‘A Burst of Song’. Something for everyone…
…a sea shanty, Drunken Sailor – and a spiritual, Deep River
…classic Cole Porter, Every Time We Say Goodbye – and another, Let’s Do It
…from The Wizard of Oz, Over the Rainbow – and from Phenomenon, Change the World
…classical choral Fauré, Cantique de Jean Racine – and modern choral Whitacre, With a Lily in Your Hand
…a jazzy number, Lullaby of Birdland – and another, I Got Rhythm
…big hit pop from The Jackson 5, I’ll Be There – and from Madonna, Like a Prayer
…unrequited love from Stephen Sondheim, Send in the Clowns – and more from Billy Joel, And So It Goes
…a favourite carol from Sweden, Härlig är Jorden – and a bit of camp, Proud Mary
…it’s all there. What are you waiting for? Book now! Book here our box office.
Tickets £10 to £30.
Groups ordering five or more full price tickets: save £3 on each ticket.
60 or over, 16 or under, full-time students, unemployed: save £3 on full price ticket.
7.30 pm Saturday 8 January 2011, Cadogan Hall, 5 Sloane Terrace, SW1X 9DQ.
Sloane Square tube – five minutes.
With guest choir Manchester Lesbian and Gay Chorus.
‘A Burst of Song’ breaks a leg
It is quite safe to say that in an LGBT choir we are bound to have more than our fair share of Elaine Paige devotees. She has her own radio show on BBC Radio 2 at 1 pm every Sunday, and you can imagine that a number of us tune in religiously to hear her present her favourite songs from musical theatre on the way in to rehearsal. Simon is clearly one of these Pinkies and he lent his dulcet tones to promote our upcoming concert ‘A Burst of Song‘.
In her radio show, Elaine supports amateur singing and theatrical groups by giving them the chance to speak to a national audience in the ‘Break A Leg’ segment. In case you missed it, you can hear Simon’s little blurb in her last show after the break. He’ll definitely convince you to get tickets to come see us at Cadogan Hall on 8 January 2011! Continue reading “‘A Burst of Song’ breaks a leg”
Backstage pass: All the right moves
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLKQFL5aeqo
With just six weeks to go until the New Year concert on Saturday, 8 January 2011, you’d be right in assuming the pressure is on to get the singing down pat, but our regular fans will also recognize that we put in loads of work to perfect the choreography as well. This season we’re debuting two pieces with entirely new moves and, in a choir where moving is ninth or tenth nature, the end result really is the hard work of all the Pinkies.
No-one works harder than our choreographers Karin, Oli and Rachel though, but in between rehearsals they stopped for minute and sat down in front of the camera for a heart-to-heart chat. Watch the interview for a behind-the-scenes look at how they got into dancing, where they get their inspiration from, what they get out of working with the choir, and what you can expect to see at ‘A Burst of Song’. And if you look closely, you’ll also catch a glimpse of the Pinkies rehearsing Proud Mary!
Wondering whether their — and our — hard work has paid off? Get your tickets and come see us in the new year!
A pink Christmas for Marie Curie
Marie Curie works with terminally ill cancer patients, championing new ways of helping them to have compassionate and appropriate end-of-life care. The Pinkies have been doing Christmas carolling for Marie Curie for the last three years and this year we’re coming out again in support.
We had a great time showing our holiday spirit in the station last year. Although it was pretty cold in there, moving around, singing and wearing tinsel and Santa hats warmed us all up. Oh and we got these super duper “permission to ply your musical trade” ID badges for the day. We did a combination of Christmas carols (with some guitar accompaniment) and part of our a capella repertoire, including our awarding-winning rendition of Now is the Month of Maying. Okay, it was perhaps not a traditional Christmas offering, by hey, why not? We got a prize for it! We ended with the Pinkie traditional reward of a nice drink in the pub, a good time was had by audience and singers alike, and this year we can sing it again, all for a worthy cause. Do join us!
It gets better: behind the scenes
Last month we filmed our contribution to the It Gets Better Project. What struck me was the enthusiasm with which the Pinkies supported the making of this video. Within a week of the original YouTube upload by Dan Savage and his husband going viral on Facebook, we knew we had to take part, and a fortnight later, there we were in the break between rehearsals speaking into the camera. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised, because we all have our own stories of coming out, but what I did find unexpected was the heartfelt honesty with which the Pink Singers spoke about their own lives. We are all good friends in the choir, yet there are some things which just don’t come up in conversation, because they are perhaps too personal. So it was a privilege indeed to hear what our members wanted to share with those kids who are being bullied for being different, who have no-one to turn to, and who think their own lives are uniquely dark: you are not alone and things do get better.
Have a look at some of the photos taken behind the scenes, and do check out our video, as well as the hundreds of other videos on the It Gets Better Project website. We are the Pink Singers and we’re here to say, “It gets better!”