15 January, 2012
Daylesford Singers Festival January 2012
Another wonderful Singers Festival in Daylesford, presented by The Boite World Music Cafe with fantastic workshop presenters including Stephen Taberner, Andrea & Valanga Khoza, the Rigby sisters, Shellie Morris and many more. Two Bays Choir was first up this year in the wonderful choirs concert, along with choirs from Sassafras and Kalista, Brunswick, Castlemaine and other parts of Victoria. And yes, we are on You Tube yet again. You can enjoy our entire performance on the link provided.
14 January, 2012
29 December, 2011
Christmas 2011
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| Two Bays Choir at Mt Martha Carols by Candlelight |
10 December, 2011
Working Bee at Pat and Helens 10th December
Some of us got together to do a spot of gardening for Pat and Helen, long time members of the choir.
Afterwards there was still some energy left to have a good sing.
22 October, 2011
Mornington Peninsula Festival of Voice Oct 16th 2011
Two Bays Choir, Simply Irresistible and a combined Making Waves and Indigo Singers choir all performed magnificently at the first Morn Pen Festival of Voice hosted by the Australian Welsh Male Choir. What a great afternoon of wonderful singing. Well done to everybody who took part.
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| Two Bays Choir |
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| Making Waves and Indigo Singers |
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| Two Bays Choir |
20 October, 2011
Mornington Festival of Voice 16th October 2011
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| Making Waves / Indigo Singers |
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| Two Bays Choir |
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| Two Bays Choir |
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| Two Bays Choir |
02 August, 2011
Freedom Road - Final Sunday Afternoon Rehearsal
The final rehearsal before the weekend of the Freedom Road concert was last Sunday, 31th July. As many people as possible came from regional choirs – Bendigo, Ballarat, Wodonga, Stratford to name just a few. Some came in buses, others car-pooled and many came in their own donks.
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| Peeping over the drum kit, we see people finding their places |
Two Bays Choir members were everywhere, and enjoying the whole thing of course. We have shared the driving, the tea and carrot cake, and the music.
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| Simply Irresistible, we are ;-) |
Most of the musicians, most of the guest performers and the narrators were present to take us through the substance of the program. It was a longer rehearsal than usual and we all worked hard with Stella and Dani moving the whole thing along with energy, precision and laughter.
It made all the difference to hear the narrators doing their thing – it all feels connected now. Barry and the other narrators read their scripts which create an understanding of the tragedy of slavery, bringing to life the gospel music that spelled hope for the people caught in this desperate trap. Geoffrey Williams sang, Archer sang, and Mark Grunden beefed up the rhythm with his fabulous drumming.
Next weekend we are issued with our t-shirts on Saturday at the full rehearsal at the Collins Street Baptist Church, followed by the dress rehearsal on Sunday morning in the Town Hall. The performance is at 2 in the afternoon. Your friends can still get tickets on-line although quite a few hundred are already sold. The Town Hall is so big!Roll on the weekend, it’s very exciting.
Cheers until the next post.
Ros and Sue.
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| Dani calls for hush, Stella draws breath, Barry is pensive |
It made all the difference to hear the narrators doing their thing – it all feels connected now. Barry and the other narrators read their scripts which create an understanding of the tragedy of slavery, bringing to life the gospel music that spelled hope for the people caught in this desperate trap. Geoffrey Williams sang, Archer sang, and Mark Grunden beefed up the rhythm with his fabulous drumming.
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| Geoffrey Williams singing, Stella's right there! |
Afternoon tea break was welcome as we were to continue until 5.30 this time. It was sunny and time for stories and catching up.
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| Tea break in the afternoon sunshine |
Thank goodness Harry was present, the world’s best sound engineer (for MMC performances). The work song stomps and the happy clapping from over 300 people would overwhelm the recording so we made adjustments accordingly. The Illuminators sang their piece and described their costumes - can't wait both to see them and hear them at the performance.
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| The Illuminators with great harmony, exciting energy |
Next weekend we are issued with our t-shirts on Saturday at the full rehearsal at the Collins Street Baptist Church, followed by the dress rehearsal on Sunday morning in the Town Hall. The performance is at 2 in the afternoon. Your friends can still get tickets on-line although quite a few hundred are already sold. The Town Hall is so big!
