Halesworth Festival Voices
The choral concert of this year’s Halesworth Arts Festival on Saturday 22nd October 2011 is being held at The Cut.
The faithful supporters of Halesworth Festival Voices are used to attending concerts at St Mary’s Church but in case their steps automatically lead them there again, please be aware of the change of venue.
There are still seats available for the concert, but of course you get a numbered place when you book in advance, unlike the ‘first comers get the best seats’ arrangement at St Mary’s. Festival box office is open at The Cut, 2nd floor, 11-2 Tuesday to Saturday. Telephone 01986 874264.
The reason for this change is the curious accompaniment Rossini wrote for his Petite Messe Solennelle, which is neither particularly small nor solemn. Instead of an orchestra, the instruments are a piano and a harmonium. The logistics of getting two such massive instruments in and out of the church were daunting, so we took the opportunity to use The Cut for this big choral concert, the first to take place there.
The Festival always hires in a superb Steinway, which will already have been played by Benjamin Grosvenor and John Lill by the time the Voices gather behind it, and we are hiring a harmonium from an enthusiast in Bungay.
The four soloists will each have solos during the second half of the all-Rossini programme, some very well-known and others specially arranged by conductor Ian Humphris Rebecca Knight, soprano, is one half of the Opera Babes, who sold out at last year’s Festival, and her mother Gillian Knight, contralto, has had a very distinguished career singing G&S for d’Oyly Carte and major roles at Covent Garden. They live at Sotterley and the Festival is hugely fortunate to have such wonderful talent on the doorstep. Alistair Ollerenshaw, bass, sang in the May concert and he returns with a new young tenor, Tim Lawrence. Both are final year students on the Royal Academy of Music elite singers course.
This concert represents the town’s own music making, and if you are impressed with the standard of musicianship and enjoy singing yourself, the Voices welcome new members for future performances.
If you have a true singing voice, a love of music and a willingness to commit to regular rehearsals, just turn up on a Monday night at the United Reformed Church at 7.15 pm where you will receive a warm welcome. There are no auditions. For more information ring Dorothy Frost on 01986 873202.
After that comes the Last Night of the Festival. Ray Gelato and his Giants come to The Cut straight after gigs in Istanbul. Ray has been playing swinging jazz for 30 years and the band currently showcases duets in the mould of Louis and Ella and others, drawn from the great standards that you all know and love. Ray has performed everywhere in Europe and the USA, from Ronnie Scott’s to Carnegie Hall, and our last concert is going to be a big swinging jazz party.
There will be space for dancing and if you need an excuse to bring out the ‘40s and ‘50s gear, this is it.
