News
CHOIR AGM
A copy of this year's AGM minutes can be found by following the link:
http://www.scunthorpecoopjuniorchoir.org.uk/assets/documents/agm-minutes-11-november-2011
COTTONTOWN CHORUS CD
If you were fortunate enough to be at the join concert in June, you will have had a fabulous night entertained by Cottontown Chorus.
The Boltontown Barbershop Chorus have produced a new CD. If you wish to have a copy of the CD, which features the full Mary Poppins version of their performance, can be obtained either by sending a cheque made payable to BBHC for £10.70 to the address below:
Mr A Smyth, 16 Lydford Gardens, Breightmet, Bolton. BL2 6TU. CDs will be despatch towards the end of November by recorded delivery.
Alternatively if you wish to order a copy at choir rehearsals, we are happy to take orders. In this case cheques should be made payable to SCJC.
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SCUNTHORPE TELEGRAPH £20,000 GIVEAWAY
We would like to take the opportunity of thanking everyone who donated coupons for the Telegraph Giveaway. We are delighted to have received £171.92. We are also grateful to the Telegraph for the opportunity to acquire this money.
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We are grateful to MAKING MUSIC for a grant of £300 towards the cost of staging our joint events with Cottontown Chorus and Scunthorpe Male Voice Choir.
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SATURDAY 11 JUNE 2011 - COTTON TOWN CHORUS
A truly amazing performance was enjoyed be a packed audience at "The House" in Scunthorpe. The performance culminated in a standing ovation, truly deserved for Cottontown Chorus who sang and performed an amazing programme, delivering their British Asssociation of Barbershop Singers Gold Medal 2011 performance. Their warmth was evident to see as the wowed the audience of both young choristers and adults. The choristers themselves performed an outstanding programme and sang beautifully.
We hope to one day be able to greet and host another amazing evening with Cottontown Chorus.
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SATURDAY 16 JULY 2011 - SCUNTHORPE MALE VOICE CHOIR AND LEAVERS' CONCERT
We will be joining with the Scunthorpe Male Voice Choir to deliver a joint concert which will also be our Leavers' Concert. We are expecting to say goodbye to a large number of our choristers as they move on to take up places at Universities etc.
The concert will be held at The House commencing at 7.00 pm. This is expected to be a sell out concert. Tickets priced at £8.00 (£5.00 for 16 years and under), are now available from choir rehearsals, by clicking on the following link or by leaving contact details on 07967798074.
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HARROGATE CHORAL SOCIETY
Please read the review about the concert with Harrogate Choral Society.
REVIEW
Harrogate Choral Society, Royal Hall
The relatively unlikely top-billing combination of an award-winning children's choir, a pianist with a burgeoning international career and Harrogate Choral Society produced a magnificent concert in the Royal Hall on Saturday 6th November.
To win 'BBC Radio 3 Choir of the Year 2008' the Scunthorpe Co-operative Junior Choir had to defeat several adult choirs and it was soon obvious how they did so. In a programme of six contrasting numbers their warm tone quality, full vowel sounds and precise diction were but three aspects of their spell-binding performance. Particularly moving was Bob Chilcott's setting of 'Can You Hear Me?' but the choir was equally at home in more lively numbers and, singing entirely from memory, their occasional choreography enhanced, rather than distracted from, the most positive impression that they gave. Their conductor, Sue Hollingworth, is an award-winner, too; only last month she won the Gramophone Award in association with The Times for Music in the Community.
The 27-year-old Alessandro Taverna gained third prize in the most recent Leeds Piano Competition and is fast rising to prominence. His playing of Chopin's Nocturne in E, Op 62 No 2 demonstrated a real clarity of melodic line with wonderfully precise pedalling – a relative rarity in concert performances of music by this composer. Beethoven's Sonata in E flat Op 27 No 1 – the companion work to the Moonlight Sonata – was full of dynamic and dramatic contrasts. The early allegro passages were taken at a breathtaking speed and their vigour was counter-balanced by the expressive playing of the cantabile sections. The performer was not fazed by the challenges imposed by the regular mood-fluctuations – reflections of the composer's own character – and the work moved seamlessly through its stylistic extremes.
Carl Orff's 'Carmina Burana' is a work which poses huge, and unusual, challenges on its participants. The separately distinctive forces of Harrogate Choral Society, the children's choir, three soloists, a percussion ensemble and two pianists all combined, under the energy-driven impetus provided by conductor Andrew Padmore, to produce a magnificent performance of this unique work. Pride of place, however, went to the adult choir. The tenors and basses were for more effective than for some time and their full-bodied sound in 'Ecce gratum' was most exciting. The sopranos produced a thrillingly vibrant tone throughout and the altos produced a lovely lyrical sound especially in 'Chume, chum'.
Soprano Debra Morley sang with a rich tone quality, even in her coloratura range, John Dunford represented the roasting swan with suitably agonised usage of his quasi-falsetto range and Robert Poulton, bass, sang his demandingly contrasting sections with some comfort, also amusing with his portrayal of the drunken abbott. The augmented BackBeat Percussion Ensemble, together with Taverna and Beryl Pankhurst, accompanied the vocal forces with a rhythmic precision that enabled the whole performance to gel in a most thrilling manner and conclude a hugely enjoyable concert.
In future, this writer will be enjoying concerts without his notepad and pencil. As a parting shot in what is, therefore, his final concert review, he has been left wondering if, sitting on the opposite side of him from his wife, the lonesome lady who was more intent – throughout the concert - on completing her sudoku puzzle enjoyed it as much as he did. Or may one of the tenors and basses be more embarrassed on reading this? Farewell to all readers. Paul Dyson
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GRAMOPHONE AWARDS 2010
We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support and for voting for Sue. These are truly exciting times for the choir.
The choir will now look forward to their prize of singing in 2012, possibly to the Queen, at her big anniversary, taking part in workshops delivered by Michael Brewer and having a new piece commissioned for them.
Sue received her award at a lunch at the Dorcester on 1 October 21010.
I am sure everyone will agree that Susan is very worthy of this award, taking into account the time, dedication and effort given to the choir and the care she has for all the choristers.
We all wish Susan many congratulations on her successful win.
