Notes
Vol. 24 No.3
September, 2014
the newsletter of
Founded 1926
‘Friendship through Song’
(All photos courtesy Aileen Priest)
The OMVC has been quite active over the past few months with a number of
appearances at fundraisers and local eisteddfods.
A Singular Success at Millthorpe
A large and enthusiastic audience was on hand to support the very successful
fundraiser for young Millthorpe schoolboy Keiran Hobba on Saturday, June 21st at
Millthorpe Primary School. Organised by Cantar’s Ruth Thompson, the Choral Evening
for a Special Someone featured Cantar, OMVC and the Choir of Millthorpe Primary
School. Keiran suffers congenital muscular dystrophy and fundraising was directed
Visit our website
www.omvc.org.au
Music Director Melanie Meers
Postal address P.O Box 2310, Orange NSW 2800
Accompanist Beverley Glover
Notes Editor John Mealings
President David Woodside
toward providing him with a wheelchair and home modifications as his condition
deteriorates.
I spoke with Keiran prior to the concert and “suffers” is really something of a
misnomer. A very engaging young guy, Keiran is very lively and sociable and appears
to have scant regard for the condition which is affecting him bodily but by no means
impairing an indomitable spirit. It turns out that I happen to know his uncle. Ben
Hobba played a very good banjo in a folk group in which my brother played for quite
a few years. “Very little will hold Keiran back,” Ben assured me.
Cantar opened the evening with Ruth Thompson directing and Debbie Nicholls
accompanying. The audience warmed instantly to them as they worked through a
program that featured Feed the Birds, Where there is No Vision and a medley from
Sister Act. OMVC was very well received indeed by an attentive audience. My Wish for
You might well have been re-titled Our Wish for You speaking directly as it seemed to
young Keiran. My Lord What a Morning, Let All Men Sing and American Trilogy
rounded out the bracket and were clearly enjoyed immensely with much favourable
comment at interval. The school choir did very well with small numbers of small
people. They charmed everyone.
Following a choice of gourmet soups at interval with bread rolls, the second half of
the evening saw a great auction of local artworks with our own Martin Prestige
successful in snaffling one of the half dozen or so on offer. An impromptu group of
young teachers from the school mounted an original piece complete with guitar,
percussion, ukulele and vocals and it was hugely appreciated by the audience. The
choirs came together for a finale of Fields of Gold, Stand by Me and Waltzing Matilda.
Apart from the music, some notable aspects of the evening included an excellent
young compere (one of the teaching staff) who did an excellent job keeping the
evening moving with light and witty banter. It was also an exceptional effort by our
own accompanist Bev who was undeterred by the prospect of travel to Sydney next
day for hospitalisation and surgery and still played with all her usual flair and
authority. The spirit of the evening was inspirational. The goodwill and sheer
exuberance of this wonderful community was plainly evident and I have no doubt that
everyone there felt it a privilege to be a part of something so worthy and heartwarming.
David Woodside
You just can’t get too much music……
….on second thoughts
Following this concert, a small, but brave contingent of choristers attended the
Brumbies v Force Super 15 Rugby Union game in Canberra on Friday evening,11 th
July. This involved singing a few items outside the ground before the start of the
match, something which was appreciated by patrons queuing to get into the ground.
OMVC Sings at Cherrywood
We enjoyed a small concert with the residents and some of the staff of Cherrywood
Grove on the eve of our Let All Men Sing concert with Sydney Male Choir. It was a
tremendously successful outing.
Space is often at a premium in residential care facilities but Cherrywood has a fairly
generous room for entertainment and Julie, their activities convenor, had made sure
that it was filled to capacity. Together with the twenty to twenty five choristers we
assembled and Leon and Bev, there was very little room to spare.
