VIVACE CHORUS and THE FRIARY BRASS BAND present
CONDUCTOR: JEREMY BACKHOUSE
SONGS BY
★
★
Stephen
Sondheim
Andrew
Lloyd Webber
★
Queen
NUMBERS FROM
★
★
★
Les Misérables
Chitty, Chitty
Bang Bang
Guys and Dolls
West Side Story
★
The Lion King
★
The King and I
Harry Potter
and the
Philosopher’s
Stone
Mamma Mia!
★
★
★
Saturday
16 Nov 2024
at 7.30 pm
Vivace
GUILDFORD
29/10/2024 10:18
1)1
PROSTATE
project
A message from Martin Davies
Chairman of the Prostate Project
giving men a better chance
of beating prostate cancer
sme |
i@L‘E%?ro,ect
%
Over the last 25 years, the Prostate Project has raised more than £11 million,
money that has been used in the research, diagnosis and treatment of
prostate cancer.
Based at The Stokes Centre for Urology at Royal Surrey Hospital, our charity has
helped to establish Guildford as a world leading centre of excellence, supporting
research, sponsoring PhD studies, purchasing equipment, and raising awareness
of the need for more men to ‘Get Tested’.
The PSA blood test is an effective early indicator of potential problems for a
disease that usually presents no symptoms in its early stages. More than 14,000
men in the UK die each year from prostate cancer, and many of these deaths are
preventable because caught early enough, prostate cancer is usually curable.
If you, or someone you know is a man aged between 50 and 70, has a family
history of the disease, or is black, you should ask your GP for a free PSA blood
test. It really is a simple fact that this quick test can save, and prolong the lives of
a great many men.
The Prostate Project is a volunteer led charity, and if you would like to know more
about our work or have any questions about the PSA Test, or prostate cancer,
please visit our website.
Thank you to the Vivace Chorus for allowing me the opportunity to say a few
words about the Prostate Project, together we can give men a better chance of
beating prostate cancer.
Regards,
Registered Charity No.1078523
Your favourites from
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
The Lion King
Mamma Mia!
Guys and Dolls
Les Misérables
The King and I
Queen
Jesus Christ Superstar
Phantom of the Opera
And more!
Vivace Chorus
Conductor: Jeremy Backhouse
Friary Brass Band
Conductor: Nigel Taken
Host: Julian Woolford
A West End Extravaganza
When the great theatrical and movie actor Meryl Streep saw
the original stage version of Mamma Mia! on Broadway in
September 2001 she immediately responded to its optimism,
describing it as “an affirmation of life in the midst of the
destruction” of 9/11, the terrorist attacks on the World Trade
Centre. The seed of her brilliant performance in the 2008 film
version was planted.
Some time later Pierce Brosnan, then at the peak of his career
after starring in a series of Bond movies, agreed to play in the
film, allegedly without even knowing the plot, when he heard
that Streep would be one of his co-stars in this celebration of
ABBA’s phenomenally successful 1992 album, ABBA Gold.
Three defining strands in the appeal of Broadway and London
West End musicals are brought together here and in the film
itself: the offer of escape, for a few hours, from the
complexities and anxieties of everyday life; the irresistible draw
of the big stars, especially when performing beyond their
familiar range; and the cross-fertilisation between USA pizzazz,
glitz and (importantly) funding and the quirky, often eccentric
energy of the Old World.
When the film was released, part of the fun for British
audiences was to see Julie Walters, a fine Lady Macbeth in her
day as well as a beloved comedy performer, prompting a
stunned Stellan Skarsgård to “take a chance on me”. In another
famous scene Colin Firth, a quintessentially British actor of
gentlemanly parts, vocalised to his transfer-bedecked acoustic
guitar, channelling more than a hint of John Lennon while
sailing happily among the sun-drenched Greek islands.
That’s entertainment!
2
Vivace Chorus
The huge, billowing, technicolour carpet-bag of the West
End/Broadway musical is crammed with a challenging variety
of subjects, moods and musical styles.
