I run websites for The Choral Grapevine (a regional newsletter for choirs in Western Victoria and South-Eastern South Australia) and Cycling Geelong (a recreational cycling group).
I am an artist and photographer, musician and recreational cyclist.
This 2-day singing skills workshop will involve a deep dive into various fundamental elements of vocal technique. The workshops will be tailored towards providing participants with a toolkit of approaches that can be applied directly to songs they are learning. Sessions will be focused on allowing participants to test new strategies across a wide range of styles.
Participants will be lead in processes that enable them to build core skills in breath control, posture, vocal range, practice techniques, part singing, and reading ability.
Drawing on these elements will enable participants to develop greater confidence both in their own individual singing ability, and in their strength as effective choir members.
The workshop is for:
People who want to develop their singing skills, aspiring and established singers, improvisers, people who sing in choirs, and people who simply have a desire to sing with others and are ready to give it a go.
Organiser: The workshop is organised by community choir Zing! Sing in Dutch. The workshop is accessible for all singers from all backgrounds and will be in English.
Facilitator: Sam Hartley
Sam is a pianist and composer currently based in Melbourne.
Starting piano at the age of 5, Sam went on to complete a Bachelor of Music at the University of Melbourne in 2013. While at university, Sam performed extensively, both as a soloist and as an accompanist for numerous choral groups in Melbourne. After spending some time studying and working in law and management consulting, he returned to music full time in 2018, completing an MPhil in Music Studies from the University of Cambridge in 2019. Since then, he has worked full time as a performer, composer and music tutor. Sam’s original compositions include contemporary classical works for piano, choir and instrumental ensembles, as well as popular songs.
Venue The Liardet Community Centre: 154 Liardet Street, Port Melbourne 3207
Dates: Saturday 11 May and Saturday 8 June 2024
Times: 10:00am-2:00 pm
Cost: $85 for both sessions or $50 for one session
We want to thank our sponsor the Erasmus foundation
Maximum Participants: 24 people
Enrolments: Contact Karien Dekker at chair@zingsingindutch.com
For their first concert of 2024, The Geelong Chorale, conducted and introduced by Musical Director, Allister Cox, treated their appreciative audience to a train trip on the famous Orient Express, from Constantinople (Istanbul) to Paris, with whistle stops in Varna (Bulgaria), Bucharest (Romania), Budapest (Hungary), Vienna (Austria) and Munich (Germany) before finally disembarking in Paris.
In each city, the audience listened to local choral music – performed in the local languages as well as pieces with English, Italian and Latin texts.
Before settling into first class, passengers wished Istanbul farewell, listening two pieces by modern contemporary composers. The first was a setting of the Turkish folk song Çamdan Sakiz Akiyor by Ismail Yersiz. This began with the basses in unison singing the melody, and then being joined in canon with the altos, before a complex setting for mixed chorus. This set the scene for a wonderful concert – with the Chorale in best form in the stunning acoustics of St Pauls Geelong. With the men of the choir towards the front, the balance of the four parts was good – and the blend excellent.
After Gemlis Dünyanin Dőrt Bir, by modern female composer Melike, the train set off for Varna, for two songs by the Romanian composers. The Marian text, Of a Rose we Sing, has been set in English and Latin by Dobrinka Tabakova. Having much of her training in the English choral tradition, the work showed the influence of composers like Rutter and Whittaker, with a lovely piano part in the higher register, played sensitively by the choir’s long-time accompanist, Christine Mellens. Gabriela Hristova and Joshua DeVries had collaborated on a setting of the traditional song Dilmano, Dilbera. The setting expanded the traditional setting of melody and drone with complex harmonies and a very effective key change. Despite the difficult setting, the choir shone in this unaccompanied performance.
Travelling through Romania, the music moved back to the 19th century, with works by Gheorghe Cucu and George Enescu. Domnuleţ Şi Domn din Cer is a setting of a Christmas song, and showed off the excellent unison of the soprano line, with the deeper voices in the bass line enhanced by this a cappella performance. Enescu’s Waldgesang is a celebration of nature – and, in particular, the Rhine River.
