Upwey
“Beautiful sound from the choir….Very enjoyable. Humor is great too!!”
“Loved the beautiful harmonies. I was moved to tears many times.”
“It was very obvious everyone performing was very happy. That finale was so emotional.”
“The guys were absolutely great – consistent and harmonious – and the last song was very moving”
“PS And Skylark band was great too.”
From the Valleys to the Hills was the name of our Sunday afternoon concert at the very well-appointed Burrinja Theatre in Upwey. After the introductory number What Would I Do Without My Music, compère Tony Davies made the point that Victoria Welsh Choir not only performs all over the state but our choristers come from as far north as Echuca and as far south as Mt Martha. The choir’s very active Bendigo branch was well-represented and we even had one member who had journeyed from our fledgling Ballarat outpost by train.
The patriotic O Gymru was followed by the iconic Working Man, introduced and energetically sung by bass Geoff Serpell, to much acclaim. Blaenwern (Love Divine) was next before the popular Cwm Rhondda. Faleiry coaxed the audience into joining in with the choruses, which they were happy and eager to do.
Our guest artists, the nine-piece Skylarks (the resident house band at the centre) then showcased to the patrons and the choir, their musical diversity with precision playing on Come to Mama, Nature Boy, Old-fashioned Morphine and Get Up, Stand Up, fronted by silky vocalists Snowy and Neesy.
The next choral bracket started with Speed Your Journey from Nabucco and then I’se Weary of Waitin’ with a solo by Bob Ash, drawing on his impressive bass-baritone range. The choir’s own commissioned work Land of my Song featured soloists John Adams from Bendigo and local Upwey chorister Geoff Roberts, who had been instrumental in much of the organisation of the concert. Paul Jarman’s famous but difficult work Pemulwuy was then sung with heartfelt gusto by the choir to finish off the first half.
After interval, the choir launched straight into Men of Harlech in Welsh before the audience joined in once again with the English words printed in the program.
To start off what was loosely described as a British medley, tenor Ed Hughes first pulled at our heartstrings with Danny Boy before Barry McMahon confidently asked us to help him pull up Wild Mountain Thyme. After all that exertion, it was time to put the baby to sleep with the a capella Si Hei Lwli ‘Mabi. Then it was time to wake up again with the very lively Britten arrangement of Oliver Cromwell, with the slightly uncharitable and cheeky exhortation to the audience to ‘Sing it yourself!’
The Skylarks (ehedyddion in Welsh) came back for their second bracket and livened up proceedings even more with Jeepers Creepers, Stronger than Me, All About That Bass and the nostalgic Love Potion No. 9, all featuring strong solos by individual musicians.
As the finale, the choir reactivated the Paris Uprising of 1832 with a medley from Les Misérables, featuring sensitive solos from Rushan Hewawasam and Roger Bartlett. As the final words rang out and the red revolutionary flag was waved, there was huge applause from the whole audience. After taking our bows we marched off to Men of Harlech while executing some nimble pincer movements so that first tenors and basses lined up to one side of the audience with the other two sections on the opposite side, to sing our Sunset Poem as a fond farewell. The afternoon’s musical journey was complete.
After the show, in The Skylarks Lounge, where the band had just racked up 12 months, the choir was pleased to sing Penblwydd Hapus (Happy Birthday) to them in Welsh.