A Dream of a Concert...!
| Type of post: | Choir news item |
| Sub-type: | No sub-type |
| Posted By: | Debbie Groves |
| Status: | Current |
| Date Posted: | Mon, 5 May 2025 |
Hailed as one our “finest performances to date”, our “Spring Dreams” concert on Saturday 26th April at Holy Trinity Church in Claygate was, without doubt, a success on every level. With a programme leaning towards a more traditional - and certainly more challenging - choral repertoire than is typical of an Elmbridge Choir concert, our audience nevertheless appeared captivated from start to finish!
The choir deserves to be delighted with such a performance; warm, dulcet tones and confident harmonies combined to create a lush, full-bodied sound. The soloists and small group singers who fearlessly stepped up to the microphones throughout the evening should be congratulated for their polished performances, as should our compere for the evening, Sara, who warmly welcomed the audience and ensured the evening flowed.
The fact that the choir is now able to confidently master more difficult pieces, several of which were unaccompanied, is testament to the hard work and dedication of both the choir and Musical Director, Hugh Beckwith. Hugh deserves special mention not only for boldly challenging us with some tricky pieces, but also for his superb direction in rehearsal and in concert as he confidently and skilfully guided us through tender moments as well as soaring, dramatic passages, clearly portraying the emotion of each piece and moving several audience members to tears.
One of the standout features of the concert were the smooth piano transitions between pieces, executed brilliantly by Harry Baker. The audience was mesmerised as each song effortlessly led into the next. Sadly, this was Harry’s last concert with Elmbridge Choir and he will be missed greatly. Even the Mayor of Elmbridge, Cllr Neil Houston, in his speech, pleaded with Harry to stay on, jesting that he had been asked by the choir to pass a law to make him stay!
Hannah Liles, Head of Development from our beneficiary charity, Painshill Trust’s Education Access Fund, spoke passionately about the charity’s mission to provide access to Painshill for vulnerable children and in-need schools. The generous retiring collection of £675.15 will enable 67 school children to attend a school trip which would have otherwise been out of reach.
Of course, we couldn’t step completely away from our usual repertoire, and the concert ended on a lively note with a medley of no less than 15 songs from The Beatles, with our audience needing little encouragement to join in lustily with the final song, “Hey Jude”.
All in all, a magnificent evening which left us buoyant and very much looking forward to learning the repertoire for our 20th Anniversary concert on Saturday 6th September.
The choir deserves to be delighted with such a performance; warm, dulcet tones and confident harmonies combined to create a lush, full-bodied sound. The soloists and small group singers who fearlessly stepped up to the microphones throughout the evening should be congratulated for their polished performances, as should our compere for the evening, Sara, who warmly welcomed the audience and ensured the evening flowed.
The fact that the choir is now able to confidently master more difficult pieces, several of which were unaccompanied, is testament to the hard work and dedication of both the choir and Musical Director, Hugh Beckwith. Hugh deserves special mention not only for boldly challenging us with some tricky pieces, but also for his superb direction in rehearsal and in concert as he confidently and skilfully guided us through tender moments as well as soaring, dramatic passages, clearly portraying the emotion of each piece and moving several audience members to tears.
One of the standout features of the concert were the smooth piano transitions between pieces, executed brilliantly by Harry Baker. The audience was mesmerised as each song effortlessly led into the next. Sadly, this was Harry’s last concert with Elmbridge Choir and he will be missed greatly. Even the Mayor of Elmbridge, Cllr Neil Houston, in his speech, pleaded with Harry to stay on, jesting that he had been asked by the choir to pass a law to make him stay!
Hannah Liles, Head of Development from our beneficiary charity, Painshill Trust’s Education Access Fund, spoke passionately about the charity’s mission to provide access to Painshill for vulnerable children and in-need schools. The generous retiring collection of £675.15 will enable 67 school children to attend a school trip which would have otherwise been out of reach.
Of course, we couldn’t step completely away from our usual repertoire, and the concert ended on a lively note with a medley of no less than 15 songs from The Beatles, with our audience needing little encouragement to join in lustily with the final song, “Hey Jude”.
All in all, a magnificent evening which left us buoyant and very much looking forward to learning the repertoire for our 20th Anniversary concert on Saturday 6th September.
