The Choral Grapevine
1 June—September 2015
A newsletter for all choristers in
Western Vic. & SE of SA June-September, 2015 Founder: June Roberts
Editor: Helen Lyth 3/13 Balmoral Crescent
Rippleside 3215 Phone: (03) 52786058
Email: [email protected]
CHORAL CALENDAR
Calendar continues on page 4...
Date, Time, Place Performance Details
Saturday 27th June, 7:30pm, Art Gallery of Ballarat,
Lydiard St North
BATTLECRIES AND PRAYERS FOR PEACE, Vox Information and bookings
$25/$20/S10 (students)
Tuesday, July 7, 14, 21, 28, August 4, 11, 18, 25, 7:00-
8:15pm, St Lukes Uniting
Church, Highton
THE BOITE MILLENNIUM CHORUS – first Geelong rehearsal, all sing-ers welcome to take part in this choir of 250-350 singers for a performance at
Hamer Hall on August 30th (see below)
Denise Hollingworth (Geelong leader): [email protected]
More information about the program could be found here: http://www.boite.com.au/content/boite-millennium-chorus
You can also contact Stephanie at: 94173550 - [email protected]
For enrolment please visit: http://www.trybooking.com/GRJU
Thursday 9 July 2015 at 7.30, The Basilica of St. Mary of
the Angels, Yarra St, Geelong
THE NATIONAL YOUTH CHOIR OF AUSTRALIA, 20TH ANNIVER-SARY CONCERT, with The National Youth Choir of Australia and The Aus-
tralian Boys Choir. Music includes Benjamin Britten’s A Boy was Born and J. S. Bach’s mighty
motet, Singet dem Herrn Ticket prices and contact details: Full $20 / Concession $10 / Children 12 &
Under Free. Tickets from www.trybooking.com/HZPY or at the door
Saturday 1st August, Holy Cross Primary School , New
Gisborne
MUSIC FOR PLEASURE The Gisborne Singers annual cabaret style evening of music, food and good times
More information & tickets: [email protected]
Sunday 9th August, 2:30 St Patricks College Pavillion,
(Entry from Wanliss Road)
MUSICAL HIGH TEA with The Ballarat Choral Society. Bookings essential: Tickets from a choir member or phone Dianne - 5331 8508
Tickets $25 (children $10).
Sunday 16th August, 3pm, St Luke's Uniting Church, High-
ton
THE LAST NIGHT OF THE PROMS The Geelong Chorale, conducted by Allister Cox.
Hear your favourite anthems from the British Isles.
Tickets are $25 and $20. Enquiries: Angela West; 5222 3595 or thegeelongcho-
Sunday, 23rd August, 2PM, Hamilton Art Gallery
40 YEARS OF MUSIC: SUNDAY AFTERNOON CONCERT– The Hamil-ton Singers This concerts celebrates The Hamilton Singers 40th anniversary.
Check the CGV Choral Calendar closer to the date for more details, or contact
Beth Tonissen [email protected]
Mon 24th – Sat 29th August, Mt Gambier
SHOWCASE 2015 sponsored by The Mount Gambier Choral Society. Infor-mation: [email protected] Website: http://
www.limestonecoastshowcase.com.au/index.html
30TH August, Hamer Hall, Melbourne
ONE AFRICA The Boite Millennium Choir More information Stephanie at: 94173550 - [email protected]
Wednesday, 9th September, Drysdale Grove Neighbour-
hood House, 1:30pm
CORYULE CHORUS Enquiries: Rob [email protected]
The Coryule Chorus has a full program of performances to see more visit their
website http://www.coryulechorus.com/upcoming-performances.html
The Choral Grapevine website: https://thechoralgrapevine.wordpress.com/
The Choral Grapevine
2 June—September 2015
INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER MENS' CHORUS As a Choir we are now becoming well established under the
excellent guidance of our new Choir Master Jeanette John. The
Choir have performed several concerts so far this musical season,
including performing with the Ugandan Children’s Choir, The
National Heritage Trust, at Christ Church, Geelong and several
care facilities both in Geelong and on the Bellarine Peninsula.
Future concerts will be given at Grovedale Community Centre 24th of September,
Belmont Senior Citizens, Thompson St Belmont on the 5th of
October,
Our own Annual Concert on Sunday 8th of November at
Thompson St Uniting Church at 1.30.
And we are also planning to do a couple of concerts in
combination with the Ladies Welsh Choir on Oct 14th at
Grovedale Community Church and a Christmas Concert at St
Luke’s on Sunday 29th of November. All are welcome.
