In the run up to our winter concert ‘Sleighing It!’, Debbie Lammin (Choir Director for Chamber Choir of Burntwood School) writes a message to the Pinkies.
Greetings from the Chamber Choir of Burntwood School! We are very much looking forward to joining all of you Pinkies for the Christmas extravaganza at Cadogan Hall!
As Gareth, Pink Singers Events Manager, noted when he sent us your invitation, our two choirs are very close in their aims. We are also very close in age – just three years younger than you. The choir was born in 1986 when Mayfield and Garratt Green Schools amalgamated to become Burntwood, and we started with about a dozen girls singing in unison. Now you need quite a big chamber to fit us all inside, and the singing has grown in stature too – over the years we’ve sung at every major concert hall in London, recorded with the RPO at Abbey Road and Pinewood Studios, represented England at the Llangollen International Eistedfodd, sung for HM the Queen three times and danced in the aisles of St Martin in the Fields with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, to mention just a few of the highlights.
Burntwood Chamber Choir at the British Museum for World Peace Day 2018
We’ve had a busy term so far, singing at the British Museum on World Peace Day and then performing Lucy Pankhurst’s new Suffragette Anthem at the Women of the Year lunch (we sing wearing the colours of the women’s suffrage movement!), but the nature of school choirs means that we have a constantly rolling membership and as we were last at Cadogan Hall in 2013, this will be a new and exciting experience for almost all of the choir – definitely another highlight in the making.
Burntwood ChamberChoir with Helen Pankhurst
Our performance style is very different from yours, so hopefully we can celebrate the differences and enjoy coming together for the festive finale – none of the girls are old enough to remember the original Stevie Wonder, but I’m afraid I am!
Until December……….
Debbie Lammin
Choir Director, Burntwood School
Debbie Lammin at the British Museum on World Peace Day Sept 2018
Don’t forget tickets for our next concert Sleighing It! on 15 December 2018 are on sale now – Grab them here!
Featuring fantastic arrangements of your favourite festive songs, plus some unexpected treats from around the world. All presented with the panache and style that the Pink Singers are famous for.
There are gifts for everyone including the magic of the bells, Santa and his elves, plus a Christmas character who is rather more curmudgeonly!
Our special guests this year are the award-winning Burntwood Chamber Choir. Girls from the Burntwood School in Tooting have sung at every major concert hall in London, recorded and given concerts with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and made film scores at Abbey Road and Pinewood Studios.
Bring your friends and family and enjoy some uplifting music to kick-off your festive fun.
£30, £25, £20, £15, £10
Senior citizens, students, disabled and unemployed: 10% reduction off top four prices.
Group bookings of 6+, 10% off the top three seat prices. Box office 0207 730 4500
Wahooo! Newbie Mark relives the excitement of our recent concert, A Night At The Movies, the sequel. Which was epic.
I’d been waiting for this day to arrive since I joined the Pink Singers in the Autumn of 2017. With my outfits packed and a bubbling sense of excitement in my belly, I treated myself to an Uber that drove me through Chelsea to Cadogan hall. I thought it quite rare and fortunate that this particular driver was playing a classical compilation CD in his car, which set my anxious and excited mind somewhat to rest as I absorbed the lovely architecture on the way to the hall.
I arrived, and eagerly ran to the door because I was, as always, fashionably late. At the door I was greeted by Penny, elegantly puffing the last embers of a fag before our call, and she directed me down through the somewhat arcane stairways of the former Church of Christian Science to the basement changing rooms. Once downstairs, I was able to greet a few of my chorister comrades before the pre-concert work would begin.
The day was long and hard. We spent it practicing entries and ironing out creases, and I tried my best not to annoy an anxious Murray and poorly Jerome. Our lovely hostess’s sass kept me entertained as we ran through the numbers and the various steps we’d have to take in, out, and about the stage. Seeing the video accompaniment for the first time, I’m once again impressed with the talent that this choir endlessly seems capable of deploying.
At last, a coffee break. A cigarette (or two). And then running through the second half. By now the excitement was welling within me. We had our pre-concert dinner break and I wolfed down the squashed yellow sticker sandwich I’d bought on the way in. Night had fallen and some people were arriving at the hall. I couldn’t wait to see the rows of seats full of our Pinkie friends.
Photo credit: Jess Rowbottom
We’ve worked hard on this one. All those Sunday afternoons’ labours were about to come to fruition. I’m lined up on the stairs, taking deep breathes to calm my nerves. Simon informs me that I’ve been referred to as the one with the Tarzan hair. I ruffle my mane in response. Basses and Tenors are joshing about in hushed (not always) voices as we wait for a cue to walk on stage. These moments of pre-performance excitement are my favourite. In this moment, the potential for beauty is almost palpable. I dwell momentarily upon the collective intention, logistcal efforts, thought, planning, practice, talent, and no small measure of love too, is about to collide into a musical explosion.
This is it. My first Pinkie’s concert. I think it was somewhere in the middle of the Indiana Jones theme that I’ve taken my position. I’m scanning the crowd for my brother, but can’t seem to see much past the lights. Of course, I notice a few cute faces in the crowd. There’s so many people! It’s basically a full house! And then there’s the banner of Richard’s face hanging from the balcony. Legendary. Cue the Universal theme, and we’re off!
Mark (far right) getting into the choreo.Photo credit: Jess Rowbottom
The first half goes so quickly. It feels like being in an altered state of consciousness, where the music flows our of me without deliberate effort. My whole attention rests on integrating my memory of the music, the auditory information from around me, and the motions of Murray’s hand guiding our collective voice. And the dancing. I’m proud of myself for changing my attitude to choreography. My confidence has grown. I’ve found a new way to express myself.