Two of our members, Doug Plowman and David Woodside, perform regularly at
Cherrywood and they reported that residents had been keenly anticipating the
concert since it was first mooted early this year. They weren’t disappointed. Their
enthusiasm for the repertoire and their enjoyment of what they heard became
immediately evident on their faces as the Choir launched into its first item, World in
Union. Leon prepared a program based almost exclusively on the program we’re
preparing for Canberra in November and sequenced items to achieve maximum
contrast – accompanied items against a cappella, the big songs against quieter
numbers and so on. It worked a treat and by halfway through the program our
audience was totally engrossed.
It was perfect preparation for next evening’s engagement at the ORC with
Sydney and Leon was generally pleased with a fairly tight and secure performance as
we moved through My Wish for You, Deus Salutis, Where Shall I Be, My Lord What a
Morning, Let All Men Sing, Mae D’Eisau and American Trilogy. Doug had been
regularly rehearsing the Choir with Every Time I Hear the Spirit and he did a grand
job with the accompaniment here.
Bev and Leon had every foot tapping with Handel’s Arrival of the Queen of Sheba and
their beautiful duet of Bach’s Sheep May Safely Graze was a standout in the program.
The great hit of the early 1950s, He, was offered by David Woodside to round off the
program.
Congratulations to both of our accompanists, Bev doing extremely well between her
chemo treatments and Doug for his first ever official engagement with OMVC as an
accompanist. A special mention too for Chris Morgan who took to the stage after he
had spent the last days with his dear Mum at Cherrywood before she passed away
there only a matter of days earlier. Further thanks to Leon for his sound preparation
of the lads and to Doug for his transport and generous loan of his keyboard for the
occasion.
This was a modest outing for us in many ways; no formal uniform, official guests or
program or grand occasion here. But it was deeply satisfying for everyone in
attendance - for the audience hearing something very different from their usual
music fare, and for ourselves being so privileged to share it with them.
D.W.
Let All Men Sing
Following the success of the Millthorpe fundraiser, another fundraising concert was
held in association with the Sydney Male Choir who were on their way to Dubbo in
support of the Royal Flying Doctor Service. This was held at the Orange Regional
Conservatorium on Friday August 1st, and although arranged at short notice, full
credit must go to President David Woodside who brought it all together with a fine
programme of local talent along with the Sydney Male Choir. Special guest artists
included James Sheahan Catholic High School students Natasha Hewitt (flute) and her
brother Caleb (trumpet). Despite their young age both students gave very
accomplished and polished performances and impressed the audience with their
talent and stage presence.
Also on the programme were a local a cappella group the Conboyz who gave a truly
outstanding performance and their director Mr Bill Moxey also sang two solo items
(Stars from Les Miserables and Invocation from Gounod’s Faust). The programme
was rounded out by our own choir and the SMC. A very generous and appreciative
audience raised almost $1000 for the RFDS on the night – another testament to a
very successful evening. On their return to Sydney, the following acknowledgement
was sent to President David Woodside:
Dear David,
The Sydney Male Choir has just returned to Sydney with chilly ears and fingers, but
with warm memories of our weekend away to Orange and Dubbo.
We thoroughly enjoyed catching up with the Orange Male Voice Choir after eight
years. We have always enjoyed concerts with you, and the concert on Friday offered
many different types of music and skills. The soloist offered fine music, the young
brother and sister instrumentalists were very skilled and entertaining, and the
Conboyz, under their MD, gave us all memories of what we all may have sounded like
eons ago. Lastly we appreciated your fine music under the command of Leon, for the
occasion, and Bev’s musical talent. It was great to see her at the keyboard. Then
finally – a great combined encore!
On Saturday night, we gave a full program for RFDS Fundraiser in the Dubbo RFDS
hangar – not the warmest place in town, but an acoustically fine place to sing. The
120 or so audience enjoy the concert.
On Sunday at 10.30 a.m. we lead off the Open Day with a bracket of four songs to a
mixed audience in a cool but sunny morning. It was to be the start of a full day of a
variety of activities.
