Come & Sing…and swing!

This year’s “Come and Sing” took place on Saturday 11^th May at St John the Evangelist church on Iffley Road. Hosted by the OBC, the event attracted participants not just from our own number but also from several other choirs in the region.

Leading this choral workshop was Brian Kay, founder member of the King’s Singers and regular conductor of massed voices from London to Beijing. Together we focused on two jazz-themed works – John Rutter’s Feel the Spirit and George Shearing’s cycle of Shakespeare settings, Songs and Sonnets – and our visiting trainer gradually coaxed us into adopting more of a swing than is usually required in our singing. We all appreciated Brian’s leadership, as he worked us hard whilst regularly sharing little witticisms and amusing stories from his extensive career in choral music. We were grateful, too, for the patience and expertise of the piano accompanist, Alex Little (assistant organist at Merton College).

After several hours of rehearsing and familiarising ourselves with the pieces, and fortified by tea and cakes, we finished off with a rousing performance (for our own pleasure mainly, although there was also a small audience of friends and family). This was followed by drinks and nibbles, in order to round off a most enjoyable day.