It’s interval. I should quit smoking… Maybe not just yet. Time for a quick wardrobe change. Gods! This is a damn good looking choir! Adorned in all the colours of the rainbow, these beautiful bodies, voices, and souls stand proud and ready. We’re back, and looking fabulous! My feet hurt, my eyes feel strained, but the adrenaline is coarsing through my veins. I’m giving it my all, playing the congas, shouting about your mum in the tube hole, focusing on keeping time and sensitive dynamics, and not bashing my neighbour when we Flashdance for our final number.
When I was later to see the videos my brother took of some of the performance, I learned that I look so happy when I let myself go and just do the moves without self-doubt. And you know what? I realise how lucky I am to have this space to be my gay self with pride. Being part of this choir has helped me accept myself more as a gay man; an ongoing process for many if not all LGBTQ+ folks. I’ve grown in a way I could never have done otherwise than being a part of this choir. I am grateful for this unique opportunity.
A Night at the Movies: The Sequel Jan 2018Photo by Jess Rowbottom / Hotfox Media
The concert is done, and we’re milling about Cadogan before heading off to the afterparty. I say a few hellos, and all I hear from everyone is about how they absolutely loved it. My brother is impressed, and finally understands why I disappear for hours every Sunday. He can’t believe how professional it was. Born Slippy and O Fortuna were his favourites. I have a last puff on my post concert fag (this really has to stop soon though!) before heading back in to lend a hand setting down the stage. After lugging bits of stage and poles to the van, one of the stage crew asks if I’d like an old confetti cannon that the theatre was throwing out. I jumped at the opportunity, stroking my new one-use toy. I have a plan.
I rush off to the afterparty. Good cheer abides! And what an epic venue – Kirsten is a genius. I can’t quite remember how I got the drinks I did, but they were hardly necessary given the elation one feels post-concert. The bodies are moving. Colours are everywhere. Smiles, joy, new faces and familiar ones, young, and old, and all shapes and sizes. I’m waiting for my moment. The DJ plays Born Slippy. I wait for the wall of sound, poised on the balcony above the dance floor. The beat stops and the moment arrives. I unleash the confetti and it feels like time slows down. Colours flitter in the air. It’s one of those pure and rare peak moments in time. I am happy.
See you next season!
The original performance of ‘A Night At The Movies’ was on 20 January 2018 at Cadogan Hall, London
Philip, a longtime member of the Pinkies, looks back on a concert of some of our most special arrangements…
Our winter concert in 2016 showcased the diversity and talent of our members through their very own choral arrangements and compositions. Most pieces were specially arranged for the Pinkies by choir members, along with some iconic classical commissions. Well, we needed an excuse to sing Handel’s Zadok the Priest! Also included was a piece specially commissioned for our 30th Anniversary in 2013 from composer Richard Thomas: I, Choir.
The concert opened with an arrangement of the Electric Light Orchestra’s Mr Blue Sky by Michael Derrick, who joined the choir in 1987 and has been arranging songs for us ever since. Kate Bush has many fans in the choir and two of her songs were featured: Running Up That Hill (arranged by Simon Pearson) and This Woman’s Work (arranged by Andy Mitchinson).
One of our most prolific arrangers is Chris from the basses, who joined the choir in 2008. We sang his first ever arrangement for the Pinkies, Bob Dylan’s Make You Feel My Love, as well as Chris’s arrangements of Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s Relax and a new version of epic pop hit Chandelier by Sia. Soprano Naomi came up with a fabulous arrangement of Video Killed The Radio Star, while ex-Pinkie Fran composed some beautiful music to the poem Lake Isle of Innisfree by the Irish poet W.B.Yeats.
The concert also featured two talented home-grown small groups comprised of current and ex-Pinkies– the bubbly Barberfellas (www.barberfellas.com) and the high-spirited Gin and Harmonics (www.ginandharmonics.com). For those of you who missed the concert most of these pieces were recorded for our latest CD appropriately entitled By Special Arrangement.
The Pinkies performing Video Killed the Radio Star
A Night at the Movies was the culmination of my first season with the Pinkies, and so I was continually reminded I was “popping my Pinkie cherry”. Prior to joining the choir, I had never been to a Pinkies concert. Although I had performed in choirs for many years in Sydney, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Would I be nervous? Would it be a professional appearance? Would the concert ‘come together’ on the night? Any uncertainty I had was soon eased upon arriving at the venue. As I walked from the Underground station to the venue, there was the most glorious parade of Pinkies carrying the most sensational array of hat boxes, suit bags, suitcases full of makeup, the obligatory feather boas and of course the absolutely necessary glitter that is required for such a concert. There had been many months of rehearsals leading into the big day. There had been a lot of blood sweat and tears – and literally tears from all of us on different occasions trying as we tried to memorise repertoire and choralography (aka choreography for choirs). The afternoon of the show was spent in a full technical rehearsal. It went something like this… Start a song. Stop midway. Move to the right. Readjust lighting levels. Have a sip of water. Start the song again. Stop again. We’d moved too far to the right. Shuffle the left. No the other left. No no. Keep going. Have a sip of water. Have a chat amongst ourselves. Fix the balance between the band and the choir. Have another chat. Okay start again. Repeat. Next song. Repeat the process. Have another sip of water. I was soon starting to realise any apprehension I had about the concert had been far too premature. What was quickly unfurling was an A-Grade professional performance of the highest calibre – choir, bigband, piano, solos, movement, lighting, videos, audience interaction, emotion. There was an apparent degree of pre-performance preparation and thought put in by a very talented team of Pinkies. We were scheduled to deliver a fun-filled and spectacular evening. Continue reading “Stepping into the limelight for the first time!”
