2013/14
Voicebeat has continued to flourish and grow through 2013–14, increasingly respected as Glasgow’s World Music Community Choir. We have met weekly on Monday evenings at The Annexe in Stewartville Street, Partick. In February we clocked up ten years of meeting here. During this time we have moved through each of the three large meeting rooms and now occupy the ground floor McCartney Hall. Our previous room, the Milligan Hall, was converted in 2013 to small meeting rooms and offices, and for much of last autumn term was a building site. The seasonal murals in McCartney lend a certain charm to a room that is less light and airy than our former home upstairs. Our numbers are a steady 35 in two semi-circular rows. On public holidays and catch-up rehearsals we met in Kelvinside Hillhead Parish Church’s Session Room (which we are outgrowing), and used Hillhead Baptist Church for our summer meetings and some of our workshops, which were all well attended. Informal parties with singing and refreshments have featured on the last Monday of each term, and we have created a certain ambience. We repair to The Three Judges following rehearsals, where we are sometimes known to break into song: we will miss Ronnie the manager on his retirement. In June we also bade farewell to Greg, our friendly and obliging Annexe jannie.
During 2013–14 we had 68 registered (£2) members, a further 28 non-registered, and occasional visitors just passing through. We have had the pleasure of welcoming and singing with friends from many lands, including Australia, Bosnia, Cameroon, Catalonia, Cyprus, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, USA and Zimbabwe, and from Brazil (where the nuts come from) a lovely lady, opera singer and ballerina, came all the way to Glasgow for her 86th birthday in search of a Celtic harp!
It has been a good year for workshops. Swedish folk quartet Kongero (hosted jointly with Madrigirls), Tim Eriksen on the Sacred Harp tradition, Harry and Katy’s Folk Carols workshop, and Brendan Taaffe’s take on the Commonwealth. It has also been a good year for gigs. Two Folk Carols sessions, in the Dram in Woodlands Road and the Bungo in Pollokshaws Road. One December Sunday we gathered at Silverburn to raise funds for Waverley Care. A novel experience with Voicebeat and Govanhill Voices holding the fort in a truly grand but un-Christmassy venue – we soon elected to sing outside – streets ahead! This set the scene for many more outdoor gigs, carols in Woodlands Community Garden, and three performances at Strathyre Music Festival in May. Nelson Mandela Day in July marked our return to the Hidden Gardens, a favourite venue of Voicebeat’s early years. Here we had opportunity to vocalise our cattle call in The Tramway, a “fine echoey place” David would say, joining Govanhill Voices, Largs Community Choir and Eurydice to sing a number of African songs while the rain descended in stair rods on a lovely multicultural event. Our summer concert, “World Wide Welcome”, was staged in the Kibble Palace on Sunday 22 June, a fine evening during the West End Festival and Scottish Refugee Week. We entertained an appreciative audience and raised a substantial sum to help asylum seekers in Glasgow. There followed a plethora of outdoor gigs linked to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. Festival 2014 invited us to sing at the newly restored Kelvingrove Bandstand to a drenched audience on a dreich Saturday afternoon (2nd August memorable for being the day when the glorious Games weather broke). We were well received in a truly lovely venue with huge capacity and great acoustics, security checks and “KGB” wristbands! Then wringing wet, on to our barbecue at Jackie’s, outdoor cooking, indoor eating, quiz and singsong. Rain was threatening rain two weeks later when we sang for Commonwealth Connections in Victoria Park. A good audience in a marquee, and still plenty of Commonwealth bunting about. On the very next day, a fine Sunday afternoon, we sang at the bandstand in Mugdock Country Park, an informal two hour gig in a lovely walled garden to a random audience, mostly our friends and relations!
I think we had one indoor gig this year, at the Glad Café. Also in March we enjoyed a Weekend Away to Millport, staying for the first time in The College of the Holy Spirit and Cathedral of the Isles on Great Cumbrae. Good weather, good food and excellent accommodation, we were their biggest group ever. We lost an hour here, learned some interesting repertoire, and managed to squeeze in a short recital in the UK’s smallest cathedral, which enjoys a great musical tradition.
Karen Ewing
Secretary
During 2013–14 we had 68 registered (£2) members, a further 28 non-registered, and occasional visitors just passing through. We have had the pleasure of welcoming and singing with friends from many lands, including Australia, Bosnia, Cameroon, Catalonia, Cyprus, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, USA and Zimbabwe, and from Brazil (where the nuts come from) a lovely lady, opera singer and ballerina, came all the way to Glasgow for her 86th birthday in search of a Celtic harp!
It has been a good year for workshops. Swedish folk quartet Kongero (hosted jointly with Madrigirls), Tim Eriksen on the Sacred Harp tradition, Harry and Katy’s Folk Carols workshop, and Brendan Taaffe’s take on the Commonwealth. It has also been a good year for gigs. Two Folk Carols sessions, in the Dram in Woodlands Road and the Bungo in Pollokshaws Road. One December Sunday we gathered at Silverburn to raise funds for Waverley Care. A novel experience with Voicebeat and Govanhill Voices holding the fort in a truly grand but un-Christmassy venue – we soon elected to sing outside – streets ahead! This set the scene for many more outdoor gigs, carols in Woodlands Community Garden, and three performances at Strathyre Music Festival in May. Nelson Mandela Day in July marked our return to the Hidden Gardens, a favourite venue of Voicebeat’s early years. Here we had opportunity to vocalise our cattle call in The Tramway, a “fine echoey place” David would say, joining Govanhill Voices, Largs Community Choir and Eurydice to sing a number of African songs while the rain descended in stair rods on a lovely multicultural event. Our summer concert, “World Wide Welcome”, was staged in the Kibble Palace on Sunday 22 June, a fine evening during the West End Festival and Scottish Refugee Week. We entertained an appreciative audience and raised a substantial sum to help asylum seekers in Glasgow. There followed a plethora of outdoor gigs linked to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. Festival 2014 invited us to sing at the newly restored Kelvingrove Bandstand to a drenched audience on a dreich Saturday afternoon (2nd August memorable for being the day when the glorious Games weather broke). We were well received in a truly lovely venue with huge capacity and great acoustics, security checks and “KGB” wristbands! Then wringing wet, on to our barbecue at Jackie’s, outdoor cooking, indoor eating, quiz and singsong. Rain was threatening rain two weeks later when we sang for Commonwealth Connections in Victoria Park. A good audience in a marquee, and still plenty of Commonwealth bunting about. On the very next day, a fine Sunday afternoon, we sang at the bandstand in Mugdock Country Park, an informal two hour gig in a lovely walled garden to a random audience, mostly our friends and relations!
I think we had one indoor gig this year, at the Glad Café. Also in March we enjoyed a Weekend Away to Millport, staying for the first time in The College of the Holy Spirit and Cathedral of the Isles on Great Cumbrae. Good weather, good food and excellent accommodation, we were their biggest group ever. We lost an hour here, learned some interesting repertoire, and managed to squeeze in a short recital in the UK’s smallest cathedral, which enjoys a great musical tradition.
Karen Ewing
Secretary
