1 May 2019
Twenty-two members of the Australian Rugby Choir participated, with Rachel Campbell as conductor and Karen Da Silva as accompanist, in this festival of more than fifty events at many locations in Cornwall, UK, between 2 and 6 May.
The ARC program, in UK time, was as follows:
Thu 2 May – Regional Gala Concert in Penzance
Fri 3 May, 1pm – Lunchtime Concert in Truro Cathedral
Sat 4 May, 8.30am to 7pm – Competition among 25 Male Choirs in Truro Cathedral,
plus a Regional Gala Concert in Liskeard
Mon 6 May, 7.30pm – Finalé International Gala Concert in Truro Cathedral
And these links may be useful:
festival web site
ARC's screenshot among participating choirs
festival program
Many thanks to Paul Green for compiling this information.
From Frank Bergersen, late on 2 May UK time:
All 44 of our party arrived safe and sound in London. Today (2 May) we had an early start (7:30 AM) and took in the tourist delights of St Michael's Mount and Land's End. We acquitted ourselves very well in the Penzance Concert. Rachel said she was extremely proud of us and the audience feedback was very good. The host Choir (Mousehole MVC - 109 years in existence) put on an excellent afterglow event and we returned to our excellent Hotel in Newquay at close to midnight. No rest for the wicked! One concert performance down, 6 to go. Regards, Frank
And late on UK Friday 3 May:
Another excellent Concert experience and solid performance by our Choir in the magnificent Truro Cathedral at 1 - 2:40 pm today. We got a "well done boys" from the Festival Chairman who attended the whole Concert and plenty of good feedback from our Supporters and the audience in general. We loved the repertoire/performance by the Choir from Scotland (the first time that a Scottish choir has been part of the Festival). Regards, Frank
From Bob Nield, late on Sun 5 May UK time:
The Rugby Choir contingent of 22 choristers and 18 wives and partners have had a memorable artistic and social success over the last week at the International Male Choir Festival in Cornwall. It turns out that this is the largest male choir festival in the world. The Rugby Choir group have represented their country, their Choir and themselves with distinction.
At our first gig in a large Methodist church hall in Penzance we faced our moment of truth when we followed a talented Canadian Boys' Choir and the Mousehole (pronounced Mouzle) Male Voice Choir of over seventy on stage, able to call on 100 plus years of history for their Choir. (We learnt that Cornwall has more active male choirs than Wales.)
We responded well to the challenge. Rachel and Karen expertly guided us in producing a strong performance that was warmly received by the large crowd. A highlight was then being hosted by the Mousehole Choir at an 'afterglow' in a nearby watering hole where there was plenty of food and drink and warm hospitality provided. It helped when the locals heard that we had a bloke in our choir named 'Pascoe' - apparently this is a common Cornish surname.
The next day we had our first performance at the magnificent Truro Cathedral as one of the choirs for a lunchtime concert. Again the other choirs were very polished but we received great audience support as an 'international visiting Choir'. A feature of these performances by other choirs was the judicious use of theatrical props like funny hats, sun glasses and even kazoos combined with choreographed movement and clapping. There is a big focus on trying to attract younger audiences and choristers with such innovations.
The second concert was also important because it gave us exposure to performing in the vast Gothic Cathedral, the scene of the prestigious Choir competition for our category of choirs with under 40 members on Saturday, in which 17 choirs competed.
The big day of competition finally came and we acquitted ourselves well, particularly for the challenging 'a capella' piece 'Prayer of the Children' , for which we held candles as our 'prop'. This was probably our best performance of this piece which was very gratifying. While we did not score a placing in the top 6 of the event we were able to see how competitive this event is, with a Croatian Choir taking first place. We were able to see what is required to reach the next level. It has been a great learning experience for all of us and our love of Choral singing has certainly been enhanced by seeing the 'experts' in action.
Another enjoyable aspect of the trip has been performing at night and day community based events across Cornwall. At an evening concert in the Liskeard Town Hall we enjoyed performing in a smaller venue to an appreciative crowd. Again our performance of 'Dry Bones' brought the house down. The usual 'afterglow' reception completed a great night. On Sunday we performed at the environmentally focussed venue the Eden Project which provided an outdoor venue in a relaxed atmosphere.