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s gothic fascination with the dark and
ambiguous outsider balances his infectious enthusiasm for the
sunny ‘60s theme of “following the dream”, while the allAmerican moral values of Disney’s Lion King cartoon are
reworked in stunning design and dance on the live stage, and
have filled the Lyceum Theatre for more than two decades.
Bernstein’s pitiless analysis of rivalry and desire in a world of
social and ethnic violence in West Side Story contrasts with the
tenderness and psychological sophistication of Sondheim’s
exploratory love-themes, and these fine composers are
staples on both sides of the Atlantic.
The “unrepentant, joyous, utterly irresistible paean to gay
pleasure-seeking” (as one critic describes it) in Freddie
Mercury’s work, reimagined by Ben Elton as a stage musical, is
as compelling as the eccentric, sometimes menacing
whimsicality of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Harry Potter, which
is again a world away from the hard-boiled, raffish underworld
of gamblers, saints and schemers in Guys and Dolls or the
earnest political gestures of Les Misérables.
The driving force underlying this sustained “big parade” of
popular culture is the tangible energy, emotional directness
and thrilling immediacy of live performance.
Programme note © Jon Long 2024
Photography, audio and video recording are not permitted without the
prior written consent of the Vivace Chorus. Please also kindly switch off
all mobile phones and alarms on digital watches. Thank you.
Vivace Chorus
3
Friary Brass Band
Breezin' down Broadway
arr. Goff Richards
Goff Richards takes a cheerful canter down The Great White
Way in the company of Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Lerner and
Loewe, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Schwartz and Dietz and
Meredith Willson, giants of the post-war musical world.
Annie Get Your Gun gives a shrewd nod to the “business”, in all
senses, that powers the industry, while Kiss Me, Kate and My
Fair Lady are reminders of how creatively “straight” theatre has
fed into the genre.
In Oklahoma!, The Band Wagon and The Music Man the values
of small-town America and the back-stage relationships of
performers, idealised but also treated with warm-hearted
sympathy, confirm the roots of musical theatre in the problems
and opportunities of workaday life.
Choir + Friary Brass Band
A Concert Celebration
Andrew Lloyd Webber, arr. Mark Brymer
Lloyd Webber’s musicals make an uncompromisingly direct
appeal to the audience’s imagination with their broad,
unforgettable melodies, harmonies designed to charm, beguile
or energise, and his extraordinary ability to create a vividly
theatrical atmosphere – the sensuous, dangerous surrender of
night-time in Phantom of the Opera, the ambiguous glamour of
Evita, the echoing sense of loss in the grimy yet mysteriously
beautiful London of Cats, the biblical stories refracted through
60s pop culture, in which King Herod can sing in rag-time and
Joseph be hailed by the flower-children.
4
Vivace Chorus
His drive and adaptability have made his musicals a familiar
presence in the West End for more than fifty years.
Phantom of the Opera
Music of the Night
Don't Cry for me Argentina
Superstar
King Herod's Song
Memory
Go Go Go Joseph
Choir + Friary Brass Band
The Lion King
Elton John, arr. Mark Brymer
The Lion King was a film before it reached the stage as a
musical in Minneapolis, then on Broadway, then in London, and
it has a recognisable “Disney” message: life is tough and
challenging, but we can all find our place in “the circle of life” if
we show courage and self-reliance.
The lion cub Simba, optimistic, energetic and characterful,
learns that he must leave the “no worries” (hakuna matata)
world and strive to be the King that Nala, his childhood friend
and eventual consort, can see inside him.
Elton John’s up-beat score glides cheerfully through the story,
responding with emphatic rhythms and a light lyrical touch to
its aspiration towards a “planet” in “harmony with all its living
things”.
