Popping my Pinkie Cherry…
Another season is over and we’re almost in the throes of starting our new season in February. In the meantime, our ‘no-longer-a-newbie’ bass Paul reflects on his first performance as a Pinkie following our sell-out Legends concert…
It’s almost easy to forget that the weekly social event where there’s some singing, some dancing and a few beers with amazing people, that I have been blessed to be a part of for the last four months is all actually in preparation for one of the biggest nights in the London LGBT entertainment calendar.
One minute it’s late September and I’m immersing myself in a wad of new sheet music and wondering how the hell I’m ever going to pronounce anything in Latin. Next minute I’m donning a pink rose and stepping out in front of a crowded Cadogan hall, wondering quite how I ended up part of such an amazing family of wonderful people, and putting on a performance that gave me chills.
A small part of me actually doubted whether I could master the repertoire, but looking back, it shows what some excellent direction, a little dedication and lots and lots and lots and lots of repetition can do. And as soon as the nerves settled, and I got into the swing of the performance, including a fabulously flamboyant interlude from the Mallorcan Gay Men’s Chorus, the devastating realisation occurred that it was about to be all over.
My highlights were certainly the palpable ‘pin drop’ atmosphere at the end of ‘Both Sides Now’, the ‘thumbs up’ of acknowledgement from John to the choir after conducting the moving performance of ‘Blackbird’ and the audience’s laughter during ‘Gay versus Straight Composers’. it’s these moments that create a high, a bit like a drug and almost certainly as addictive, so bring on season two, I’m ready for my next fix!
Paul
Photo credit: All photos by Graham Martin: www.eventpics.biz
Timeline datestamp: 10 January 2015