So, sincere thanks for your organisation of the event.
We loved it.
Sincerely,
Tom Coghlan – Secretary of the Sydney Male Choir.
The Sydney Male Choir was established in 1913 as the Petersham Glee Club and has
the unique record of having sung at every ANZAC Day Dawn Service since 1930.
They have a varied repertoire ranging from songs from the shows and movies, the
pop charts, Welsh hymns, folk songs, operatic excerpts to sacred works and a few
nonsense rhymes. Recently the SMC sang with renowned Australian soprano (now
based in London), Yvonne Kenny at the Sydney Town Hall to raise funds for the
RFDS.
Orange Eisteddfod
Once again the Choir entered the Orange Eisteddfood and this year we were
represented in three sections – Open, Sacred and Welsh.
In the Open Section the Choir sang Let All men Sing and Jabbin Jabbin and
finished with a Highly Commended. Comments from the adjudicator included “What
a superb song for you lads (Let All Men Sing). Fabulous choral tone & energy for ff
singing” “A very nice arrangement (Jabbin Jabbin)”.
Whilst we were very happy with the first number, unfortunately we didn’t quite get it
together for Jabbin Jabbin.
The Sacred Section saw us performing Where Shall I Be? and My Lord What A
Morning and we were awarded first place in this section. Adjudicator’s comments
were very encouraging “Bravissimo – you make a fine sound. Excellent attention to
musical detail and lovely dynamic colour in evidence. This was very fine indeed, tight
and lovely (Where Shall I Be?)” Comments were even more effusive for the second
number (My Lord What A Morning) – “Wow. What an opening – this was absolutely
mesmerising. Achieving pp singing is so difficult – your director must be so clever.
Bravo him! This was a stellar performance and I found it very, very moving. Excellent
contrast.
In the Welsh Section the Choir sang Tui Egeo and Deus Salutis. Adjudicator’s
comments for the first number – “Beautiful choral tone and excellent harmony
combined with such a wonderful focus was good to see. Welsh language was ‘fair to
middling’. Excellent work gents – I loved it. Congratulations. For the second song the
comments were “Fine singing and a great dedication to this gorgeous music. May the
Welsh tradition live on. Congratulations. The Choir was placed second in this section
so overall it was a reasonably successful day.
Bathurst Eisteddfod
Two weeks after the Orange Eisteddfod, choristers travelled to Bathurst to compete.
This is the first time in many years we have competed at the Bathurst Eisteddfod and
the Choir was entered in two sections – Open and Welsh. Although this was a much
smaller representation, the Choir performed well and was rewarded with equal third
in the Open Section and First in the Welsh section. Particular mention should be made
of John and Roberta Read who travelled up from Sydney for the eisteddfod and then
returned to Sydney immediately afterwards to spend time with their daughter who
was soon to be flying out to Ireland. A wonderful gesture which shows the
commitment and support of some of our more long term choristers.
Comments from the Bathurst adjudicator included:
Open Section - Let All men Sing. “Very good group here. Intonation is very good
overall and I love your energy and projection. Well done to the singer who reached
that top G above middle C”
My Lord What a Morning. “Very good a cappella. I love your
warmth of voice. You did well to set slightly different dynamics at each refrain but
perhaps the piece itself was a bit on the short side. Very good choir overall! Keep
performing! Wonderful to see such a talented male choir.”
Welsh Section –Oh Mighty Lord. “A remarkably homogeneous group. Good tempo
change/rit on the ‘Amen’. Well done!”
Tui Egeo “Very good a cappella start – middle voices were a bit
tentative at times. Well rehearsed, though (not a straight forward piece). Moving
performance – warm generous and heart felt”.
Overall the two eisteddfods could be regarded as successful. Whilst some people are
ambivalent about competing in such events they are a means of gaining exposure to
a general public and also provide us with feedback so that we can build and improve
as a choir. Whilst ever the choir remains a fee-performing one it must be incumbent
upon all members to perform to the highest standard possible. Singing at eisteddfods
provides us with the opportunity for such evaluation and assessment.