Circle of Life
I Just Can't Wait To Be King
Be Prepared
Hakuna matata
Can You Feel the Love Tonight
Vivace Chorus
5
Friary Brass Band
West Side Story – Medley
Leonard Bernstein, arr. Denis Wright
Bernstein’s great musical was a turning-point in the
development of the genre, exploring without evasion
contemporary issues of ethnic conflict, murder and rape in a
reworking of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Addressing
what Bernstein’s friend Martha Gellhorn called “the hardness
of life, the rock of life”, the score is especially appropriate for a
brass ensemble, with its snarling, lyrical, thunderously
assertive energy.
Bernstein’s daughter recently said that “everything my father
wrote is a self-portrait”, and in a long list of descriptors she
included “arrogant, confident, encouraging, energetic,
theatrical, talkative, demonstrative”. The swaggering
assurance of this medley is a magnificent confirmation of her
judgment.
Choir + Friary Brass Band
Sondheim! A Choral Celebration
Stephen Sondheim, arr. Mac Huff
Three numbers from different musicals show Sondheim’s
talent for deceptively simple-seeming lyrical writing and deft
characterisation, elegantly poised between tenderness and
sadness.
In Not While I’m Around there is an edge of menace as the boy
Tobias sings trustingly to Sweeney Todd’s accomplice Mrs
Lovett, not knowing that he may be murdered and put in a
pie. Losing My Mind from Follies is a wistful torch song, written
as an affectionate tribute to the work of George and Ira
Gershwin, as Sally muses on the man she loved, lost and can
6
Vivace Chorus
never forget, her fascination with his idealised image echoed
in the gently, persistently rising and falling line.
In A Little Night Music Desiree sees her life of loss and regret in
terms of a variety show: if things are not going well the director
must “send in the clowns” to set things right, but in real life
perhaps the “clowns” are the performers who have missed
their cues and wrecked the performance.
Not While I'm Around
Losing My Mind
Send In The Clowns
Friary Brass Band
Don't Stop Me Now
Freddie Mercury, arr. Philip Harper
“A direct product of [his] hedonism and promiscuity” is Alexis
Petridis’s comment on Freddie Mercury’s sensational number
from the 1978 album Jazz.
The text (I’m a shooting star leaping through the sky like a tiger …
I’m a sex machine ready to reload like an atom bomb) matches
the drive and gleeful honesty of the music – simple in
structure, resolute and uncompromising.
Choir + Friary Brass Band
A Tribute to Queen
Medley, arr. Mark Brymer
Brymer’s tribute uses the most famous and influential
numbers that Ben Elton chose from Queen albums for his
juke-box musical We Will Rock You in 2002, all of them
innovative and unconventional contributions to the
development of Rock.
Vivace Chorus
7
We are the Champions has a second (or third) career as a
sports-anthem, and the extraordinary Bohemian Rhapsody,
complex in structure and incorporating a parody of operatic
form and style, has a stunning impact in Freddie Mercury’s
own performance, gloriously dynamic and theatrical.
The power, range and phrasing of his singing were praised at
the time by the great soprano Montserrat Caballé as making
up an “astonishing” vocal technique.
We Will Rock You
Another One Bites The Dust
We Are The Champions
Bohemian Rhapsody
Interval (20 minutes)
Vivace Chorus is proud to support the work of the
Guildford and South Surrey Branch of Parkinson's UK.
There will be a short talk about the charity after the
interval, and a bucket / credit card collection at the end of
the concert in aid of its work.
Please give generously!
8
Vivace Chorus
Saturday
15 Feb 2025
10am -4.30pm
Guildford Baptist Church, Millmead.
For further details and to book go to vivacechorus.org
Registered Charity No. 1207710
Guildford and South Surrey Branch
We provide three important elements which
Parkinson’s consultants advise is vital for all
people who have Parkinson’s to do:
•
•
•
Stay physically active
Stay mentally active
Stay socially active
The Branch is organised and run by a Committee
of dedicated volunteers and, through its own
fundraising, provides a wide range of exercise
classes, therapeutic classes, and social activities to
support those living with Parkinson’s in the
Guildford and South Surrey area.
