More than a month has flown by since our last news article and what a busy time it has been. As mentioned in the August news pages the choir undertook some serious self-examination over the summer break in the form of re-auditions; these were a great success with the majority of members sailing through and putting in some very impressive performances. Inevitably these processes will result in some reduction in our numbers, but the 51 fully-auditioned and active members we now have are creating a more accurate sound than ever before.
Rehearsals started during the first week in September and we have welcomed four prospective new members to our ranks, with another three on the wings. We look forward very much to their addition to the choir and hope they have a long and enjoyable time with us. Another new addition to the choir family arrived in late September: Mike Weaver (one of our members’ reps) became a father! Many congratulations to Mike and Sue on the birth of their first child, and a very warm welcome to the lovely Emmeline - born on 20th September
On the performance front, the choir had its first concert of the new session at Christchurch Priory on 26th September. As usual at our Priory Concerts, this was a sell-out and raised (after all expenses) over £3000 for the Samaritans. We were joined by Llantrisant and Casterbridge Male Choirs, and Australian operatic soprano Gaynor Morgan. Gaynor was in incredible voice, with arias from Mozart through to jazzy spirituals forming a captivating programme.
Not content with all this, the choir has spent the early weeks of October laying down the tracks for our new CD, ‘Sing For Your Life!’
(For a sneak preview, see the video on our Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=151545374845&ref=nf).
The official launch date is November 28th 2009 and there will be a special concert and launch party to celebrate its release, at All Saints Church, Southbourne. We have a special guest soloist that evening in Matthew Ibbotson, a London-based professional tenor who was a member of the winning choir in BBC1’s Last Choir Standing, Only Men Aloud!, and a member of BBC National Chorus of Wales, and Serendipity. More on that soon.
For more about Matthew, visit his website at
http://www.matthewibbotson.co.uk.
We are also preparing the ground for our visit to Limoges, France, with application forms being released to the choir to secure their places. In the shorter term we are getting ready for our next engagement, a concert for the Mayor of Wimborne on 31st October. We hope to see you soon!