Steventon Choral Society

	Steventon Choral Society
	Concerts in 2003 - 2004

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Friday 9th July: Concert with The Isleys Primary School Choir St Mary's Church, East Ilsley The choir joined with the children from The Ilsleys Primary School Choir to sing two popular pieces for young people - Josepth & the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and Jonah Man Jazz.

Saturday 12th June: 45th Anniversary Concert Steventon Village Hall Musical director: Terry Pearce Pianist: Debbie Jordan After an introduction by John Hunt, Steventon Choral Society's 45th Anniversary Concert began with two popular songs from shows of the 1950s - Old Devil Moon by Burton Lane and Henry Mancini's Moon River - as a reminder of the era when the choir was founded. Alex Freeman and Rachel Vevers then sang a version for two voices of When the Gentle Avon Flows. This was followed by another duet - Terry and Helen Pearce singing Wunderbar from the Cole Porter favourite, Kiss Me Kate. The choir returned to sing Santa Lucia - a song made famous by Enrico Caruso. A bass solo - Lonely Room from Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma by Bert Branker was followed by a quartet of Helen Pearce, Debbie Jordan, Gerry Brewer and Terry Pearce - accompanied by their teddies - singing an arrangement of The Teddy Bears' Picnic. John Hunt returned to tell us the story of young Albert Ramsbottom's visit to the zoo and to sing the Flanders and Swan's well-known Hippopotamus Song - Mud, Glorious Mud! The choir ended the first half by singing an arrangement of the Yorkshire favourite, On Ilkley Moor Baht'at and music by Rodgers and Hammerstein - You'll Never Walk Alone and a medley from The King and I. The choir began the second half with A Sunshine Medley (all about rain!) and an arrangement by Terry Pearce of Catch A Falling Star. Tom Hartley then took us back to the mood of the 1950s with Bye Bye Love by the Everly Brothers. This was followed by another piece from the same decade, but this time a folk song sung by Rebecca Joisce, who accompanied herself on a 20th Century folk music harp, and Helen Pearce singing a selection from My Fair Lady. Our pianist then took centre stage with a medley of 50's music – including some songs from South Pacific. Time now for some light-hearted fun with a musical competition for the audience with Debbie Jordan on the piano, followed by a selection of military jokes by Jack Jarvis. The popular Welsh song, Myfanwy, gave the choir's tenors and basses a chance to shine; the ladies responded with an arrangement of I Leave My Heart In An English Garden by Harry Parr Davies (1914-1955). The concert ended with the whole choir singing Irish Blessing by the local composer and former Kings Singer, Bob Chilcott, and a selection from Show Boat by Jerome Kern.

Friday 14th May: Concert for Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre, Milton Park Didcot Civic Hall Steventon Choral Society sang a selection of popular songs from the shows and other pieces in a concert with the Wantage Barbershop male and female choirs, the Benson & Roke Brass Band and the Benson & Roke Wind Band which raised £300 to support the work of the Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre, Milton Park.

Sunday 4th April: Mozart's Requiem St Michael & All Angels, Steventon Proceeds to Volunteers for Chennai - £364 raised to sponsor the travel of two young volunteers to India to help at St George's School in Chennai (formerly Madras)
Musical director: Terry Pearce Organist: Debbie Jordan Soprano: Helen Pearce Alto: Wendy Moore Tenor: Stephen Thompson Bass-baritone: Leslie Macleod-Miller
The concert began with the choir singing Schubert's Sanctus. This was followed by four short pieces of sacred music - Kyrie Eleison by Dufay, a setting of Psalm 145 by Scutz, Come Holy Ghost by Charpentier and Evening Hymn by Bach (the middle two sung by a trio consisting of Rebecca Joisce, Rachel Vevers and Pat Napper) - and Cesar Franck's Panis Angelicus. After the Requiem, the choir ended the concert with Ave Verum by Mozart

Sunday 21st December: Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols St Michael & All Angels, Steventon (with the church choir) Organist: Debbie Jordan

