‘CAN’T STOP THE MUSIC’- THE GIFT OF MUSIC FROM THE ESK COMMUNITY CHOIR AND FRIENDS

 

What could be more enjoyable on an unexpectedly delightful pre-summer day than the company of friends, a diverse repertoire of orchestral and choral music by both a string ensemble and an extraordinarily accomplished choir?  Nothing…that’s what!  And anybody who was not at the Alexandra Hall in Toogoolawah on Sunday 12^th September when the Esk Community Choir presented their ‘Can’t Stop the Music’ concert will have robbed themselves of an occasion that undoubtedly would have enhanced their day.

As concertgoers quietly QR coded themselves into the concert hall to take their seats, the colourful ornamentation dressing the stage must have surely been a whisper of what was waiting in the wings.  At 2.30pm following a cordial welcome by Choir President, Marina Crichton and the almost unnecessary introduction of our always eloquent emcee, Councillor Sean Choat, the choir took to the stage bringing the occasion to life with their inspired opening song which spoke of all that this day was about, Linda Spevacek’s ‘And So I Sing’. 

There is a little group of choir members who call themselves ‘The Happy Tappers’ because that’s just what they are.  Under the direction of the wonderfully talented Helene Hawes and augmented by a creative jute box, a ‘50’s frocked group of hip ‘jive bunnies’ and the choir, they hoofed their way through Weiss/Baum’s ‘Music! Music! Music!’ then, to gift wrap the opening bracket of songs the Happy Tappers once more strutted their stuff alongside a spirited performance by the choir to that medley of songs from the great American song book, ‘Golden Age of Broadway’. Preserving the ‘golden age’ theme, Patrina McLeod delivered an alluring performance of ‘Golden Days’ from ‘The Student Prince’.

That tight-knit string ensemble ‘Strings and Things’ under the direction of Iain MacLean, has been bringing its wafting sounds to Choir Concerts for many years.  Again, on this day a small gathering of its members along with their piano accompanist presented a stellar selection of tunes, including ‘The Gale’, pieces from ‘Pirates of Penzance’ to ‘Amazing Grace’, a moving tribute to the unforgettable events of ‘9/11’ on this its 20^th anniversary.

One didn’t have to be Scottish to be moved by the sight and sounds of kilt clad Don Drysdale and his bagpipes as he meandered through the audience to the stage, a sweet surprise for concertgoers and the choir, gifted by Iain and his ensemble.  By Don’s own admission, he is only ‘with Scottish parts’ but this did nothing to diminish his mastery of the bagpipes, many concertgoers unable to resist the invitation to sing along to the strains of so many Scottish tunes.

As promised, the prolific personae portrayed by Eric von Nida never fail to entertain and this day his playful Flanders and Swan interpretation of ‘The Gnu’ was no exception receiving a merited rousing reception from the audience.

It was the sweet sounds of the choir ladies’ choral performance of the West Indian Folk song ‘All My Trials’ and Bob Hardy’s solo entrée to the Choir men’s rousing rendition of ‘Pedro the Fisherman’ which brought the first half of the concert to a quick interval during which many magnificent raffle prizes were drawn and won.

Adding spice to the variety was the irrepressible Kathleen Watts and her perky bunch of ‘girls’ whose interpretation of the ‘Pajama Game’s’ - 'I’m Not At All In Love’, brought enthusiastic audience applause.

Now in his final year at school, Aydan Forsyth has moved well past the exuberant promise of a talented little tot performing at age of 9 with The Semitones to apparent maturity as a solo singer.   Aydan’s dynamic performance of Franco Leoni’s ‘Tally-Ho’ followed by his heartfelt rendition of the Monteverdi aria, ‘Lasciatemi Morire’ are clearly demonstrations of his passion for music and singing. Under the tutelage and encouragement of Alexis and the guidance and support of his family and teachers, Aydan was the obvious choice for this year’s Esk Community Choir $1000 bursary, presented to him by Marina Crichton, this a steppingstone to further musical opportunities and a promising musical future.

Augmented with accompaniment by ‘Strings and Things’ and the choir’s own consummate flautists, Suzanne Clemence and Ruth Skippen, the stirring choral finale by Denis Hawes and the choir, ‘The Impossible Dream’ spoke of the cry of man’s heart to do his best, to give his all, accept the will of God, find oneself complete and in doing so, discover the entry to Paradise…’to reach the unreachable star’.

To Alexis, thank you for your open heart and often, your home.  Your ideas and actions make our world a better place. To Margaret whose talents and  hours of practice at the piano often go unnoticed on stage; to the choir volunteers who constantly put up their hands to prepare the venues for concerts including our audio ace, Greg Skippen, and our catering queens, Sue and Di; to the Somerset Newspaper for their unquestioned support in bringing our events to the attention of their readers; to the gifted donors of some magnificent raffle prizes and to all our choir supporters whose faces are constantly bobbing up in audiences, we of the choir give our warmest thanks.

By: Sue Walker