Hounslow Music Festival - Another “First” !

Our appearance at Hounslow Music Festival on 18 October 2008 was a “first” for several of us, as we have not entered a singing competition for some time and in the meantime we have enjoyed our Learn-to-Sing Course and now have 14 new full members to whom this was a novel experience.

We had entered for the two classes for which we were eligible, Adult Ladies Choir and Ladies’ Barbershop Chorus - singing two songs in each class.
We assembled at St. Mary’s, Osterley, a impressive Victorian Gothic church, which was delightfully warm, and which provided a very different acoustic environment, with its stone floor and walls and soaring vaulted roof, from our usual venues.
As we were to sing straight after lunch we were able to warm-up in the more-or-less empty church over the lunch hour to become accustomed to the sound and familiar with the order in which Phill and Colin had arranged for us to dispose ourselves around the chancel steps, which was very helpful.

We gave a very good account of ourselves, singing What a Wonderful World and Java Jive in the first class, and then Always and Alexander’s Rag time Band in the second. As we were the only entries in both classes this did not take long but we were given an adjudication after each class.

The Adjudicator, Christopher Field JP MA ARAM LRAM ARCM, (obviously, judging by letters after his name, a very well-qualified judge !) was very pleasant and spoke at some length to give us a thoughtful and considered critique of our singing - he was very pleased with the contrast between our very gentle singing of Wonderful World and the “bite” with which we sang Java Jive; he also praised the control of our Director in Java Jive keeping us in good time, not running away with the song.

We were also gratified by the way he praised our obvious enjoyment of our singing - we know it is quite hard to keep smiling while shaking with nerves and remembering our vowel sounds !!
Even in the case of only one entrant a trophy is only given if the quality of the singing warrants it, and the marks we were given 84 and 86 certainly did that, so we were awarded the Martin Haw Trophy, a handsome silver cup which we will duly have engraved with our name.
We then all, in proud possession of yet another silver cup, embarked in convoy to Sophie’s house where she provided us with a delicious lunch , and we enjoyed a convivial get-together in celebration.