I have mentioned in various posts that Armidale, my home town, has an extraordinary cultural life and yesterday evening we turned up for yet another extravaganza at the University of New England's Madgwick Hall. This time we were entertained by music, and especially songs, from some of the 20th century's best know musicals staged by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein.
The first half began with the famous waltz form Carousel and this was followed by 7 songs from that work, State Fair and The King and I. The second half, termed Act II, also started with an orchestral interlude, this time from Cinderella and State Fair. Then came songs or choral works from South Pacific, The Sound of Music, and Oklahoma. The singers all came from the Armidale Drama and Musical Society and musicians were from the Armidale Orchestra. In other words, this performance, which was excellent and won enthusiastic applause from a large audience, was staged by locals. Most of the songs were sung solo, or perhaps as a duet, by a constellation of sixteen different singers, each of whom had a chance to shine. However, a large 91 - member choir also frequently backed the soloists and one could see from their expressions that they were have a lovely time. I might add that the 48 member orchestra, ably conducted by one of my local physicians, Bruce Menzies, also played well.
Any reader with a knowledge of elementary mathematics will work out that there were over 150 performers on stage, which amounts to 0.6% of Armidale's population. That seems to me an extraordinarily high proportion of the population and shows how talented we are. I managed a few sneaky shots of events on stage from the middle of the audience, but no-one seemed to mind.
Dot and I were accompanied by three of her long-term friends and, since it was billed as a gala night, we found ourselves quaffing wine both before the concert and in the middle break.
AS
The first half began with the famous waltz form Carousel and this was followed by 7 songs from that work, State Fair and The King and I. The second half, termed Act II, also started with an orchestral interlude, this time from Cinderella and State Fair. Then came songs or choral works from South Pacific, The Sound of Music, and Oklahoma. The singers all came from the Armidale Drama and Musical Society and musicians were from the Armidale Orchestra. In other words, this performance, which was excellent and won enthusiastic applause from a large audience, was staged by locals. Most of the songs were sung solo, or perhaps as a duet, by a constellation of sixteen different singers, each of whom had a chance to shine. However, a large 91 - member choir also frequently backed the soloists and one could see from their expressions that they were have a lovely time. I might add that the 48 member orchestra, ably conducted by one of my local physicians, Bruce Menzies, also played well.
Any reader with a knowledge of elementary mathematics will work out that there were over 150 performers on stage, which amounts to 0.6% of Armidale's population. That seems to me an extraordinarily high proportion of the population and shows how talented we are. I managed a few sneaky shots of events on stage from the middle of the audience, but no-one seemed to mind.
Dot and I were accompanied by three of her long-term friends and, since it was billed as a gala night, we found ourselves quaffing wine both before the concert and in the middle break.
AS
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