Well, actually… because I’ve been so absorbed in my choir and other music projects, I’ve really dropped the ball on this blog-style thing, so let me back track a bit:
SXTS 2024: more than just champagne on arrival…
Our second singing retreat in Queenscliff, Victoria was, it seems, a great success. A wonderful aggregation of chums, fellow-travellers, colleagues, Summersong refugees and novices raised a glass or two, a song or two and a spirit or two over the week. Many thanks to the Uniting Church, Seaview, 360 Degrees, the Shelter Shed, the Sorrento Baths, and the Allpress coffee at Ocean, for catering to our every whim. Many thanks to my co-conspirator, the vivacious and fun Annemarie Sharry, and to all you singers. And illusionists. Our ‘open-mic night’ was an evening studded with surprises, tears, laughter and good-humour, including some premieres: some members who had previously never sung a solo turned in remarkable and moving performances.
Our repertoire contained some tough, some easier material all of which the group made sound rather thrilling in our end of week concert; songs by Zap Mama, the Belmont Silvertone Jubilee Singers, Steppenwolf, Elton John, the Pentecostal Choir of Detroit, songs from South Africa, canons…
Thank you to Jules, Sandy and Leanne for all your work behind the scenes. And finally, a huge thank you to the divine and tireless miss Hing for anticipating every wrinkle in the fabric and creating a seamless and beautiful event. So seamless and beautiful, everyone wants to return: we already have dates for next year….November 17-22.
Summersong 2025: more than just singing in a group…
Predictably this year’s Summersong in Tyalgum was every bit as successful as the 24 previous years’ camps.That may be the only predictable thing about Summersong, in that every year the camp has a fresh (and often indefinable) quality that distinguishes it from previous iterations. It’s always a party, always inspiring, always fun. This year may have been a tad more soul-searching – for instance, the songwriters that attended our new tutor Alice Night’s classes had nothing but praise for her teaching which took them to places within – but still joyful. My choir sessions sometimes painted outside the lines in ways unpredictable and exciting; my vocal impro night was likewise crazy yet contained, with a high degree of listening and a surfeit of ideas. And we’ll do it all again next January. I’ll keep you posted.
And now….It’s a quarter of the way through the year, and already we’ve covered a lot of ground. After Summersong (excellent), our friends’ wedding in Thailand (ditto), a Cafe of the Gate of Salvation weekend retreat (inspiring), workshops in places as exotic and welcoming as Margaret River and Toowoomba, and the regular (and always wonderful) crowds in Melbourne and Brisbane, (phew) we’re now gearing up for the next quarter. A big thank you to Ruth and Mark in Margaret River, Deb and Michael in Toowoomba, Ingrid and Spencer in Brisbane, and Leanne and Ian in Melbourne. A bonus on the Melbourne jaunt was catching up with my friend Kristina Olsen at her Clifton Hill gig with cello virtuoso Peter Grayling – Kristina is always an irreverent, whip-smart and skilful performer, with nice line of bawdy humour.
So, what’s next? The Cafe of the Gate of Salvation has been my main focus so far; arranging and teaching new material, auditioning new members, gigging and generally finding the choir very inspiring. Our most interesting gig was our inclusion in a Brahma Kumaris program ‘The Wayfinders: ordinary people changing the world’, a free event at the Sydney Opera House which also featured James Morrison and Simon Tedeschi. Our one song, the rousing final item, was well-received enough that the audience sang along..
We’ve got some interesting new material to perform (traditional gospel of the kind we’ve often explored eg, Rev. James Cleveland, Thomas Dorsey, plus spirituals and contemporary gospel eg. Sunday Service Choir, Bob Telson, and we’ll be playing with a rhythm section in July. This won’t be a full band this time, it’ll be more like the minimalist instrumental line-up one is likely to hear in a local Black church in Memphis: my longtime colleague Peter Dasent on keys and mutual chum Jeremy Cook on drums. (The Heavenly Light Quartet will also be calling upon Peter and Jeremy for their annual gig at the Gaelic Club in July.)
The big overseas event this year, as you know, is in Morocco in May, and if that works as well as I hope, we’ll do it again next year. (Inshallah.) After Morocco, we’re in Adelaide and Richmond (NSW), both regions where I have a long history and I’m looking forward to hanging with those fabulous groups of singers and chums. And let’s not forget Fiji, Bali and NZ. Naturally, all this is rehearsal for the main event of the year, the wonder that is Singing By The Sea 2025…