Thursday 18th December and Saturday 20th December: Countdown to Christmas Christmas music with audience carols for everyone to join in Proceeds from the first concert were donated to The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association
Steventon Village Hall Musical director: Terry Pearce Pianist: Debbie Jordan
Groups of carol singers began the concert with verses from In the Bleak mid Winter, We Three Kings and Good King Wenceslas. The choir joined together to sing Holst's Christmas Day (soloists: Helen Pearce, Rebecca Joisce and Tom Hartley) and List Our Merry Carol, before Rebecca Joisce sang a 14th Century lullaby accompanying herself on a 20th Century folk music harp. This was followed by the first group of audience carols, A Child This Day Is Born and Lo He Comes. The choir then sang On This Day Earth Shall Ring, before we heard from Caroline Miller, Mo Hunt, Gerry Brewer and Trish Napper of the trials and tribulation suffered by the Christmas tree, the Christmas pudding, the turkey and the cracker. After the audience had joined the choir to sing Unto to Us Is Born a Child and While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night (to the tune of Ilkely Moor), John Hunt provided some examples of what not to say in your Christmas thank-you letters and performed the Flanders and Swann song, When the Gasman Came to Call. The first half of the concert ended with the choir singing Sleeep my Little Jesus (a carol composed by a former guest pianist, Michael Evans) and the first chorus from Handel's Messiah, And the Glory of the Lord. The second half began with two Christmas songs – Happy Christmas War is Over and Mistletoe and Wine – accompanied by Steve Thompson on guitar and Debbie Jordan on piano. Then it was time for two traditional carols for the audience, It Came Upon the Midnight Clear and Once in Royal David's City. Jack Jarvis then read some humorous gems on the theme of doctors and dentists and, on a more serious note, Debbie Jordan played a piano arrangement of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. The choir returned to sing So Gentle the Donkey, the Crown of Roses and Golden Slumbers (ladies only) before Helen Pearce sang The Star of Bethlehem. The old favourites, O Come All Ye Faithful and Hark the Herald Angels Sing, were the final two audience carols and the choir ended the concert with Christmas Fantasy, We Wish You a Merry Christmas and Auld Lang Syne.

Saturday 6th December: Concert with Wantage Silver Band Wantage Civic Hall The choir was a guest of Wantage Silver Band, singing two groups of items in each half of the concert. In the first half, the choir sang songs featured on our CD – Come to the Fair, Michael Row the Boat Ashore, De Battle of Jerico, Love Changes Everything, Unchained Melody and the Black Hills of Dakota. The Band then accompanied the choir while it sang the first chorus from Handel's Messiah, And the Glory of the Lord. The choir and audience then sang along with the band as the Sisters led a rousing Sound of Music Special. Christmas was the theme of the second half of the concert, with the choir singing Holst's Christmas Day (soloists: Helen Pearce, Rebecca Joisce and Tom Hartley), Golden Slumbers (a ladies only piece), We Wish You a Merry Christmas, List Our Merry Carol, Mistletoe and Wine, and Jingle Bells. The evening ended with the choir leading the audience in singing a selection of popular carols.

Saturday 11th October: Handel's Messiah St Matthew's Church, Harwell, Oxfordshire This concert raised £217 towards improvements to Harwell Village Hall, which will go towards redecoration of the Hall.
Musical director: Terry Pearce
Continuo: Debbie Jordan	Organist: Robert Thomas
Soprano: Helen Pearce	Mezzo-soprano: Rebecca Joisce
Tenor: Tony Selby	Bass: Leslie Macleod-Miller
The programme was as performed at Steventon Church the previous week.

Saturday 4th October: Handel's Messiah

St Michael & All Angels Church, Steventon, Oxfordshire

This sing-in was led by Steventon Choral Society as part of Voices for Hospices 2003 and raised £1,062 for Sir Michael Sobell House, Oxford. Most of Handel's famous work was performed, including all the well-known solos, and with the choir of some 50 voices singing 15 choruses.

Musical director:	Terry Pearce
Continuo:	Debbie Jordan
Organ:	Robert Thomas
Soprano:	Helen Pearce
Mezzo-soprano:	Rebecca Joisce
Tenor:	Tony Selby
Bass:	Leslie Macleod-Miller

Front row: Rebbeca Joisce, Debbie Jordan and Helen Pearce
Back row: Terry Pearce, Leslie Macleod-Miller, Tony Selby and Robert Thomas

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Concerts in 2003 - 2004