Cheers until the next post.
Ros and Sue.
01 August, 2011
Let's Hear it for Singing
Did you notice Kate Sadler's short letter to the Editor of The Age this morning? You'll recall that she led the workshop at the Mornington Peninsula Choral Festival this year. Here is her letter for your interest...
I am just letting the parents of pageant toddlers know that all the goodies they think their kids gain from parading can be obtained by belonging to one of Melbourne's many fabulous children's choirs. And there's no downside.
Kathryn Sadler, Northcote.
Fine sentiment for the future generation.
I am just letting the parents of pageant toddlers know that all the goodies they think their kids gain from parading can be obtained by belonging to one of Melbourne's many fabulous children's choirs. And there's no downside.
Kathryn Sadler, Northcote.
Fine sentiment for the future generation.
04 July, 2011
New Term Arrangements
The new term starts this week. The plan is to continue choir activities right throught these school holidays and I have given us all a break at the half way mark after the MMC. There won't be choir practice on 8th or 9th of August (unless something comes up).
Fees are 11 weeks @ $12 / $10 conc. or $ 110 / $88 conc per term. Don't forget you can pay by half term if you would rather.
Owing to some additional commitments for me, Indigo Singers have offered to change their night from Friday to Tuesday. So Indigo and Making Waves will combine this term on a Tuesday night. We are pretty much doing the same songs at the moment so it will be quite easy to make this arrangement work.
Regards to all,
Sue.
Fees are 11 weeks @ $12 / $10 conc. or $ 110 / $88 conc per term. Don't forget you can pay by half term if you would rather.
Owing to some additional commitments for me, Indigo Singers have offered to change their night from Friday to Tuesday. So Indigo and Making Waves will combine this term on a Tuesday night. We are pretty much doing the same songs at the moment so it will be quite easy to make this arrangement work.
Regards to all,
Sue.
22 June, 2011
Melbourne Festival of Choirs, 2011
The Festival of Choirs was held over Queens Birthday weekend again this year, and Two Bays Choir was twenty-five strong this time. The Festival is the brain child of Jonathon Welch and The Choir which he leads was the 'Choir in Residence'.
We stayed in various hotels near Federation Square, since this was the hub of the organisation for the Festival. Of course, it's also the centre for lots of community activities which were a bonus for us as we went between venues.
On Friday and Saturday nights, Jonathon Welch and members of The Choir lead songs around the Campfire which burned on a bed of red sand for the entire weekend at Fed Square as part of the Light in Winter Festival. That was a great start to the proceedings and afterwards, some went on to dinner, others retired to modest but companionable take-home meals and an early night.
Each morning for the three days (Saturday to Monday), there were three workshops in which we worked with three different conductors to learn songs for the massed choirs concert in the Edge on Monday afternoon. Clearly, the magic number is three.
Lunches were our own choice and that was easy with so many places nearby at Fed Square, Southbank and the Gallery. One little group chose to eat at the National Gallery cafe with the Exhibition of Choirs to follow nearby in the Great Hall.
What a lovely experience, singing in the Great Hall beneath that ceiling of beautiful colours. There were Master Classes, another Campfire Singalong, and then a special performance of "Moon" for Festival participants. "Moon" was written and conducted by Gordon Hamilton, and performed by The Australian Voices who are so talented and skilled in their performance of this extraordinary and complex work. The public performance followed in the evening.
Master Classes cover particular topics and were conducted by some of the special people present - Jonathon Welch, George Torbay, Gordon Hamilton, and Lucinda Sharp.
Later we were in a concert at the Recital Centre Elizabeth Murdoch Hall which was quite splendiferous!! We could have whispered the songs and still been heard, such are the acoustic qualities of this fascinating performance space. It was very exciting to be back stage, and all our rehearsals at home in the Senior Cits Club paid handsomely for entry, positioning and exit.
A little glass of champagne was pleasant at interval, and then the concert continued. A group went to dinner at Bok Choi that evening - great service, wonderful food, good company.