Perhaps most importantly, we try to ensure that
anyone who has been recently diagnosed with the
condition is aware of the help, support, services,
friendship and activities we offer.
We will be accepting donations
at this concert:
https://www.guildfordparkinsons.org.uk/
Choir + Friary Brass Band
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Richard M Sherman, arr. Jonathan Rathbone
The magical car in Ian Fleming’s 1964 novel for children,
capable of transforming from road vehicle to boat/hovercraft
and then to dirigible/aircraft is recognisably a cousin of the
famous Aston Martins that appear in Bond movies – eccentric
but solidly traditional, wittily resourceful, dependable British
allies in the fight against (usually foreign) villainy.
The design and name of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang itself derive
from a real-life series of sports cars made in the 1920s, the
name echoing the electrical ignition system and double
backfiring of its original.
The Sherman brothers’ score is a beguilingly comical
complement to this: it makes steady, slightly manic progress
with an occasional threat of stalling, judderings followed by
bursts of speed, and, willing it on, the enthusiastic affection of
the passengers: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, we love you!
Choir + Friary Brass Band
The King and I
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, arr. Anita Kerr
Despite anxieties about Orientalism and the very much
simplified version that it gives of a real-life story of personal
and political relationships, The King and I has remained
enormously popular for its sweepingly romantic melodies, lush
harmonies, and the dramatically effective tensions between
two strong personalities, Anna and the King, entangling,
working through a relationship, and finally achieving mutual
affection and respect. Kerr’s medley begins with two themes
from a secondary strand in the plot, the young lovers whose
Vivace Chorus
11
affair breaks the rules of their society. It ends with the song of
Lady Thiang, the King’s “head wife”, as she argues with Anna
for understanding in the face of his responsibilities and human
flaws.
We kiss in a shadow
I have dreamed
Something Wonderful
Friary Brass Band
Les Misérables – Medley
Claude-Michel Schönberg, arr. Andy Austin
The score of Les Misérables is ideal for a brass ensemble, with
its broad, confident melodies and strong marching rhythms
that express themes of 19th century social and industrial unrest,
political conflict and street violence in the 1832 Paris Rising, as
well as moments of tenderness and longing, as in Cosette’s
plaintive ballad Castle on a Cloud and the pervasive motifs of
the lost parent and of moral redemption.
The famous Do You Hear the People Sing? is a pastiche,
imitating the style of actual historical street songs such as the
Marseillaise and the Carmagnole, and has been taken up in
real life in contexts as different as student demonstrations in
China, Trump rallies in the USA and protests in Maidan Square,
Kyiv, in the build-up to the Russian invasion.
Choir + Friary Brass Band
Guys and Dolls– Medley
Frank Loesser, arr. Mac Huff
Burrows and Swerlings’s brilliantly witty “book”, melding
seamlessly with Loesser’s breath-taking score – a series of
numbers that make up a sustained masterpiece of
12
Vivace Chorus
characterisation, humour, pathos and narrative excitement –
have made this great work one of the most popular musicals of
all time.
The spontaneity and high spirits of the storytelling and its
affectionate, but never sentimental, portrayal of a large cast of
lovable New Yorkers create a whole world for the audience –
recognisably a fantasy, but with strong roots in the vitality and
glamour of the actual city.
The cunning sequencing of solos, duets and ensembles keeps
the audience on its toes right to the happy ending, a genuinely
incomparable celebration of musical, textual and theatrical
possibilities and achievements.
Guys And Dolls
Luck Be A Lady
Fugue For Tinhorns
A Bushel And A Peck
If I Were A Bell
I've Never Been In Love Before
Adelaide's Lament
Sit Down You're Rockin' The Boat
Friary Brass Band
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – Medley
John Williams, arr. Steve Sykes
John Williams said of this score that he “wanted to capture the
world of weightlessness and flight and sleight of hand and
happy surprise”.