Heard it on The Grapevine………………..
Bob Nash has returned a couple of months ago from a bike trip to central Australia
for the Annual General Meeting of the Ulysses Bike Club. Bob and wife Nancy spent a
week travelling to Alice Springs on Bob’s bike where they caught up with another
three or so thousand members. Lots of noise in the Alice no doubt.
Chris and Rosemary Morgan are currently enjoying an overseas jaunt to, amongst
other places, the Baltic countries. This will no doubt come as timely break for Chris
who only recently lost his mother.
Ian and Sandra McAndrew are currently on the wallaby with four wheel drive and
caravan in tow. Once again they have headed for the warmer climes of Queensland
and should be back in a week or two giving them an enjoyable 2 month break in
total.
It was good to see Ken Fishpool at rehearsal following a long break. Ken and Brenda
have also spent some time in Queensland and Ken’s suntan would indicate they’ve
had an enjoyable outdoor lifestyle over the past few months.
Put aside Sunday afternoon 12th October for a special fundraiser at Newstead (4 to 6
pm) to assist Bev offset some of her medical costs. Look forward to an open bar,
afternoon tea, some entertainment and an auction to be conducted by our own Rob
Westcott. More on this later.
In Our Thoughts
The Choir continues to think of Bev as she undergoes her regular course of cancer
treatment. Bev is confronting her health issues with great stoicism and rarely misses
a rehearsal or performance despite the sometimes debilitating effects of her
treatment. No doubt Bev has been buoyed by the recent successes of the All Blacks!
The Choir also keeps George Seymour in its thoughts as he confronts health issues
also and we trust George will soon be able to return to the Choir where he has been
missed by the second tenors.
We were saddened to hear recently of the passing of one of our former members, Len
Porter. Len joined us in 2007 and was a very gentle and modest fellow. Len had been
a schoolteacher. He had suffered poor health for quite a number of years and his
passing was not unexpected. Len however was a relatively young man and we extend
our deep sympathy to his wife Jo and to his family.
Recently David Woodside received a letter from Tom Humphries former MD of the
Wellington Male Voice Choir. Tom has been forced to stand down due to health
reasons and David has been in regular contact with him. Tom epitomises the sense of
collegiality and support amongst the choral fraternity in these words:
Dear David,
I was very touched by your email and the sympathy expressed by the Orange choir.
I have come to realise that I could lose the sight of my other eye tomorrow or next
month or never and therefore cannot live the rest of my life wrapped in cotton wool.
When I got the news about Peter Brock I also realised that there is always someone
worse off than me. I have had consultations with two different doctors and my own
GP and none of them can see any reason for us to cancel our holiday. In view of this
our trip is back on track as is the visit to Canberra in November.
It has been a real nuisance not being able to drive and the burden has fallen on
Joan’s shoulders. Last Thursday I went for a driving assessment and did pretty well.
This coming week Joan will take me to a large deserted car park where I can practice
angle and parallel parking to improve my perception. I am hopeful that when I see
the instructor next week that I will get the go ahead to drive again.
I will still not be able to continue as music director and the choir is in the process of
appointing a new conductor. She was my deputy conductor up until March this year.
I will still be involved as music director working with the new conductor and will also
join the ranks as a first tenor.
David please convey my good wishes to the choir. Thank you again for your lovely
email and I hope we will see you in Canberra later in the year.
Regards,
Tom
Calendar
Monday 15th September – MCAA Rehearsal with Guy Jansen at Newstead
Early October (tbc) – Prunus Lodge at Molong
Sunday 12th October – Fundraiser for Bev at Newstead, 4 to 6 pm.
Sunday 26th October – Borrodell Vineyard, Orange
Saturday 15th November – Male Choirs Festival in Canberra