Well, since the end of the November it's been constant non-stop music (not that I'm complaining!). As I've already posted, there was the Young Voices concert back on the 25th November and then yesterday we took the school choir to perform for the first time at the Merry Hill Choir Competition (Merry Hill being our local shopping mall for those of you not in the local area). The competition has been held over 10 days with 10 choirs performing on each day. We chose to enter the 'Best Newcomer' category this year as it was our first time taking part.
The kids did great job but I definitely think Jo and I were more nervous than them! Our final choice of songs were Now's the Time, Waiting for Christmas Eve, Mary's Lullaby, When Christmas Comes Around and The World in Union, 3 of which were written by myself and lyrics for 'When Christmas Comes Around' by Jo and I. We have to wait now for news of whether we've made it to the final as apparently 2 choirs go through from each day. It would be great if we had but even if we don't it's been a super experience for us and the kids all the same.
Mom and I went to Birmingham Symphony Hall last Monday to see the John Wilson Orchestra and special guests. This was a fantastic night and I have to say that the John Wilson Orchestra is by far the best orchestra I've heard at Symphony Hall in recent years. The concert performed was one that was aired last year as part of the Proms season and featured a night of MGM musical numbers. Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy creator and voice) was one of the special guests with a highlight for me being his 'Stewie' impression whilst singing 'That's Entertainment' as an encore. All performers were top quality though including Curtis Stigers who I actually thought sounded much better than I remembered him in the original performance on TV. Another great highlight from the concert was the music from the 'Barn Raising Scene' in 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'. At this point the percussionists who were directly in front of us decided to get the audience clapping and actually did their own little dance at the back of the stage! I really do love to watch John Wilson as a conductor. He always looks like he's having such a great time and constantly smiles and nods to the other members of the orchestra. He really looks like a guy who is truly living the dream.
Rehearsals for our Ladies Choir concert 'It's a Man's World' are now on hold over Christmas while we rehearse for the Christmas Carol Service on 19th December. The concert should have originally been in October but due to various illnesses and injuries (yes, there really were that many!) it has now been postponed until the first weekend in April. I guess that really does give us no excuse for not being ready!!
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