He did this by juxtaposing or combining expansive and heartlifting themes in a bold, colourful version of his familiar epic
style, with a new language of mysterious, otherworldly
intervals and harmonies, and instruments skilfully chosen to
Vivace Chorus
13
achieve a scintillating lightness in the texture. The music seems
to hover and glide, with an undercurrent of the sinister that
perfectly matches Rowling’s entrancing narrative.
Choir + Friary Brass Band
Mamma Mia!
ABBA, arr. Mac Huff
The musical was written to develop a series of ABBA hits as
narrative, with a theme of regret for past mistakes and missed
opportunities and a rallying cry embodied in a line from Thank
you for the music – Without a song or a dance, what are we?
An international cast of familiar, admired and loved performers
brought it to life in a movie marked by stunning production
values, beautiful locations and a score that is effervescent,
pulsating, expressive and soulful by turns.
It was so immediately and widely successful that at one point it
was estimated that one in four British households had a copy
of the film at hand, and the stage version is still going strong in
the West End, twenty-five years after its opening.
I have a dream
Mamma Mia
SOS
Take a chance on me
Thank you for the music
Dancing Queen
Waterloo
End
Friary Brass Band arrangements for choir items © Chris King
Programme notes © Jon Long 2024
14
Vivace Chorus
CAV & PAG
Cavalleria Rusticana by Pietro Mascagni
Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo
Wed 20th Nov, 7pm
Fri 22nd Nov, 7pm
Sat 23rd Nov, 6pm
X[
@GuildfordOpera
guildfordopera.com
Registered charity No 271484
Join us at the Royal Albert Hall!
We’re delighted to announce
that we will be putting on a
grand concert at the Royal
Albert Hall next year!
Vivace Chorus at the RAH in 2014
Photo © Ash Mills
Put the date in your diary now
– Sunday July 13th 2025 –
and join us to celebrate
Jeremy Backhouse’s final
concert as Music Director of
the Vivace Chorus.
Jeremy will have been with us for 30 years in 2025, and we have
had many, many musical adventures during that time, including
two astounding concerts at the Royal Albert Hall – Mahler’s 8th
Symphony and Verdi’s Requiem. Jeremy’s taking a well-earned
rest from the end of the 2024/25 season, and we wanted to
mark the occasion with something special.
We’ve invited several choirs to join our ranks, and we are
delighted that Guildford Choral Society, Twickenham Choral
Society, The London Chorus, Tiffin Choirs and Farnham Youth
Choir will be joining us to raise the roof, supported by the Royal
Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and two of the world’s most
celebrated singers, tenor Nicky Spence and soprano Lucy
Crowe. Together, we’ll be performing Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé,
Poulenc’s Gloria and the Berlioz Te Deum – a wonderful
programme for such an exceptional setting.
STOP PRESS - our tickets are now on sale - Scan the code!
https://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/events/2025/berlioz-te-deum
Join us, and tell all your friends!
Royal-fJi"iliiar nonic Concert,Orchestra
;w&
.BERLIOZ RAVEL
DAPHNIS ?ETCHLOE
VIVACE CHORUS
GUILDFORD CHORAL
SOCIETY
y
THE LONDON CHORUS
TWICKENHAM CHORAL
FARNHAM
YOUTH CHOIR
Chorus
Albert Hall
Sunday 13 July 20
25
CONCERT ORCHESTRA
Royal Albert Hall
Surrey
Soprano:
Mozart
wotson
Players
7:30pm Sat 23rd Nov 2024
Holy Trinity Church
High Street, Guildford
Surrey, GU1 3RR
htsmguildford.org
Sign up to the Vivace newsletter to keep up
to date with all our news!
Just scan this QR code on your mobile and
sign up, and we’ll do the rest.
https://www.vivacechorus.org/vc/newsletter
Vivace Chorus
19
Jeremy Backhouse
Conductor
Jeremy Backhouse is one of Britain’s
leading choral conductors. He began his
musical career in Canterbury Cathedral
where he was Senior Chorister.