This afternoon performance followed a vocal morning workshop conducted by one the competition judges and a former member of the Kings Singers, Timothy Wayne-Wright. The workshop stressed a lot of the messages that Rachel has been banging on about for years such as appropriate breathing and facial expression, much to our MD's delight. Rachel and Karen have provided high level professional direction and support throughout the trip, in addition to the months of intensive practising which have been instrumental in enabling us to grow in confidence and the level of our performance.
Five concerts down and two to go. My Part 2 Cornwall Report will appear in the next Warble. I should also add that 'General' Frank Bergersen's meticulous preparation and organisation is bearing fruit and has certainly been appreciated by all on the trip.
Go the Brumbies! Cheers, President Bob
Update from Bob Nield on 14 May 2019 - Cornwall Report Part 2
Following the highs of their participation in the Cornwall Male Choir Festival between May 2 and May 6 the choir contingent have spread far and wide in finding their way back to Canberra over the next few weeks. I reported in the last Warble on the first five of our seven performances at the Festival. Here is Part 2 of my Cornwall Report.
After the pressure of competing in the Festival Choir Competition on Day 3 of the Festival at Truro Cathedral we were able to enjoy the remaining two performances in a more relaxed environment. First we sang at the seaside resort of St Ives in a chilly outdoor venue to a small but appreciative crowd. Then we sang again at Truro Cathedral as one of the five featured choirs in the gala Farewell Concert.
We were in exalted company with award winning boys' choirs from Lithuania and South Africa and a 'representative' Cornwall Choir known as the Trelawny Male Voice Choir. (Trelawny is the title of the 'national song' of Cornwall and the concert finished with a lusty rendition of the song by all in the cathedral.) As a non-audition community choir from the 'colonies' I suspect we were featured at this farewell concert to illustrate the diversity of choirs performing at the Festival. Our performance was well received, particularly when we launched into 'Shelter' and 'I Still Call Australia Home' which both had particular resonance for us on this occasion.
At the end of the gala concert our esteemed Tenor One John Grant approached the Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall, the Festival President, Colonel Edward Bolitho OBE and requested his autograph on John's programme which the Colonel readily agreed to. John joked with him that whoever put us on the program for the gala concert deserved a knighthood from the monarch. The Colonel responded (tongue in cheek) that he would take that up with her at his next meeting, being her personal representative for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
The next day we headed back to London in our coach with a mixture of emotions ranging from relief, excitement, exhaustion to sadness that our epic trip was over. One last treat awaited us. Back in London we said our farewells at dinner but also entertained members of the London Welsh Male Choir who joined us. Among them was the legendary Male Choir conductor Haydn James of Welsh massed choir fame. Haydn had fond memories of working with the Rugby Choir during the Lions Tour at the Opera House in 2005.
The three people that deserve credit for the success of the Cornwall venture are first Frank Bergersen for doing all the behind the scenes organisation, Rachel Campbell as Musical Director for always believing that we could reach a performance standard that all in the choir and their supporters would be proud of and then guiding us to deliver on this aim, and last but not least Karen Da Silva, our revered accompanist, who was able to draw on her many years of Brumbies accompanying in all weathers to maintain a consistently high standard with her usual good natured aplomb. A special mention also to the wives and partners (and Rachel's mum Maria) who joined us on the trip and supported us unflinchingly while also bonding together and having a great time as well. I again record my acknowledgment to Beyond Bank for their generous financial contribution towards funding this venture.
This is the ninth Cornwall Male Choir Festival and they are held every two years. The Festival started from a low base but is now regarded as the pinnacle of male choir singing in the UK with a focus on encouraging male choir singing in all its forms especially targeting younger choristers. Although we were competing against outstanding auditioned and hand-picked choirs we appreciated that there was a place for a non-audition choir like ours who had travelled so far to take part. We felt privileged to be a part of this great event. Above all we learnt a lot and return with a renewed love of male choir singing and a commitment to aim to continually improve our performance standards.