{"id":262,"date":"2013-12-11T02:59:32","date_gmt":"2013-12-11T02:59:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.soton.ac.uk\/maths\/?p=262"},"modified":"2014-04-07T12:50:15","modified_gmt":"2014-04-07T12:50:15","slug":"uos-voices-sing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.soton.ac.uk\/maths\/2013\/12\/11\/uos-voices-sing\/","title":{"rendered":"UoS Voices sing out"},"content":{"rendered":"

Almost exactly a year ago Turner Sims Professor of Music Harvey Brough launched a new community choir based in the university.\u00a0 Elwyn Edwards tells us what led the group to their first big stage appearance last week (and there’s a video at the end of the post!):<\/em><\/p>\n

Like many people I have had a secret ambition to sing in a choir for most of my adult life. As a treble I sang in my church choir and apparently reduced my parents to tears when I sang the first verse of \u2018Once in Royal David\u2019s City\u2019 in the carol service. Once my voice had broken, I suspected my voice made people cry for completely different reasons. I did sing in my school\u2019s Gilbert and Sullivan productions, but then stopped. I knew I was never going to be committed enough to sing in a choral society singing endless Requiems and Messiahs.<\/p>\n

Then I started hearing about \u2018Community Choirs\u2019. I followed Gareth Malone\u2019s series The Choir<\/i> \"HB2006\"<\/a>on TV and liked the idea of no auditions and just singing with other people for fun. So in December 2012 I was intrigued by the announcement that the University had appointed Harvey Brough as Turner Sims Professor and that he was going to start a choir for staff and students. \u00a0On the appointed Wednesday lunchtime I went to the Turners Sims concert hall and along with over 100 colleagues met the \u2018staggeringly versatile musician\u2019 and incredibly enthusiastic Harvey Brough who in 50 minutes managed to inspire us to sing a very passable version of ‘Danny Boy’.<\/p>\n

Since then our repertoire has grown, we\u2019ve adopted an official name (the University of Southampton Voices<\/i>) and made three public appearances. The first was as the warm up act before a concert in the foyer at the Turner Sims, the second was again as warm act but this time at the summer staff party for the VC (who spoke rather than sang – although I hear he was very impressive on the Karaoke machine later in the afternoon).<\/p>\n

After the summer vacation Harvey announced he wanted us to take part in a concert at the end of November at the Turner Sims given by folk rock singer Clara Sanabras<\/a>. Her programme would be a series of songs around the theme of Spanish exile which she had written and Harvey had arranged for string quartet, double bass and us, the University\u2019s community choir. This was a big step up for us but it was clearly going to be exciting.<\/p>\n

So our 50 minute Wednesday lunchtime rehearsals suddenly became very intensive. We found ourselves rehearsing music hot off the press, singing lyrics in Catalan, Spanish and English. Harvey made recordings of every song available to us on The Cloud. Mysteriously the number of songs we were going to take part in grew from four or five to eight or nine.\u00a0\u00a0 We sounded OK but our levels of confidence fluctuated. In October Clara came to a rehearsal. She was jet lagged and had a cold but she was able to sing one of her songs accompanying herself on her Baroque guitar. She was wonderful. Did she really<\/em> want us to sing with her?! Harvey said we would be great. We had faith in him but didn\u2019t hesitate to agree that we would benefit from some extra rehearsals.<\/p>\n

\"Clara<\/a>
Clara Sanabras<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Suddenly we only had ten days to go. Were we going to be ready? A couple of extra rehearsals were arranged. Harvey said we were doing well and, \u2018by the way, here\u2019s an extra piece I want you to sing, let\u2019s rehearse it now\u2019! Twenty minutes later we seemed to have got it. We felt it was coming together but thank goodness for those recordings on The Cloud we could listen to; they gave you an idea of the shape of each song and how all the parts fitted together. But could we sound as strong and secure as the professional voices on the recording? Harvey said we were sounding better than his London choir. There\u2019s nothing better than a hint of rivalry to make a choir up its game.<\/p>\n

Three days before the concert Clara came to rehearsals again. She sounded even better and more moving than before. The night before she and Harvey had been on Radio Three\u2019s InTune programme and Sean Rafferty had mentioned that they would be singing with us, the University of Southampton Voices.\u00a0 Suddenly the last rehearsal was over. In thirty – six hours we would be on stage at the Turner Sims performing with professional musicians. We all went home, switched on our computers and listened to the recordings of our parts.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_2533\"<\/a>Five o\u2019clock: 29th<\/sup> November 2013. The choir members, tired after a week\u2019s work, start to gather in the Turner Sims. After a year we\u2019ve got used to being alone in the hall with Harvey guiding us through the music. Now it\u2019s completely different; there are musicians on the platform and microphones, wires and monitors everywhere. It\u2019s noisy and the atmosphere is serious. We wait to be told what to do. Harvey takes charge; we file into the two rows of seats across the back of the platform and run through our first song. It\u2019s awful; we can\u2019t hear each other, the amplified sound throws us. There mutinous mutterings amongst the tenors. \u00a0\u00a0Can we re-arrange the choir’s seating? There isn\u2019t time or space we are told. We run through the songs very quickly \u2013 some songs sound OK, others sound a shambles. Harvey smiles, he tells us that we sound great from where he\u2019s sitting. We\u2019re relieved and scurry off to grab something to eat, change and have a drink. There is a general consensus that a glass of red wine or a brandy will enhance the voice.<\/p>\n

Back at the hall we cram into the Green Room and line up. This is really serious. Ten minutes<\/p>\n

\"In<\/a>
In the green room before the concert<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

later we\u2019re on the platform facing the audience. It\u2019s for real. Clara sings her first solo songs. She\u2019s even more impressive performing like this. Then Harvey motions us to our feet and we listen to the 21 bars of \u2018Absentia\u2019<\/i> and start singing, the notes come, the sound has been sorted out we can hear each other \u2013 it\u2019s working. Applause! Now it\u2019s \u2018For Whom the Bell Tolls\u2019<\/i>. This is the most challenging song for us; it\u2019s long, there are sustained notes for the choir and the final part is complex but it\u2019s in English! \u00a0We concentrate, glace at our scores, look up at Harvey, breath and sing. Suddenly it\u2019s over and once again there is applause and we\u2019ve successfully sung our most difficult song.<\/p>\n

\"Singing<\/a>
Singing with Clara Sanabras to a full house at Turner Sims<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After that we no longer seem to be in such an unfamiliar situation, we\u2019re doing what we\u2019ve practiced for so long and it\u2019s working. It may not be perfect, but it\u2019s good. The concert ends, there\u2019s applause. Harvey looks very pleased and then mouths \u2018Rumba\u2019 at us. Yes, we\u2019re going to give an encore and it goes really well the second time round and everybody is really happy. [Check out the video of Rumba sin rumbo\/ Ay Carmela below ~ ed.]<\/em><\/p>\n

We file out, compare impressions, exchange \u2018thank yous\u2019<\/i> with Clara and Harvey, have a drink and go home. It has been quite an experience and it\u2019s clear from the emails which fly around during the next week that none of the choir wants it to be our final concert.<\/p>\n

Harvey has sent an email saying that he has \u2018a few ideas\u2019 for 2014. We are impatient to hear what they are!<\/p>\n