Jeremy has been the sole conductor of the
internationally-renowned chamber choir,
Vasari Singers, since its inception in 1980.
Since winning the prestigious Choir of the
Year competition in 1988, the Vasari
Singers has performed regularly at major
concert venues and cathedrals throughout
the UK and abroad. Jeremy and the Vasari
Singers broadcast frequently on Classic
FM and BBC Radio 3 and have a
Photo © Ash Mills
discography of over 25 CDs on EMI, Guild,
Signum and Naxos. Their recordings have been nominated for a
Gramophone award, received two Gramophone Editor’s Choice
awards, the top recommendation on Radio 3’s ‘Building A Library’
and two recent CDs both achieved Top Ten status in the Specialist
Classical Charts. He is totally committed to the performance of
contemporary music and, with Vasari, he has commissioned over 25
new works.
In January 1995 Jeremy was appointed Music Director of the Vivace
Chorus. Alongside the standard classical works, Jeremy has
conducted the Vivace Chorus in some ambitious programmes
including Howells’ Hymnus Paradisi, Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater,
Mahler’s ‘Resurrection’ Symphony, Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky and
Ivan the Terrible, then Mahler’s ‘Symphony of a Thousand’ and Verdi’s
Requiem in the Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Philharmonic
Orchestra.
In January 2009 Jeremy became the Music Director of the Salisbury
Community Choir. In 2013 the choir celebrated its 21st Anniversary
with a concert in Salisbury Cathedral, premiering a speciallycommissioned work by Will Todd, The City Garden, which they
toured to Lincoln (2014) and Guildford (2015) cathedrals. A new work
from Alexander L'Estrange was premiered in Winchester Cathedral
in November 2018.
Jeremy has also worked with a number of the country's leading
choirs, including the BBC Singers, the London Symphony Chorus,
the Philharmonia Chorus, and the Brighton Festival Chorus.
20
Vivace Chorus
Nigel Taken
Conductor, Friary Brass Band
Nigel has been conducting
brass bands at the very highest
level for more than 30 years.
At the age of 15 he became the
flugelhorn soloist with the City
of Coventry Band, and played
regularly with Harry Mortimer's
All Star Brass and his Men O'
Brass. He is currently Head of
Music at Goffs Academy in
Hertfordshire, where he has
worked for over 30 years.
Photo © @Chappers
.Nigel was Musical Director of the famous Asphaltic Newham
Band and guided them to many contest successes. He later
spent 14 years as the Musical Director of the Aveley & Newham
Band, seeing them become established as a national force at
major contests and conducting many appearances on the
BBC’s “Listen to the Band” programme. At one point, Aveley
and Newham were listed as the 13th best band in the world.
Nigel is in great demand as a conductor and band trainer and
has worked with many bands as a professional and freelance
conductor. After working with the Friary Band as guest MD for
their performance at the Grand Shield in 2023, Nigel was
delighted to accept the offer to become the band’s full-time
Musical Director and is excited to work with this talented group
of players.
Nigel lives in Hertfordshire with his wife Hannah, who is a
euphonium player, and their small furry child Dilly – a West
Highland Terrier!
Vivace Chorus
21
Julian Woolford
Host
Currently Head of Musical Theatre
at the Guildford School of Acting,
Julian is an award-winning writer,
director and educator, and holds a
PhD in Musical Theatre from the
University of Surrey.
Photo © Nick Gregan
Previously he was Artistic Director
of Sevenoaks Playhouse and the
Global Search for New Musicals at
the International Festival of
Musical Theatre in Cardiff, and
Associate Director of the Queen’s
Theatre Hornchurch.
He works internationally as a director and writer. In 2015 he
became the first person to direct a commercial musical in
Egypt when he staged The Sound of Music in a tent outside
Cairo with British cast and orchestra.
