The Big Concert!!

On Thursday I was in a concert which was the culmination of my two years at Leeds College of Music. The concert was for the Beginners and Intermediates n the Popular Singing evening classes, and as an Intermediate, it was my second concert, but no less scary than the first! To keep it brief I'm only going to talk about my fellow intermediates, who you can see in the picture above.

The first of our lot was Susan (far left, in the pink jacket) singing 'One Moment in Time'. Now I'm very proud of our Susan. Last year she was so nervous she only just got to the end of her song and had to stop a few times. But this year she sang beautifully, hitting notes I can only dream of, and with such confidence. It brought a tear to my eye!

Next up, Vivienne (white shirt, blue scarf) singing 'Patience'. I'm very close to Vivienne as she arrived early like me and took me home after classes so of course I thought she was ace! She's had trouble using her lower register but the low bits sounded great on the night and she also moved around which I know was a challenge for her.

Then there was Mhairi (far right, next to the speaker) singing 'Don't Wanna Miss a Thing'. She has a beautiful, warm voice and she brought a different quality to the song and made it very feminine. She also hit a note I know she struggled with, so well done to her!!

After a couple of beginners was Jane (white dress, yellow jacket) singing 'Fields of Gold'. Jane has a really pretty, 'tinkly' voice which really suited the song. I hate Sting but I liked her performance!!

Another few beginners, then Mel (next to Mhairi) with 'Walking after Midnight'. She struggled with the timing a little but sang well, and carried on to the end despite her nerves without any fuss.

Closing the first half was the fantastic Gil (just behind Vivienne in black) singing 'Diamonds are Girl's best Friend' wearing fur-trimmed black rubber gloves with 'diamond' rings on. She's always complained that she can't sing but she's a true entertainer with so much confidence, and too boot she actually can sing! I wish I could perform like her!

The first of us lot in the second half was Graham (the only bloke!) singing 'Behind Blue Eyes'. He's had problems with his voice all year through asthma but he sang the best I've heard him sing on the night and really got into the rock atmosphere of the song. He's got a brilliant storytelling, folksy voice and I hope he carries on singing.

Follwing Graham was 'Dancer Zoe' (black top, blue skirt) singing a song from a modern musical called 'Still Hurting'. This song was almost an epic in itself! Zoe gave a dramatic performance and did really well with the range of the song. A very brave choice of song.

After Tracy from the beginners I was up, and I was SO NERVOUS! (In case you don't know me, I'm the one with the specs in the grey top) I sang 'Black Horse and a Cherry Tree' which was a bit mean on the poor pianist and I felt quite sorry for him, I think I must have put an extra 'woo-hoo' in somewhere which threw him, I ended up singing the last part of the song a cappella which was a surprise, but I had a ball, did better than I thought I would (at least I think I did) and really wanted to get up again!

A few more beginners, then Kate (next to me in a black top with a brown scarf) with the brilliant 'I Just Wanna Make Love to You.' Kate is a real soul diva and she belted out the song brilliantly, I couldn't help dancing about in my chair! She was fantastic, even got pants thrown at her at the ned! (Well she did bring 'Rent-a-crowd' as she calls them!)

Closing the show was 'Actress Zoie' (beigey-brown halter top) with 'Pearl's a Singer'. I didn't know this song before I heard her sing it, but I love it now, and she sang it wonderfully, brinigng her acting skills into the performance. She's always had a very polished voice but that night she excelled herself.

Then we sang our group 'Your love keeps lifting me' which was great fun, I've loved preparing for that song mainly because Kate and I were given the main part in the chorus and we had such a laugh rehearsing together! It also made me really proud to be labelled a belter by Cara, our teacher (the one with her back to the photo), I went around telling everyone i knew, I've never been called a belter before! Wow! Anyway, it was a really fun end to the course!

So there we are, my last performance with that group of people, I'm going to miss them all and I hope to see them again soon.