From Romania, the Orient Expresses crosses the Danube into Hungary to make its next stop in Budapest.
Composer and musicologist Zoltán Kodály set the Italian poem Fuor De La Bella Caiba for women’s voices. This work, about an escaping nightingale, lost to sing freely in the forest, was most ably introduced and conducted by the Chorale’s deputy conductor, Anne Pilgrim. She postulated that the newly caged bird was owned by a young woman, who wished that the bird would come back to sing in her garden.
Kodály’s output of choral music is immense. It would be good to hear more of it from this excellent choir.
The second Hungarian work was for men’s voices – Wir Sing Nicht Mumien, by Franz Liszt. The piano doubled the voice parts, and was over-loud – at least partly caused by its prominent position in front of the choir. I note here that the bulky upright piano’s position also masked a large proportion of the choir from the audience.
Vienna was represented by the music of Josef Haydn – Alles Hat Seine Zeit, and Anton Bruckner – Os Justi. The motet Os Justi was most moving in this lovely setting – with its big crescendos to high fortissimo climaxes and falls to serene pianissimos.
Germany is huge in the choral repertoire, and was represented by works by three composers. The works of Clara Schumann, belittled for many years by a perception of gender-superiority, is once again taking her place in western music. Her partsong Gondoliera deserves a place in any choir’s repertoire. Josef Rheinberger’s beautiful setting of Abenlied was next, followed by a setting of Goethe’s Auf dem See by Felix Mendelssohn. This was the last piece in a set of six partsongs, composed to be performed out of doors.
After a journey of multiple days, passengers on the Orient Express finally disembark in Paris. For the first class passenger, having settled into a luxury hotel, the experience is topped off by a night at the Paris opera. Bizet’s Carmen is playing a gala performance to an audience dripping champagne and diamonds.
The Geelong Chorale ended this more satisfying concert with the scene from the opera – Les Voici! March of the Tordadors, a crowdwhich describes the procession of bull fighters and culminates in the famous Todeadors Song. The choir sang their hearts out in this rousing concert performance, with Kristine Mellens giving a hearty piano rendition of the orchestra part.
It was a most satisfying musical journey for a Sunday afternoon, performed in a venue that has possibly the best acoustics for choirs in the region. Bravo!
The Geelong Chorale will present two more concerts in 2024.
Karl Jenkins Requiem
Sunday, August 18, 2.30, Wesley Uniting Church, Yarra Street, Geelong
Ave Maria
A recital of choral music in anticipation of Christmas
Saturday November 30, 5pm, All Saints’ Anglican Church, Noble Street, Newtown
Please note the new starting time for the Geelong Chorale’s next concert – 3pm, Saturday, May 5th at St Paul’s Church, La Trobe Terrace, Geelong trybooking.com/CQGRI
Frank De Rosso, Musical Director of Music at the Basilica, once again showed his mastery in weaving a concert program to mark a special time of the liturgical year, and his flair for using the spaces of the Basilica to great advantage. I also complement Frank on his choice of instrumental and vocal soloists for this exacting program.
The concert on Palm Sunday, marked the Passion of Christ. The music reflected this sacred theme, beginning with Meditations on the Seven Last Words of Christ for violin (Philip Healey) and organ (Frank De Rosso), interspersed with sections of the poem The Seven Last Words of Christ, by Canadian/American poet Mark Strand. Healey and De Rosso presented the music from the organ loft, with the reader standing at the front of the chancel. The alternation of music and spoken word was most moving. The poem’s text is a reflection on Christ’s passion and was read with great meaning by Helen Seymour.
Two preludes for solo harp followed, played by Laura Tanata. Titled The Angel of Death Dances at Golgotha and The Sorrow of Mary, Mother of Jesus, are by contemporary American composer, James Scaler.
