Well - the hours are ticking away to the end of what has been quite a year for this bunch of people from in and around Belfast!
We've put on concerts, won at festivals north and south of the border and taken wee trips to Liverpool and the big smoke of London and finished it all off nicely in a cathedral on a hill in the County Down ...
BUT!we can't rest on our laurels. 'Onwards and upwards' seems to have become one of my little tag lines, and it seems even more apt in this situation. We've raised the bar, so 2009 is going to be interesting and even more hard work, but that's why we spend our Monday evenings from September to June just off the Castlereagh Road - because we enjoy singing!
See you all next year - all except however, for the other dodgy first tenor, as yet another one has been drawn to the scottish highlands - what is it with the water over there? (... or maybe it's those hops they add to it!) All the best Paddy!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
DT
Wednesday, 31 December 2008
Saturday, 20 December 2008
Happy Christmas (Carol Service is Over)
Ah ... it can feel like Christmas now - the last refrain of Hark The Herald has reverberated around the Down Cathedral naive and the traditional post-service christmas chinese has been digested (just about!)
Well we managed to skirt around most of the colds and flu bugs for the 15th annual service - if you're still to sing anymore yourself before Christmas - good luck and sing out - it really is the most wonderful time of the year! (for singing anyway) Hope all that Christmas shopping is done!
Thanks for reading the blog this year - it's been something new - ramblings most of it, but hey...
Merry Christmas one and all from me and i'm sure i can say, the rest of Grosvenor!
Well we managed to skirt around most of the colds and flu bugs for the 15th annual service - if you're still to sing anymore yourself before Christmas - good luck and sing out - it really is the most wonderful time of the year! (for singing anyway) Hope all that Christmas shopping is done!
Thanks for reading the blog this year - it's been something new - ramblings most of it, but hey...
Merry Christmas one and all from me and i'm sure i can say, the rest of Grosvenor!
Monday, 8 December 2008
We came, we saw ... we almost conquered!
Talking on the bus on the way back towards Gatwick last night, some of the choir wanted me to title this blog "We woz Robbed!" but i guess that wouldn't really be fair to the winners (... or would it?)
No, but seriously - each of the seven choirs who made it to the Grand Finals deserved to be there. There were so many great and diverse performances - i wouldn't have wanted to be a judge - how do you compare and indeed choose between barbershop, children's choirs, youth choirs, early music, modern music ????
But then again - they had long enough to do it as the rest of us had to sit through green eggs and ham ... (and no, that's not a comment on the Southbank centre's catering outlets either - you had to be there ... all we'll say is BRING BACK THE CRAMPER! Those is the know will know what i mean!)
The best thing to come out of last night's competition however were the comments from the judges after our performance - glowing tributes to Ed's hard work and glowing tributes to the work of the choir and in terms of the bigger picture, comments that said we brought out a warmth in our singing that represented the warmth of the people from Northern Ireland.
The judges did say that there was just a point between the top two choirs - i wonder if we'll ever find out that runner up name ...?
No, but seriously - each of the seven choirs who made it to the Grand Finals deserved to be there. There were so many great and diverse performances - i wouldn't have wanted to be a judge - how do you compare and indeed choose between barbershop, children's choirs, youth choirs, early music, modern music ????
But then again - they had long enough to do it as the rest of us had to sit through green eggs and ham ... (and no, that's not a comment on the Southbank centre's catering outlets either - you had to be there ... all we'll say is BRING BACK THE CRAMPER! Those is the know will know what i mean!)
The best thing to come out of last night's competition however were the comments from the judges after our performance - glowing tributes to Ed's hard work and glowing tributes to the work of the choir and in terms of the bigger picture, comments that said we brought out a warmth in our singing that represented the warmth of the people from Northern Ireland.
The judges did say that there was just a point between the top two choirs - i wonder if we'll ever find out that runner up name ...?
Saturday, 6 December 2008
Here we go ...
Well, the time of waiting is almost over!
While the advance party are shopping their way around the capital as i type, the rest of us are (of course) checking over our music and making sure we know every note... (no, honestly ... or maybe, like in my case, wrestling that Christmas tree into position for decorating before getting the flight tomorrow morning!)
Hasn't it all been fun though? I think so. There's been lots of press coverage from local newspapers and radio, and we had the guys over from BBC Wales filming for the 'meet-the-choir' segment which will go out on the televised highlights of the Grand Final on BBC 4 on Friday 12th December at 7.30pm!
So it's all good, if a little tiring - there's still the small matter of our fundraising night in S.D. Bell's next week, then carol singing in Castlecourt and our Annual Festival of Nine Lessons with Carols in Down Cathedral on Friday 19th (...and whatever else we get roped into along the way!)
Anyway, wish us luck - and i'll be back to report on Monday!
DT
While the advance party are shopping their way around the capital as i type, the rest of us are (of course) checking over our music and making sure we know every note... (no, honestly ... or maybe, like in my case, wrestling that Christmas tree into position for decorating before getting the flight tomorrow morning!)
Hasn't it all been fun though? I think so. There's been lots of press coverage from local newspapers and radio, and we had the guys over from BBC Wales filming for the 'meet-the-choir' segment which will go out on the televised highlights of the Grand Final on BBC 4 on Friday 12th December at 7.30pm!
So it's all good, if a little tiring - there's still the small matter of our fundraising night in S.D. Bell's next week, then carol singing in Castlecourt and our Annual Festival of Nine Lessons with Carols in Down Cathedral on Friday 19th (...and whatever else we get roped into along the way!)
Anyway, wish us luck - and i'll be back to report on Monday!
DT
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