We have a new Choir Banner and several new pieces of music
that we are learning. So as you can see we are being kept busy and extending our choir involvement and repertoire.
We have also had several new male chorus members join us this
year, but we have plenty of room for more male singers. If
interested call 52433467 or 52430366 or email
T Ayrton, Grapevine representative for the IHMC.
HAMILTON SINGERS Our performance at the Hamilton Promenade of Sacred Music
Festival went well with many people enjoying the works of Ken
Stott that we performed. On Anzac Day we present a hymn
accompanied by the hamilton Brass Band. It proved to be a
moving tribute for the day. This past week we have just
performed in the Hamilton Eisteddfod. Our competition was
tight but we managed to receive two first prizes and a
Honourable mention. We were thrilled to be acknowledged for
our efforts here. Now we start organising ourselves for an
anniversary concert on Sunday 23rd August, and preparing for a
more simple Christmas concert without an accompanist in December. Beth Tonissen (03) 5572 3535
WONDROUS MERRY We'd love to have a new soprano voice (or three) join Wondrous
Merry, as we have 3 beaut basses, three terrific tenors and a good
group of adaptable altos, some of whom are at present doubling
(or dabbling) in both parts! We'd prefer quick learners with a bell
-like vocal quality, but will be grateful for others if they're keen.
Rehearsals are on Tuesday evenings till 9.15. Marie
Goldsworthy (03) 5221 1813
THE GEELONG CHORALE
Program since February 2015: Our first event for 2015 was Pako
Festa on Saturday 28 February. Pako Festa has become a
traditional opportunity for the Chorale to showcase a little of our
lighter repertoire for a different audience. This year the venue
was a marquee in the outdoors, which is not our optimum conditions. Nevertheless, our selection of sacred music, Gilbert
and Sullivan, and Scottish songs was well received.
Next was Singing the Classics - JS Bach Jesu Meine Freude, on
Sunday 25 March 2015 at Wesley Church. This program was
conducted by Chorale member Anne Pilgrim and accompanied
by Selmo Carreira, and attracted 41 participants. The purpose of
Singing the Classics is to provide opportunities for occasional
singers to sing favourite pieces with skilled direction from a
range of conductors. Music is provided on the day, so the focus is
on participation rather than performance, although the format
allows for a degree of coaching to enable a most rewarding
experience for all. This event is sponsored by The Geelong
Association of Music and Art (GAMA).
IIs there a report from your choir? If not, ask your committee how you can help! We need a CGV rep from every choir.
Editorial
The end of the financial year is almost here and choral music is in boom time in our region. There seem to be more groups
than ever allowing singers to sing everything from classical to pop, jazz to opera and folk to rock. Groups range from trios to
huge massed choirs like The Boîte Millennium Choir which, for the first time this year, is rehearsing in Geelong (see the
calendar and news item for details).
We welcome the choir of St Luke’s Church, Highton to the Choral Grapevine. I also note that one of our choirs, The Gee-
long (Bay City) Conchords which provided an opportunity for men to sing barbershop, has now disbanded.
Our groups are diverse with some groups working to a regular schedule of performances, or supplying music for weekly
church services, and others being mainly non-performance groups, where the main object is to get together and enjoy sing-
ing. There are also opportunities to get together with other singing groups, like The Boite Millennium choir and Singing the
Classics. There’s also the opportunity to compete in eisteddfods—also another opportunity to hear other choirs and social-
ise.
Keep following the Choral Grapevine online to find up-to-date performance details and news of our choirs. For example,
there’s a report of Retrospective: The Music of Dr Malcolm John held in Geelong on Sunday 21st June with two Choral
Grapevine choirs participating along with many other musicians.
Remember—communication works best when it’s two-way. If there’s nothing here from your choir, it’s because I haven’t
heard from you. Please let me know your news. Enjoy your singing... Helen
The Choral Grapevine
3 June—September 2015
Please distribute The Choral Grapevine to your choir members.
The second performance for the Chorale was Karl Jenkins' The
Armed Man, on Saturday 2 May at Wesley Church. Music at the
Basilica Inc. engaged the Chorale for this performance in its
weekend-long Festival of Music, this year titled Fly Away Peter
and commemorated 100 years since the landings on the Gallipoli Peninsula.
We performed to a full audience, with a reduced orchestral
accompaniment, and soloist Alison Ralph. The Geelong Chorale
has now performed this powerful mass for peace several times,
allowing some critics to claim this was our best yet.
