Last Sunday my colleagues and I travelled up to Manchester for the highly anticipated Choir of the Year 2014 Final. To celebrate this amazing event, we invited clients and suppliers from across the country to a pre-event drinks reception. It was lovely to meet so many of our clients and hear their fascinating stories enjoyed while being on tour with us.
The performances the choirs gave were extraordinary! Each choir brought something different to the competition whilst highlighting their own individual styles. The audience were treated to a very wide range of repertoire including a barbershop arrangement of A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square by Manning Sherwin and a spine-tingling performance of O Magnum Mysterium by Francis Poulenc. The performers were a credit to themselves and their choral directors. They performed with such professionalism and enthusiasm that I was blown away! The event was hosted by Gareth Malone and filmed by BBC. It was such a great opportunity to see how the BBC filmed such an event. We were able to witness interviews and features with all the choirs whilst of course enjoying their fantastic live performances. The panel of judges were some of the industry’s finest – Mary King, Angel Blue, Paul Mealor and Greg Beardsell. Together they congratulated and critiqued the choirs’ performances whilst supporting the somewhat nervous performers.
It has been a brilliant year supporting this amazing competition. We have had the pleasure of meeting so many enthusiastic and talented singers and seeing the very best the UK amateur choral scene has to offer.
Roll on 2016 and the next competition!