In 2023 his play Do You Believe in Ghosts? had a very
successful UK national tour and his stage adaptation of The
Devil’s Advocate had a long tour of the Netherlands.
He is the author of the books How Musicals Work and Rodgers
and Hammerstein’s ‘The Sound of Music’.
Julian is the author of many plays and musicals. Among these
are The Wind In The Willows (Sevenoaks Playhouse,
Brewhouse Theatre Taunton), the musical adaptation of The
Railway Children (Sevenoaks, Taunton and more than 100
productions worldwide); Liberace, Live From Heaven, (Leicester
Square Theatre, Edinburgh Festival, New Zealand tour) and
the new version of Lionel Bart’s Twang!!, (GSA, Union Theatre).
22
Vivace Chorus
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About Vivace Chorus
Jeremy Backhouse
Francis Pott
Richard Dacey
Music Director
Accompanist
Chairman
Vivace Chorus is a flourishing, ambitious and adventurous
choir based in Guildford, Surrey. We enjoy singing traditional
choral classics alongside the challenge of contemporary and
newly-commissioned music – there’s something for everyone
at Vivace!
The choir began in 1946 as the Guildford Philharmonic Choir
and was rebranded as Vivace Chorus in 2005. We have an
enviable reputation for performing first-class concerts across a
wide range of musical repertoire. Particular successes include
a sell-out performance in May 2011 of Mahler’s Symphony No.
8, the "Symphony of a Thousand", at the Royal Albert Hall, a
highly acclaimed performance in November 2012 of Britten’s
War Requiem and another Royal Albert Hall success in May
2014 when we performed the Verdi Requiem. In 2017 we
celebrated our 70th birthday with the Philharmonia Orchestra
in the Royal Festival Hall and 2018 saw a sell-out performance
at G Live Guildford for our "Concert for Peace".
24
Vivace Chorus
On 13th July 2025, we plan to
return to the Royal Albert Hall
again, where we will be joined by
other local choirs, the Royal
Philharmonic Concert Orchestra
and internationally renowned
soloists Nicky Spence and Lucy
Crowe, to perform Ravel’s
Daphnis et Chloé Suite, Poulenc’s
Gloria and the spectacular Te
Deum by Berlioz.
Vivace
thrives
under
the
exceptional leadership of our
conductor, Jeremy Backhouse.
Photo © Ash Mills
Jeremy’s passion for choral music and his sheer enthusiasm for
music-making are evident at every rehearsal and performance.
He is supported by Francis Pott, who is an academic and
composer of international repute and an accomplished
concert pianist – who better to accompany our rehearsals?
We have also enjoyed successful European and UK tours,
including trips to France, Italy, Germany, Austria, the Baltic
states and, most recently, northern Spain.
We are always happy to welcome new members, so if you
would like to try us out, do come along to any of our regular
rehearsals on Monday evenings at 7.15 in the Guildford Baptist
Church, Millmead, Guildford.
Just contact our membership secretary, Becky Kerby, at
membership@vivacechorus.org or pay a visit to our website,
vivacechorus.org. You can also follow us on Facebook and X
(Twitter) - @VivaceChorus.
Vivace Chorus
25
Friary Brass Band
After taking the First Section title in 2010 and thus earning
promotion to the top flight, Friary evolved into the leading
band in the south of England under the baton of former
Grenadier Guards Bandmaster Chris King.
With a record-equalling five consecutive Regional
Championship titles, eight consecutive appearances at the
National Finals, two Audience Entertainment Awards at Brass
in Concert and three Most Entertaining Band prizes at Butlins,
the Band’s reputation for quality playing and entertainment
has blossomed.
Following Chris King’s departure in 2023, the MD mantle was
passed to Nigel Taken. Currently based in Chertsey, Surrey,
Friary takes its name from its initial sponsor, Guildford’s Friary
Meux brewery and celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.