See the CGV calendar for details of our forthcoming concerts –
The Last Night of the Proms on August 16th, and The Creation
on December 5th. We are looking to expand the choir for The
Creation with the opportunity for competent singers (the ability
to sing parts and read music is essential) to participate. The cost
(covering uniforms and music) is $50. Enquiries to our Musical
Director, Allister Cox - 0438 188980. Finally, the last Singing the Classics for 2015 will be Haydn's
Mass in Time of War on Sunday October 11, conducted by
Allister Cox.
Angela West 03 52223595
GEELONG HARMONY CHORUS So far this year we've been busy with Citizenship Ceremonies,
Festival of Sails and a very exciting trip to Hobart for the
national competition. We return with some wonderful memories
minus the bling this time.
We are looking forward to our upcoming concert at Potato Shed,
41 Peninsula Drive, Drysdale on 4th October 12.15 – 5 pm. Later
on in the year we are performing in Lorne Carols on the Lorne at
St Cuthbert’s Church, Mountjoy Parade, Lorne from 6.30 – 9pm.
We always welcome new members - women who want to sing
beautifully with other fabulous women. For more information
call Cynthia on 0406 666 737 or email
[email protected] You can also find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/geelongharmonychorus?
ref=ts&fref=ts
THE COLAC CHORALE I am pleased to report that our two special Anzac
Commemoration Concerts went very well and attracted ‘full
houses’ of very appreciative audiences.
We also sang three of these songs at the Western District Choral
Festival at Warrnambool on Saturday 13th June 2015.
The St John’s Presbyterian Church there, provided excellent
acoustics for the thirteen district choirs taking part – and the
singing was varied and of a very high standard.
A joyous occasion for all participants !
The Colac Chorale have offered to host the 2016 Western
District Choral Festival at our Performing Arts Centre and are
hoping that many district choirs will take part. Just now, we are preparing for a concert towards the end of this
year, featuring songs with “a bird theme”….such varied pieces as
“The Silver Swan”, “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square”,
“Skylark”, “Over the Rainbow” and “Rockin’ Robin”… These
are providing challenges for our Chorale members, with
sometimes intricate timing in the four parts, along with
interesting and varied rhythms. Gwenyth Knox (03) 5231 4278
Boîte Millennium Chorus For the first time this year, singers in the Geelong region will have the opportunity to be part of the Boite
Millennium Chorus, with a series of rehearsals being held
in Geelong. Boîte Millennium Chorus combines 250-400 singers from
all across the state over 18 years to come together to
rehearse 8-10 weeks in their home town which lead to
grand concert at Hamer Hall in August. This year the Boîte
Millennium Chorus creates One Africa led by Lamine
Sonko and Andrea Khoza. One Africa is a musical journey
sharing a rich cultural history from the ancient knowledge of past traditions to the colourful fusion of contemporary
sounds that have returned from African diaspora bringing a
message of unity and connectedness. Denise Hollingworth will take the Geelong rehearsals. The
Geelong rehearsal dates are Tuesdays from
7pm-8:30: July 7, 14, 21, 28, and August 4,
11, 18 & 25, at St Lukes Uniting Church, Highton.
The concert will take place at Hamer Hall
(Melbourne) on August 30th 2015. More information about the program could be
found here: http://www.boite.com.au/content/
boite-millennium-chorus
You can also contact Stephanie at: 94173550 - [email protected]
For enrolment please visit: http://
www.trybooking.com/GRJU
WITH ONE VOICE: SING FOR GOOD
This is an opportunity to make a video of your group and share it with others.
http://www.singforgood.org/
The Choral Grapevine
4 June—September 2015
Date, Time, Place Details Thursday 24th September, Grove-
dale Community Centre
INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER MEN'S CHORUS IN CONCERT, conductor
Jeanette John.
Enquiries: 52433467
Sunday, 4th October, 12:15-5:00
pm, The Potato Shed, Peninsula
Drive, Drysdale
THE GEELONG HARMONY CHORUS See the CGV online calendar for more details nearer to the performance or go to the GHC
Monday, 5th October, Belmont
Senior Citizens, Thompson Street,
Belmont
INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER MEN'S CHORUS IN CONCERT, conductor
Jeanette John.
