Matt Monro Forum

I happened to watch this programme last Friday night on BBC2 at 9:00 pm. Are any of you watching? I loved it. There was a sweet little boy who sang the opening part of Fields Of Gold with so much grace and tenderness. Perhaps someone very nice from Kent will record this Friday's final installment for me. The choir will be performing at Royal Albert Hall.

Yes, Paul, I have been watching this avidly. There was also another series of it on last year when Gareth Malone went to a mixed school to encourage singing and the pupils ended up taking part in the World Choir Olympics in China, though they didn't win anything.

I had a similar experience when I was at school to that found by Gareth, that of being one of the few boys interested in singing and of having the usual barbs aimed at me - sissy, wimp etc (none of which I am, I hope) - and schoolmates either not being interested in music at all or only in commercial pop music. Later on, though, I went to a sixth form college which was much more oriented towards the arts, including music, and also university where they had a very vibrant music and choir department, and with which I performed in concerts at home and abroad, sometimes with well respected orchestras/performers. Each November we would perform an 'Opera Gala' concert - consisting of choruses from well-known operas - at the Fairfield Halls in Croydon conducted by a guy called Marcus Dodds, who is a prominent conductor of film music and is still, I believe, working. His name appears on the end credits of , for example, 'Star Wars' and 'The Life of Brian', to name just two. And I've worked with him!

Yes, Paul, I can do that for you. [I'm just guessing you meant me--at least I'm from Kent ]

Thank you very much, Marian. (Yes, I meant you. )

Jon - You have a impressive choral resume. We certainly have many talented singers in the Matt Monro Forum! I would have loved to attend those Opera Gala concerts. I love opera choruses. I hope you are still singing with a choir.

Jon

That's fantastic!
If we are lucky enough, doesn't life throw us some wonderful experiences and memories?

We did watch an episode of "Boys Don't Sing" and the choirmaster Gareth had such faith and enthusiasm, and at times the patience of a saint, and as you say Paul some very sweet voices among those boys, shame about the attitudes, but Gareth was slowly winning them over and being rewarded.

I am not part of a formal choir any more as my other commitments, including work, generally don't allow for it. However I have taken part in some public choral performances in the last few years - quite recently I was in a performance of the choruses from Mozart's 'Idomeneo' at the Barbican and also Verdi's 'Macbeth' at the Festival Hall. I've also done a couple of Handel 'Messiah' gigs in my time. However, while I like the above works and do enjoy some operatic/choral music, I would say that my principal musical interest is in the solo voice and the recital/song repertoire - hence my liking for the Wigmore Hall. Words are important to me in music and I am not keen on large choral pieces in which the words cannot be heard - the chorus in Mahler's 8th Symphony is a case in point (though I am a big fan of Mahler's songs); smaller, chamber choirs are preferable in this respect.

Very interesting Jon, thanks for posting that.

Good luck for whatever you appear in in the future!
Let me know, will you please?