Wirral Community Choir
The Wirral Community Choir
Directed by Graham Connolly
presents
CHRISTMAS AT ST. WERBURGHS
11th December 2009 at 7:30 pm.
Featuring soloists Nick Hardy and Daniel Shelvey
Accompanied by Jason Ellis supported by Stephen Mannings
Compèred by Alan Derrick
PROGRAMME
1. Processional
O Come all ye faithful (John F. Wade, 1711-1786)
2. Choir
Gloria (Antonio Vivaldi 1678-1741)
Torches (John Joubert, 1927- )
3. Nick Hardy
Recondita Armonia (Giacomo Puccini 1858-1924: Tosca)
4. Choir
Long time ago in Bethlehem / Mary’s boy child (Jester Joseph Hairston 1901-2000)
5. Daniel Shelvey
If I loved you (Richard Rodgers, 1902-1979 and Oscar Hammerstein, 1895-1960: Carousel)
6. Choir
Steal away (traditional, arranged Graham Connolly)
7. Ensemble
Long Ago(Johannes Brahms, 1833-1897: Lullaby arranged Graham Connolly)
8. Nick Hardy
Che gelida manina (Giacomo Puccini 1858-1924: La Bohème)
9. Audience
The first Noel(traditional)
10. Choir with Nick Hardy and Daniel Shelvey:
Sequence of songs from Les Misérables (Claude-Michel Schönberg, 1944-, Alain Boublil, 1941-, and Herbert Kretzmer, 1925- )
Do you hear the people sing?
Bring him home
Stars
One day more
INTERVAL
11. Choir
Hallelujah Chorus (George Friedrich Händel, 1685-1759: Messiah)
12. Audience
Away in a manger (traditional)
13. Joyce Kench and Daniel Shelvey
Music playing: “The Merry Widow waltz” (Franz Léhar 1870-1948: The Merry Widow)
14. Joan Braidwood
Christmas reading: The 12 days of Christmas
15. Choir
Winter Wonderland (Felix Barnard, 1897-1944, and Richard B Smith, 1901-1935)
Silent Night(arranged Horace Shepherd, 1892-1960)
16. Nick Hardy
O Holy Night (Adolphe Adam, 1803-1856)
17. Audience
Jingle Bells (James Lord Pierpont 1822-1893)
18. Nick Hardy
Ahmes amis, quel jour de fête: “Pour mon Âme” (Gaetano Donizetti, 1797-1848: La fille du régiment / The Daughter of the Regiment)
19. Daniel Shelvey with the choir
Under the Mistletoe
20. Choir
Edelweiss (Richard Rodgers, 1902-1979 and Oscar Hammerstein, 1895-1960: The sound of music)
Have yourself a merry little Christmas (Hugh Martin, 1914- , and Ralph Blane, 1914 -1995: Meet me in St. Louis)
21. Nick Hardy and Daniel Shelvey
Au fond du temple (In the depths of the temple): Pearl fishers’ duet (Georges Bizet, 1838-1875: The Pearl Fishers)
22. Choir
Lord we pray / Intermezzo (Pietro Mascagni 1863-1945: Cavalleria rusticana. Words and arrangement by Graham Connolly)
23. Audience
Hark the herald angels sing (Felix Mendelssohn, 1809-1847)
we wish you a merry Christmas (traditional, arranged by Graham Connolly)
The Wirral Community Choir began in 2006, under the direction of Graham Connolly. The choir has grown rapidly into a large community choir of male and female voices singing in harmony. With a growing reputation for excellence, the choir usually gives 5-6 concerts a year, performing in a variety of venues on the WirralPeninsula, in Liverpool, and across Merseyside. The choir sings all kinds of music from ballads and show songs, to pop and classical, including an opera chorus or two.
The choir is a part of the community outreach programme of Birkenhead Sixth Form College. and the Choir’s president is Kathryn Podmore, Principal of the College. For more information about the choir and how to join, consult the website: or contact Birkenhead Sixth Form College, Park Road West, Claughton Village, Wirral CH43 BSQ. (T: 0151 651 3718)
Dates for your diary
18th December 2009 at 7:30 in the Adelphi Hotel, Liverpool
Christmas with Kathryn Rudge and the Wirral Community Choir, directed by Graham Connolly.
Tickets: £11:00 including Christmas refreshments
4thMarch 2010 at 7:30 at St. Catherine’s Church, Higher Tranmere
Thank you for the music, featuring the Wirral Community Choir directed by Graham Connolly.
Tickets: £6:00.
26thMarch 2010 at the Floral Pavilion, New Brighton
The Merseyside Young Singer of the Year finals, featuring the Wirral Community Choir directed by Graham Connolly.
17th April 2010 in the Adelphi Hotel, Liverpool
George Gallagher sings with the Wirral Community Choir directed by Graham Connolly.
10th June 2010 at Birkenhead Sixth Form College, Claughton
A concert for family and friends presented by the Wirral Community Choir directed by Graham Connolly.
15th July 2010 at Birkenhead Sixth Form College, Claughton
A Summer Concert presented by the Wirral Community Choir directed by Graham Connolly.
23 October 2010 at St George’s Hall, Liverpool
Rotary Club of Liverpool Gala Concert featuring Wirral Community Choir, directed by Graham Connolly.
