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| Esk Community Choir |
Faith an’ begorrah...statisticians
are saying that one third of Australians are of Irish stock! Yep, more than eight thousand Australians can
trace their roots back to the ‘Olde Sod’ and t’besure, it was a good portion of
these gentle folk and many others who make up the patchwork of a population who
call the Somerset Region home and some beyond who were lured to the Alexandra
Hall in Toogoolawah on this St Patrick’s Day for the Esk Community Choir’s
fabulous Irish/Italian/Farewell Concert.
On a day when the south-east
corner of Queensland’s landscape was showing signs of turning green, so too was
the interior of Toogoolawah’s Alexandra Hall festooned as it was in the colours
of Ireland with a hint of Italy for this was not only a celebration of St
Paddy’s Day but an opportunity to laud the achievements of ‘Cantiamo’, the Esk Choir
which will be heading off next month for a performance tour of Italy.
Councillor Sean Choat is fast
becoming a familiar face behind the emcee’s microphone and again this day his
eloquence shone through as he confidently shepherded each of the performances
throughout the afternoon.
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| Joy and Warwich Grewcoe |
At 2.30pm, in a bitter sweet
moment following her warm welcome to the capacity audience, Choir Director, Alexis FitzGerald stated that she would like to dedicate this concert to Joy Grewcoe, Choir Life Member, friend to many;
whose contributions over her 25 years with the choir were extraordinary;
whose stoicism in the face of illness was inspirational; who peacefully passed
away on March 9th. Few knew
how to party like Joy Grewcoe so with Joy in their hearts, it was time for a
choir to put on a show!
Adorned in emerald green, the Esk
Community Choir singing their Irish welcome sashayed down the aisles leaving
the audience in no doubt that they were in for a very special treat. Kathleen, Susie, Carolyn and Maree, aka The
Sweethearts of Song, swapped their nifty sixties style for sophisticated swagger
for their performance of ‘I Dreamt that I Dwelt in Marble Halls’ the beautiful
aria often quoted in Irish Author James Joyce’s novels. The full choir then came together on stage
for Audrey Snyder’s hymn-like arrangement with a distinctive Celtic air, ‘The
Water is Wide’ and few could control the urge to move to the music when
‘McNamara’s Band’ filled the Alexandra Hall.
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| The Sweethearts of Song |
For the next 45 minutes, save for
a short interval break for costume changes and the drawing of raffle prize
winners, the audience were treated to the sublime sounds of Toowoomba’s HAH… ‘High
Altitude Harmony’, the a cappella men’s chorus whose four part barber shop
style harmonies took concert goers to places as close to heaven as one can get
sitting in a hall. With close to 25
voices singing tenor, lead, baritone and bass, their passion was palpable as
they performed a cross section of genres from ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ to ‘Who Put the
Bop in the Bob She Bop’. The group’s quartet
‘Four on the Floor’ were equally faultless, their performance accelerating the undeniable
audience appreciation through generous applause. With their perfect blend of voices, clarity
of sound and their passion for singing, ‘High Altitude Harmony’ will surely be
celebrating following their performances at next month’s Sunshine Region (Qld)
Barbershop Championships.
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| High Altitude Harmony |
Alexis FitzGerald OAM appears to
be the ‘Girl who cain’t say no’ for it was hot on the heels of the Choir’s last
successful European Tour in 2016 that the flame was reignited for yet another
and so began the crafting of a Choir group and repertoire for ‘Cantiamo’
…translation, ‘Let’s sing’… in Italy! With now eighteen months of rehearsals
under their belts, this is a group who are giddy with anticipation and who were
thrilled on St Patrick’s Day to be able to give to concert goers a taste of the
songs this choir will be taking to audiences in some of the picturesque places
in Italy. To Margaret Philp’s faultless accompaniment and under Alexis’s
inspirational direction, they performed their bracket of Italian songs climaxing
with ‘Australian Medley’ a fusion of exquisite excerpts from iconic Australian
melodies, this giving rise to audience calls for ‘more!’ …and so they did with
the beautiful Emily Crocker arrangement of ‘Gypsy Rover’. With Italian flavours now in the mix it was
time to summon to the stage for the finale all choristers as well as a
sharpening of audience vocal chords for an all-in rendition of the infinitely
popular Italian song ‘Funiculi, Funicula’, ushered in with the first verse
Italian lyrics sung by Roland Cox.
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| "Cantiamo" Choir |
‘Best concert ever!’… ‘when is
the next?’… ‘fabulous entertainment!’ were some of the comments bandied around
the sumptuous afternoon tea tables. Even
Mother Nature was in on it, obviously having had a high ol’ time enjoying the
music for at the end she dazzled all by delivering a deluge of drenching rain
which kept concert-goers dining out on the delightful afternoon’s
entertainment.
By: Sue Walker
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| "It says here that a Pixie will be the accompanist today!" "Yes Sean, I am a Pixie, to-be-sure, but sometimes I come to these concerts in disguise". |
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| Smiles that can change the world |
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| Hmm! I sense mischief. |
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