On Monday, the morning workshops put the finishing touches to our selection of songs for the afternoon performance. After lunch we gathered in the BMW Edge for rehearsal, getting the logistics right for our large numbers and freshly learned songs.
Davis Kram conducted us in a mighty rendition of the Anvil Chorus complete with frying pans instead of anvils. We sang "Ice Blue" written by Gordon Hamilton for this occasion, and another song called "Lux Auruque" which is very beautiful, especially under the direction of George Torbay. This song is also remarkable in its conception; written by Eric Whittaker for a virtual choir. You can see and hear it on YouTube by following this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7o7BrlbaDs&feature=related It's quite haunting, this 'Light and Gold' so do have a listen.
Of course, there were a great many thank you speeches, and plenty of high jinks. A glorious moment was when the Sunbury Divas arranged all our conductors and Adam (our consummate accompanist) for a photo wearing their tiaras!
We stayed in various hotels near Federation Square, since this was the hub of the organisation for the Festival. Of course, it's also the centre for lots of community activities which were a bonus for us as we went between venues.
On Friday and Saturday nights, Jonathon Welch and members of The Choir lead songs around the Campfire which burned on a bed of red sand for the entire weekend at Fed Square as part of the Light in Winter Festival. That was a great start to the proceedings and afterwards, some went on to dinner, others retired to modest but companionable take-home meals and an early night.
Each morning for the three days (Saturday to Monday), there were three workshops in which we worked with three different conductors to learn songs for the massed choirs concert in the Edge on Monday afternoon. Clearly, the magic number is three.
 |
| A workshop with George Torbay |
Lunches were our own choice and that was easy with so many places nearby at Fed Square, Southbank and the Gallery. One little group chose to eat at the National Gallery cafe with the Exhibition of Choirs to follow nearby in the Great Hall.
 |
| A few of us had lunch at the NGV Cafe |
What a lovely experience, singing in the Great Hall beneath that ceiling of beautiful colours. There were Master Classes, another Campfire Singalong, and then a special performance of "Moon" for Festival participants. "Moon" was written and conducted by Gordon Hamilton, and performed by The Australian Voices who are so talented and skilled in their performance of this extraordinary and complex work. The public performance followed in the evening.
Master Classes cover particular topics and were conducted by some of the special people present - Jonathon Welch, George Torbay, Gordon Hamilton, and Lucinda Sharp.
 |
| Master Class in the Elizabeth Murdoch Hall with Lucinda and Jonathon. |
Later we were in a concert at the Recital Centre Elizabeth Murdoch Hall which was quite splendiferous!! We could have whispered the songs and still been heard, such are the acoustic qualities of this fascinating performance space. It was very exciting to be back stage, and all our rehearsals at home in the Senior Cits Club paid handsomely for entry, positioning and exit.
 |
| Back stage, we watched the following acts on CCTV |
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| Jonathon and George catch up over a cuppa at the Recital Centre |
A little glass of champagne was pleasant at interval, and then the concert continued. A group went to dinner at Bok Choi that evening - great service, wonderful food, good company.
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| At Bok Choi, Fed Square - cop that pork bun! |
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| Jonathon Welch discusses the concert with David Kram. |
Davis Kram conducted us in a mighty rendition of the Anvil Chorus complete with frying pans instead of anvils. We sang "Ice Blue" written by Gordon Hamilton for this occasion, and another song called "Lux Auruque" which is very beautiful, especially under the direction of George Torbay. This song is also remarkable in its conception; written by Eric Whittaker for a virtual choir. You can see and hear it on YouTube by following this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7o7BrlbaDs&feature=related It's quite haunting, this 'Light and Gold' so do have a listen.
 |
| Massed choirs in rehearsal at the Edge. |
Of course, there were a great many thank you speeches, and plenty of high jinks. A glorious moment was when the Sunbury Divas arranged all our conductors and Adam (our consummate accompanist) for a photo wearing their tiaras!
 |
| Adam, David, Jonathon, George, Gordon in borrowed finery |
The Concert went well and we managed our workshop songs and completed the concert with one song from each of the participating choirs. It was indeed a Long Weekend, and very happy one.
Yours as ever,
Ros.
Yours as ever,
Ros.
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