Tickets for all concerts are available from Mavis Owens
Telephone: 0151-652-6373 or
Email:
Graham Connolly, Musical Director and Conductor, Wirral Community Choir. Graham has had a lifetime of musical experiencesnot only in conducting choirs and music societies, but also as a singer specialising in opera and musical theatre. He is well known as a vocal tutor and for establishing the now famous, Rotary Club of Liverpool Merseyside Young Singer of the Year competition in conjunction with the BBC.
Graham started his musical life singing as a young man with the Liverpool Christian Chorale. He then went to work in Manchester where he met up with the well known music coach, Alan Warrington, who suggested that Graham study at the Royal Northern College of Music. Here Graham was taught by Alexander Young and John Cameron, two famous singers who performed regularly with Sir Malcolm Sargent.He studied the great baritone roles of Mozart, Verdi and Puccini.Graham was also concert manager to the Liverpool Welsh Choral for 24 years working with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and conductors like Sir David Willcocks, Sir Alexander Gibson and Owain Arwel Hughes.
Nick Hardy, Tenor Soloist. Nick performs widely as a chorister and extra chorister, for Scottish Opera, English National Opera and Welsh National Opera. For Scottish Opera, he has also sung 1st Footman and 2nd Waiter in Der Rosenkavalier, a fragment of Tonik in Smetana’s The Two Widows, and Tobacco Vendor in Manon, and has also covered Tikhon in Katya Kabanova. He is currently playing the “green/invisible man” in Colin McColl’s revolutionary production of Rossini's L’Italianna in Algeri. For Buxton Festival Opera he covered the title role in Offenbach’s Bluebeard. For smaller companies he has sung 30 major roles. He has also sung many major roles in oratorios throughout the UK, most notably Verdi’s Requiem and Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius.
Daniel Shelvey, Baritone Soloist: Daniel is just nineteenyears old, and currentlyin his secondyear of study at the Royal Northern College of Music. Daniel has studied singing since he was twelve with a line of great teachers including Polly Beck, Nick Hardy and Jeff Lawton and after winning the prestigious Merseyside Young Singer of the Yearcompetition in 2006, gaineda place on the Royal Northern College of Music vocal and opera studies course with a scholarship in 2008. Daniel has beena soloist and chorus member ofthe Liverpool Italian OperaCompany andBirkenhead Operatic Society Trust, with whomhe has taken part in many successful shows. Daniel has been in the opera chorus of DieFledermaus, Katya Kabanova and La Belle Hèlène and recently toured Handel's Israel in Egypt with the Royal Northern College of Music. He alsotookthe leading role of Bernado in theRoyal Northern College of Music’s production of West Side Story. Daniel has also performed in many enjoyable concerts with theWirral CommunityChoir.
Jason Ellis, Deputy Musical Director, Wirral Community Choir and Accompanist: Jasonwas born in Castleford and initially studiedat Leeds College of Music. He recently graduated from LiverpoolUniversity with a BA (Hons) in Music. At Liverpool, he studied pianowith Eva Warren and composition with James Wishart and Professor Michael Talbot. Heenjoys a varied career as a professional recitalist, accompanist, composer and arranger. Jason has maintained a high standard in competitions, including the Viscount Leverhulme Cup in 2007, the Rushworth & Dreaper Rose Bowl in 2008 and the 2009 Keith Hill Cup for a performance of Beethoven’s Sonata Op.22 at the Chester Music Festival. He has performed withmembers of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestraat theLiverpool Philharmonic Halland recorded for BBC Radio Merseyside. Jason has performed several solo piano recitals as well as with many small ensembles while in Merseyside. Currently Jason is the Deputy Director of Music of the Wirral Community Choir and performs regularly with them in his role as accompanist. He is also atutor of piano and has trained and taught at the Yamaha School of Music, and was recently involved with training a choir in conjunction with BBC Radio Merseyside in aid of Liverpool 800. Recent engagements include performing at the Lancashire Recital Series, an Opera Gala at St Barnabas Church, Bromborough, and an Italian Song recital at Liverpool Parish Church. Most recently Jason performed at Radio Merseyside/Nugent Care’s Carols for Merseyside concert at the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral. In 2010, Jason will be the official accompanist for the Merseyside Young Singer of the Year competition, and is looking forward to being involved with many more concerts with the Wirral Community Choir.
Stephen Mannings, Accompanist.Stephen began his musical career early on in life, studying the piano from the age of five and taking Grade 8 at the age of fifteen. During this time Stephen was the Parish Organist at St. Thomas More RC Churchin Aigburth and at All Saints Church in Anfield. Stephen combines music with the world of business, having gained a Bachelor's degree in Business and an MBA in General Management from BangorUniversity. Upon his return to Liverpool, Stephen took up the position of Crypt Organist at the Metropolitan Cathedral, where he is now also Director of the Junior Choir. Stephen enjoys a busy and fruitful musical life: he works with choirs in schools as part of the Cathedral's education arm, and he undertakesa large number of performance projects with other singers in and around Merseyside. Stephen also works as a freelance musician at weddings, as a Parish Organist at St. CharlesBorromeoChurch in Aigburth, and maintains a large base of private piano tutees. Currently, Stephen is working towards playing nationally in touring musical theatre productions –an area he is particularly passionate about.
Alan Derrick, compère. Alan has been associated with the Wirral Community Choir since its inception in 2006. A valued member of the Wirral Community Choir team, he regularly teaches the choir some elements of musical theory, and supports the director and the accompanists in various ways. A talented Jazz musician in his own right, Alan recently accompanied Joyce Kench in a series of Broadway numbers in the Birkenhead Music in the park series.
A Merry Christmas to you all, and a very happy new year
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