usual brilliant selves. Disciplined, mature and communicative. After the interval The National Youth Choir of Great Britain demonstrated incredible flexibility for such a large choir. Eric Whitacre made quite an impact with two of his pieces and "I was glad" was spectacular. Kerry Andrew's new piece was effective and approachable.

A long, convivial session in the Copthorne Bar concluded the day.

abcd Convention Day 1

Birmingham. Centre of the choral world. Opening singing session led by John Rutter including the second performance of "This is the day" written for the Royal Wedding. Got a mention in the Chair's reception. Fascinating final session with a mixture of singing and chat concluding with a 25th Anniversary cake-cutting by Brian Kay, John Rutter and Pam Cook. Food and bar service up to the mark. Midland Region working well.

Very Exciting Notes In Choral Expedition

Hearing the final chord of Cabaret ringing round the courtyard of the Doge's Palace and thinking "One of those notes is mine!" was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my fifty year choral career. Mike reporting the conversation that he had with a lady after our short, impromptu, sing in the cathedral on Murano and saying how moved she had been by our singing was, for me, the most significant moment of our five day visit to Venice. There were only five people in the church, we sang for only ten minutes but we had enhanced the life of one person - that is what it is all about. Gathered around Monteverdi's tomb and singing his Adoramus te while announcements blared out over the Frari sound system was another special moment. No body was listening but those notes resounded I know not where.

I don't know how common six cathedral lay clerks touring without the trebles or organist is,  but this was a fantastic week. The eight of us in the party (six singers plus two partners) all contributed in equal measure to the success of the tour. With no designated leader, musically or administratively, democracy ruled. With no imposed itinerary days flowed with a natural rhythm dictated by human need and local conditions. Interestingly, we all kept together all the time (apart from part of one day) because we wanted to.

The singing was immensely satisfying. Sadly one of our number had to withdraw at the last minute for personal reasons. His replacement, a young man of just seventeen years, fitted in seamlessly both musically and socially. Everything we sang was well together musically and had the appropriate sense of style from the intense beauty of the Mass music to the outright fun of secular. We sang to small, appreciative audiences. The priest at the Frari demanded an encore after Mass, the congregation in St. Marks applauded, the American tourists stood and raised the roof of the hotel breakfast room with "whoopin' and hollerin'", a Dutchman came to Venice for the architecture and the culture but our singing was his "most beautiful moments of three days", a small boy danced in the corner of the courtyard of the Doge's Palace and a lady on Murano . . . . . .

Tour photos