Enquiries: 52433467
Sunday 11th October, 2pm, St
Lukes Uniting Church, Highton
SINGING THE CLASSICS 2015 III: THE NELSON MASS by Haydn, Conducted by
Allister Cox. Cost $12 includes music hire and afternoon tea. Enquiries and bookings:
Anne Pilgrim: 0412 524 316
Wednesday, 14th October, Grove-
dale Community Church GEELONG WELSH LADIES CHOIR and INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER
MEN'S CHORUS IN CONCERT, conductor Jeanette John.
Enquiries: 52433467
Sunday 8th November, 1:30pm,
Thompson Uniting Church
ANNUAL CONCERT – International Harvester Men's Chorus, conductor Jeanette John.
Enquiries: 52433467
Sunday 15th November 3pm, St.
Patrick’s College Chapel Sturt
Street, Ballarat
THE ARMED MAN (A Mass for Peace) by Karl Jenkins –The Gisborne Singers in col-
laboration with The Ballarat Choral Society
Full orchestra and professional soloists
More information & tickets: [email protected]
Saturday, 21st November, 10am—
4 pm, Mozart Hall, Warrnambool, HOW TO Handel YOUR MESSIAH, Bootcamp for Port Fairy Messiah (28th December),
$25 includes rehearsal track, morning & afternoon tea. Bring your own score if you have
one (limited supplies on the day). Pre-bookings preferred—Jeanette (03) 5561 2291
Sunday 22nd November, 3pm, St.
Ambrose Parish Hall, Woodend
THE ARMED MAN (A Mass for Peace) by Karl Jenkins –The Gisborne Singers in col-
laboration with The Ballarat Choral Society
Full orchestra and professional soloists
More information & tickets: [email protected]
Sunday 29th November, St Lukes
Uniting Church, Highton
CHRISTMAS CONCERT with Geelong Welsh Ladies Choir and The International Har-
vester Men's Chorus, conductor Jeanette John.
Enquiries: 52433467
Saturday, December 5th, 5PM,
Wesley Church, Geelong
THE CREATION, Joseph Haydn, The Geelong Chorale, Conducted by Allister Cox. En-
quiries: Angela West; 5222 3595 or [email protected]
Saturday, 12th December, 7:30
Christ Church, Henna Street,
Warrnambool
CANTORI CHRISTMAS CONCERT A mix of Readings, Seasonal Music and Carols.
Contact Jeanette 5561 2291
Monday, 28th December, 7pm, St
Johns Church, Port Fairy
SING YOUR OWN MESSIAH, conducted by Jeanette Hajncl, $5 (singers), $25/audience.
All Choristers invited to come and join the choir on the night. $5 choristers, $25 audience
Contact Jeanette 5561 2291
Calendar continued from page 1
Choirs in The Choral Grapevine network in 2015: Ballarat: Ballarat Choral Society, U3A Choristers Ballarat, Vox Berri: Riverland Choral Group, Bordertown: Bordertown A Cappella
Singers, Camperdown: Camperdown Uniting Church Choir, Casterton: Sacred Heart Church Choir, Cobden: Cobden Community
Choir, Colac: Colac Chorale, Deans Marsh: Deans Marsh Singers, Drysdale: Coryule Chorus, The Bellarine Community Choir Gee-long: acabellas, Bella Mama, Geelong (Bay City) Conchords, The Geelong Chorale, Geelong Harmony Chorus, Geelong Trades Hall
Choir, Geelong Welsh Ladies Choir, Geelong Youth Choir, The Gesualdo Consort, Grace Notes, International Harvester Male C horus, Sing
Geelong, St Lukes Uniting Church Choir, St Mary's Basilica Choir, Geelong, St Pauls Church Choir, U3A Geelong Choir, Windfire Chamber
Choir, Wondrous Merry, Gisborne: The Gisborne Singers Hamilton: Footprints in the Custard, Good Shepherd Choir, Hamilton Singers,
Tabor Male Choir, Lavers Hill: Lavers Hill Choir, Millicent: Millicent Choral Society, Mt Gambier: Mayfair Youth Jazz, Mount Gam-
bier Choral Society, Mt Gambier Christ Church Anglican Choir, Naracoorte: Naracoorte Singers, Penola: Southern Heritage Singers,
Port Fairy: Port Fairy St Johns Anglican Church Choir, Portland: Music Glenelg Inc., Portland Choral Group, St Stephens Anglican
Church Choir, Queenscliff: Tides of Welcome Soul and Gospel Choir, Warrnambool: Cantori, Red Tent Singers, Warrnambool Christ
Church Choir, Merri Singers (formerly Warrnambool Mozart Choir), Warrnambool St Johns Presbyterian Choir, Warrnambool Theatre Com-
pany Chorale