Steventon Choral Society

Concerts in 2009– 2010

Thursday 4th February: Fundraising concert for the Haiti disaster

Steventon Village Hall

Conductor: Terry Pearce

Pianist: Michael Evans

Special guests: Steventon Church Choir and the Steventon Singers

This 'scratch' concert of light music raised over £1,800 for the UNICEF Haiti Earthquake Children's Appeal and featured a selection of favourites from the choir's repertoire:

• Come To The Fair
• Linden Lea
• Love Changes Everything (from Aspects of Love)
• Climb Every Mountain (from The Sound of Music)
• Edelweiss (from The Sound of Music)
• The Black Hills of Dakota (from Calamity Jane)
• Oklahoma (from Oklahoma)
• Michael, Row The Boat
• Zadok the Priest (from Handel's Coronation Anthems)
• Gloria (opening chorus from Vivaldi's Gloria)
• The Cachucha (from The Gondoliers)
• You'll Never Walk Alone (from Carousel)

The programme was interspersed with contributions from individual choir members and guests:

• Poem by Mo Hunt
• Songbird (a song originally made famous by Fleetwood Mac) sung by Rebecca Joisce who accompanied herself on her electronic harp
• If Those Lips Could Speak (a hit from 1907) sung by Gerry Brewer
• Love Divine All Loves Excelling sung by Steventon Church Choir
• Poem by Caroline Miller
• The Organ Grinder - John Hunt entertained with his street organ
• Mary Popins medley sung by the Steventon Singers
• Jokes and a song by Jack Jarvis
• I Could Have Danced All Night (from My Fair Lady) sung by Helen Pearce (soprano)
• Bye-bye Love (The Everly Brothers's debut recording) sung by Tom Hartley and Terry Pearce (accompaniced by Terry on the guitar)
• Bless this House (originaly made famous by John McCormack) sung by Helen and Terry Pearce

The Reverend Colin Patching spoke at the end of the concert about the plight of the people of Haiti and the problems the country faced.

Thursday 17th December and Saturday 19th December: Christmas Concerts

Steventon Village Hall

Conductor: Terry Pearce

Pianist: Michael Evans

All profits from the Saturday Concert are being donated to PACE – a charity inspired by the principles of conductive education that seeks to help children with physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy. The PACE Centre is in Aylesbury but is attended by some children from Oxfordshire including the granddaughter of one of the choral society's supporters from Drayton who, before the concert, spoke movingly about the Centre's work and its need for funds.

The concert began with the choir singing Merry Merry Christmas followed by Ding Dong Merrily on High and Christmas Day – Gustav Holst's choral fantasy on old carols with soloists Helen Pearce (soprano), Rebecca Joisce (mezzo-soprano) and Tom Hartley (bass). Another old favourite came next – We Three Kings with 'kings' Jack Jarvis, Gerry Brewer and Tom Hartley. The choir then sang a carol, Stannington, in memory of a former pianist George Dyson before having a short break while Rebecca Joisce sang First Mercy by Peter Warlock (Thursday) and Mo Hunt told the story of why there is a fairy on the top of the Christmas tree (Saturday). The choir returned to sing John Rutter's Candlelight Carol and a well-known Christmas song, Winter Wonderland. It was then chance for the audience to join in with Good King Wenceslas and Hark the Herald Angels Sing before the choir sang Three Kings from Persian Lands Afar with soloist Terry Pearce (bass). Next came a new carol, A Christmas Message, with words by local poets Bill and Gill Martin set to music by pianist Michael Evans. This was followed by See Amid the Winter's Snow and two more carols for the audience – In the Bleak Mid-Winter and The Holly and the Ivy. In complete contrast Helen Pearce and Trish Napper performed the Irving Berlin song, We're a Couple of Swells, made famous by Judy Garland and Fred Astaire in the show Easter Parade. Another Irving Berlin number – White Christmas – ended the first half of the concert.

The second half began with John Hunt entertaining the audience with several humorous stories. The choir then sang three quite different pieces – a musical setting of the old rhyme, Christmas Is Coming the Geese are Getting Fat, the Cliff Richard hit, Mistletoe and Wine, and an arrangement of the traditional carol, It Came Upon the Midnight Clear, by Richard Storrs Willis. Helen Pearce (soprano) followed to sing A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square – the well-known song first performed in 1940 – before the audience joined the choir to sing the traditional carols, O Come All Ye Faithful and Once In Royal David's City. The choir sang another John Rutter favourite, Angels Carol, and an arrangement of one of the most popular Christmas songs, Jingle Bells. The 'fun' theme continued with the audience joining in to sing Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, When Santa Got Stuck Up the Chimney and The Twelve Days of Christmas (the last one with actions by the choir). After a short speech by the chairman, Caroline Miller, the concert ended with an arrangement by Sir Malcolm Sargent of the Negro spiritual, Mary Had A Baby, and the heartfelt song, Let There Be Peace On Earth.

Sunday 20th December: St Michael & All Angels, Steventon

Members of the choral society joined the church choir for the annual Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols.

Saturday 10th October: A sing-in of Handel's Messiah as part of Voices for Hospices 2009

Parish Church of St Michael & All Angels, Steventon

A total of £853 was raised for Sir Michael Sobell House, Oxford, including £190 via Just Giving.

Full report