Glenfield Methodist Church Station Road Glenfield
Just come along and sing with us. You may want to join or just have a chance to sing for a night. We don't have auditions and we welcome anyone who enjoys singing.
A SUMMER CONCERT
Saturday June 24th 7pm
The Hall at St. Anne’s, Letchworth Road Western Park, LE3 6FH
When the concert photos arrived in my inbox yesterday, I suddenly realised how much practice and effort had brought the Glenfield Ladies Co-operative Choir’s Summer Concert to life on Saturday evening. By the time St Anne’s church doors opened, the choir had each dedicated over 40 hours of rehearsal time starting in early January.
Laura chose the original theme of a ‘wildlife odyssey’ featuring monkeys, lions, cats and birds, even the humble spider made an appearance. A Music Director’s choice is rarely without controversy and it’s best not to mention the lullaby about horses which was rejected as being “just weird”. Ironically, St Anne is the patron saint of Equestrians. The jazz classic Misty gave us diction difficulties too with “On. My. Own.” which despite hours of drilling still came out as “onmyyown” until last week. The first half included Disney classics from The Children’s Choir performing Everybody Wants to be a Cat from The Aristocats, followed by the choir singing Circle of Life from The Lion King and a medley from The Jungle Book with added special effects.
On possibly the hottest day of the year, we were super-grateful to the St Anne’s volunteers who baked 16 cakes and served gallons of juice and squash giving everyone a wonderful spread during the intermission. Some needed a reviving cuppa before starting the second half with Close to You by Burt Bacharach, sung as a tribute to the writer. He passed away earlier this year, as did Christine McVie the composer of Songbird which also featured in our concert.
Nerves were running high for the Rogers & Hammerstein finale but I hope it didn’t show on the night. Their musical partnership took us on a journey from the Austrian hills, across the sweeping plains of Oklahoma, then dipping us into the South Pacific before dancing in the royal court of Siam. The piece finished with the emotional, You’ll Never Walk Alone from Carousel, still better known today as a football anthem. From the very first note to the very last flourish, we had been accompanied by Mary Starie on the piano who has now made it into Glenfield folklore as a legend of the keyboard.
I have lots of wonderful memories to put in the scrapbook but the one that captured all our hearts is of the knitted Owl and The Pussy-Cat which became our mascot for one night only. Thank you again to all who came to Glenfield’s mini festival of music. You helped us raise over £1,000 to split between the GLCC and St Anne’s and from everyone in the choir, I’d like to say in the style of Rogers & Hammerstein “Thank you, Glenfield. O.K.!”