Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Vox gave an excellent performance of Requiem in Blue at St. John Smith Square for our summer concert. It was a great challenge – but the reception from the audience and from friends and family made us feel it was worth working hard to achieve. it was a special venue to perform in and a real celebration of 15 years of the mighty Vox Holloway.
We plan to do two projects next term, dividing the term in half. The first project will be to learn some songs by the Beach Boys. As you will know, Brian Wilson died a few weeks ago. A few days before that happened, JimmyJo was asking me (not for the first time) if we would do a Beach Boys programme with Vox. I said yes, so when the death was announced, I felt that I should honour that promise. I also felt that we should do something quite fun after the serious commitment of the Requiem in Blue concert.
Following the strategic review and the requests and comments that the choir made as part of it, we won’t do a performance but will learn some songs, do some workshop sessions on technique etc and then do an social evening to sing some of them informally to each other. That will be on the 19th of October and we will be joined by Lea Cornthwaite as our soloist.
The Beach Boys (Brian Wilson in particular) wrote some amazing songs – I hope to include some of the well known hits, but also to introduce you to several less well known, really profound songs.
For the second half of the term, we have an exciting opportunity to do a Christmas concert (on 7th December) with the supremely talented David le Page and his players. He has arranged many well known and less well known Carols and Christmas songs for an 8 piece group of excellent musicians. We will sing some of of those with them and then add some Christmas material of our own – perhaps a few things from the Bells of Paradise programme, perhaps some new material.
We very much look forward to seeing you at the start of term on the 9th of September. In the meantime have a great summer.
Harvey and the committee.
Vox Holloway 