The final work before interval was an exquisite performance of César Franck’s Panis Angelicus, with soprano soloist, Zinaida Campigli, Miranda Brockman (cello), Laura Tanata (harp) and Frank De Rosso (organ). Zinaida Campigli is who is a Choral Scholar with the Windfire Choir.
The main works on to program were the ever-popular Fauré Requiem conducted by Joseph Hie, performed by Windfire Choir, a chamber orchestra and soloists, interpolated with Requiem for solo cello by Peter Sculthorpe.
Fauré’s Requiem was originally for scored a chamber orchestra of lower strings, harp, organ with a violin soloist used only in the Sanctus, played most beautifully in this performance by Philip Healey. The instrumentation for this performance was close to that of the original performance with the addition of horns, and no timpani. The use of lower pitched instruments gives a gentle calm effect, with the higher melodic lines provided by the solo violin, solo soprano in Pie Jesu and tenors and sopranos of the choir. The soloists were Phillipa McQuinn (soprano), who sang Pie Jesu with a clear fluid line, and Manfred Pohlenz (bass) whose rich baritone was especially moving in Libera me. The final chorus, In Paradisum, which features the harp and a soaring unison soprano line, was a most fitting end to this concert. The sopranos of Windfire Choir had a lovely warmth of tone.
Sculthorpe’s Requiem for solo cello is a most demanding piece. Miranda Brockman’s playing was superb – peerless technique supporting her maturity of musical understanding. I hope to hear her play Requiem again, as a continuous work, without interruption.
The concert was a most fitting reflection on the Passion at the start of Holy Week.
Movie music was the theme for the first concert of 2024 for the Colac Chorale. Playing to a packed Church on a heatwave afternoon did not seem to phase the musicians of Colac.
The Colac Chorale was conducted by their Musical Director, Johanna Latham, and accompanied by Pamela Radcliffe. Kelly Kerr (flute) and Seth Latham (violin) were guests artists.
Wild Mountain Thyme (from the movie of the same name) began the program, with a haunting flute line setting the atmosphere evoking a cold mountainside in Ireland. A scat introduction set the beat for Singing in the Rain – from the 1952 film.
In 1926, George and Ira Gershwin wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musical Oh, Kay! starring Gertrude Lawrence in the title role. The song Someone to Watch Over Me was the hit from this show, and has been recorded many times.
Blue Moon was commissioned from Rogers and Hart for the film Hollywood Party but was not included. However, it has been sung and recorded by many well-known singers, and even became a No. 1 hit in 1965. The Chorale’s arrangement featured a heavy rock style accompaniment from the piano, supporting a walking bass line in the choir.
For her solo items, Kelly Kerr chose La Mer, You Light up My LIfe and The Greatest Love of All. These pieces were a delight. Kerr has a wonderful warm tone and a fine sense of musical style.
Three more romantic love songs continued the Chorale’s program – Stormy Weather (written for the Cotton Club in New York), At Last (from the 1941 film Sun Valley Serenade) and An Affair to Remember (the title song from the 1957 film, which starred Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant). The opening of that song featured unison men, demonstrating the excellent blend of the Chorale’s male voices. (In some songs the male voices were somewhat drowned by the sopranos and altos. It’s so difficult to find men willing to sing choral music.)
The young violinist Seth Latham was next. Despite only taking the violin up 6 years ago, Seth has developed and excellent technique. As well as playing in youth orchestras, he now plays with the Geelong Symphony Orchestra and is concert master for Orchestra Geelong. Seth played Stardust (from the 2007 film) and the upbeat Rhinestone Cowboy and Arthur’s Theme (from the 1984 movie).
Continuing the upbeat rhythm, the Chorale continued the program withthe Beatles Yellow Submarine (from the animated film), New York New York and Fame.
The guests artists appeared together in duet arrangements of Amazing Grace, Autumn Leaves and Beauty and the Beast. These were clever arrangements, with the two instruments alternating the theme and melodic accompaniment.
The choir concluded the concert with a choral selection from Schindler’s List, with Seth Latham featuring on the violin.
It was a most enjoyable concert to start the year.
The Choral Grapevine 