Keilor Primary School – Côr Bach

“Superlative” “lovely voices” “such joy” “Loved the harmony” “Very talented group” “Very professional, very moving, very spiritual” “overwhelmed” “loved the singing and the harmonies” “Brilliant! Just loved every minute” “beautiful harmonies” “so glad I came” “Going home singing” “great audience participation” “fun and fulfilling” “uplifting” “Please come back” “Heavenly voices” “touches my heart” “MORE, MORE, MORE” “You have it all” “Price charged was too cheap!”

On the afternoon of 8th December 2013 Vic Welsh’s Côr Bach (small choir) presented a concert for the Brimbank City Council at Keilor Primary School. 

In memory of Nelson Mandela, whose death had recently been announced, we opened with Nkosi Sikelel’iAfrika (God Bless Africa), the hymn written in the Xhosa language which has now become part of the South African National Anthem. 

We started the first half with three staples of the Welsh repertoire, Men of Harlech, We’ll Keep a Welcome and Cwm Rhondda (Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer). The audience joined in the last verse of the latter, and then every chorus of the fun song Hymns and Arias, led by Ambrose Morgan.  The lullaby Si Hei Lwli ‘Mabi and Anfonaf Angel (I’ll send an angel) were followed by Rushan Hewawasam and Drew Hopkins singing Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears. The half ended with Working Man (solo Bob Ash), the stunning Pemulwuy and the Rutter arrangement of When the Saints Go Marching In, with more audience participation.

The choir opened the second half with two more Welsh songs, Yr Utgorn (the Trumpet) and Yfory (Tomorrow).  After singing Maria, Roger Bartlett was joined by Rushan for a blended version of Little Drummer Boy and Peace on Earth. We maintained the Christmas theme with O Holy Night (solo Barry McMahon) before launching into a “Kaleidoscope” of songs with different soloists – the Anvil Chorus (Colin Evans on the anvil), You’ll Never Walk Alone (Ken Simpson), Blue Moon (Drew Hopkins) and Little Deuce Coupe (Ed Hughes). We finished with a medley of five tunes from Les Miserables (solo Roger Bartlett) and, as an encore, Eli Jenkins’ Prayer.

The audience’s enthusiasm can be gauged from the following comments:

Just beautiful!! An enjoyable afternoon. ~ Lorraine

Just to say we really enjoyed the concert and all the solos. ~ Kelvin

Superlative – from my heart, God bless. ~ John

Enjoyed every moment. ~ Aurora

Loved today’s concert. Wonderful to listen to those beautiful male voices. Enjoyed the variety.  ~ Barbara

Great program and great performance, and audience participation. Liked program, humour songs.  ~ Helen

Thank you all for such lovely voices. I hope your group continues to grow and bring such joy to everyone. ~ Jean

Loved the harmony. Thought the key changes excellent. ~ Ron

A wonderful afternoon’s entertainment. Very talented group of people. ~ Carmel

Absolutely fantastic. Loved it. Very entertaining. Thank you. ~ Dianne

Absolutely fabulous. Great presentation. Loved it all. ~ Norma

Very professional, very moving, very spiritual. I’m glad we came. ~ Ken

We were overwhelmed by the performance at Keilor today and appreciate the amount of work and talent involved. ~ Joan

I loved the singing and the harmonies. Loved the last song (Sunset Poem – Ed). ~ Margaret

Brilliant! Just loved every minute of the performance. ~ Carmel

Choir excellent. ~ Les

Really enjoyed the choir singing. Look forward to hearing them again in the new year. Wish them success in the future. ~ Cora

Very interesting. I loved it. ~ Mathilda

What a pleasure to listen to ‘singing’. Long may you keep going. ~ Sheila

I really enjoyed the introduction to each song – really created an atmosphere. Really beautiful harmonies and lovely authentic smiling choir. Bubbly conductor, made me smile. ~ Cat

I’m so glad I came for the concert. It was great to hear the fantastic voices and the very professional way the concert was held. I enjoyed it very much. ~ Dawn

Your programme was just so lovely – organist terrific. My late father was of Welsh descent and my late husband and I used to travel around Melbourne to hear the choir. ~ Joyce

Fantastic concert, compere and organist. Going home singing. Thank you. ~ Greta

Wonderful presentation, very professional and great audience participation. ~ Judy

My great pleasure and privilege to be here. Thank you for coming to Keilor – and for widening my musical experience further. I now will remember you and my recent experience at Opera at the Bowl when I play the CD We are one. ~ Annette

Fantastic way to spend an afternoon. A real treat. thank YOU. ~ Marilyn

Thank you very much for your performance. What a great way to spend this afternoon. It was great to hear the background of the songs. Keep on enjoying singing together. ~ Marolyn

Thank you for such and fun and fulfilling concert. I loved the audience participation, the history behind the music and the beautiful harmonies. An uplifting experience.  How about a Xmas CD? Please come back to Brimbank. ~ Sarina

Enjoyed the concert immensely. High standard for work and interaction with the audience. ~ Leesa

Wonderful choir experience. Heavenly voices, wonderful experience. ~ Virginia

It’s all about enjoyment. Your type of music touches my heart. It is great to join in. I love the harmony. MORE, MORE, MORE!  ~ Anne

A great performance: Humour, drama, sensitive, audience performance. You have it all. Thank you. ~ Maureen

Very enjoyable as always. Price charged was too cheap! ~ Mrs A.G.F.