Apart from concerts and contests, Friary has played at many
26
Vivace Chorus
special occasions, including major sporting events such as the
British Grand Prix and rugby internationals at Twickenham and
Wembley, and for a local theatre company’s production of
Brassed Off. Each Christmas the Band, itself a registered
charity, raises funds for the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air
Ambulance Trust playing seasonal music.
Joint concerts have been staged with Fairey, Brighouse &
Rastrick and Cory, as well as with the North East Hants East
Schools Bands where two of the Band’s principal players
started their banding careers.
Principal Cornet
Richard Straker
Solo Horn
Morgan Marston
Second Trombone
Kevin Webb
Solo Cornets
Hannah Richards
Jack Beer
Andy Singleton
First Horn
Kirsten-Ruth
Macdonald
Bass Trombone
Adam Gregory
Soprano Cornet
Glenn Carroll
Repiano Cornet
Alistair Richards
Second Cornets
Simon Persin
Kendall Skirving
Third Cornets
David Wicks
Allan Martin
Flugel Horn
Lauren Straker
Vivace Chorus
Second Horn
Nick Krebs
Solo Euphonium
Chris Straker
Second Euphonium
Hannah Taken
First Baritone
Jonti WhittinghamSmith
Second Baritone
Stephen Thorpe
b
E Basses
Chris Pearce
David Stokes
b
BB Basses
Cat WhittinghamSmith
Pat Donovan
Percussionists
Martin Davies
Mike Jefferies
Chris Attwood
Will Rowling
First Trombone
Peter Fewster
27
Vivace Chorus Singers
FIRST SOPRANO
Alex Nash
SECOND ALTO
Stephen Linton
Sandra Adamson
Alison Palmer
Geraldine Allen
Charles Martin
Amelia Atkinson
Kate Peters
Evelyn Beastall
Graham Vincent
Helen Beevers
Olwyn Westwood
Mary Clayton
Mary Broughton
Christine Wilks
Sheena Ewen
Paula Garcia Pardo
Eiri Williams
Liz Hampshire
FIRST BASS
Tim Wray*
Pauline Higgins
Phil Beastall
Isabel Holdaway
FIRST ALTO
Penny Macfarlane
Richard Broughton
Isobel Humphreys
Jackie Bearman
Lois McCabe
Richard Dacey*
Becky Kerby
Jane Brooks
Kay McManus
Brian John
Fran MacKay
Amanda Burn
Val Morcom
Jeremy Johnson
Suzie Maine
Philippa Curtis
Pamela Murrell
Andrew Linden
Michelle Mumford
Fiona Davidge
Sonja Nagle
Jon Long
Sue Norton
Valentina Faedi
Sheila Rowell
Malcolm Munt
Robin Onslow
Lynne Hargreaves
Lucy Schönberger
Chris Newbery
Sian Prentice
Sheila Hodson
Jo Stokes
Andrew Skinner
Gillian Rix
Jean Leston
Rosey Storey
Philip Stanford
Sarah Smithies
Lis Martin
Pamela Usher
Rob Walker
Barbara Tansey
Charlotte Mathieson
Esther Van Rooyen
Joan Thomas
Penny McLaren
Alison Vincent
Hilary Vaill
Rosalind Milton
Georgie von
Lilly Nicholson
FIRST TENOR
Stuart Gooch
Schweinitz
Jackie Payne
Bob Bromham
Nick Gough
Miriam White
Elinor Pinnegar
Audrey Kueh
Mike Johns
Linda Ross
Nick Manning
Neil Martin
SECOND SOPRANO
Catherine Shacklady
Martin Price
Chris Peters*
Jacqueline Alderton
Marjory Stewart
John Trigg
Andrew Robertson
Gill Backhouse
Julia Stubbs
Susie Walker
Richard Wood
Sarah Badger
Nicola Telcik
Scarlett Close
Hilary Trigg
SECOND TENOR
* = soloist in
Ann Fuller
Anna Williams
Simon Dillon
Guys and Dolls
Margaret Kay
Fiona Wimblett
Geoff Johns
Jo Haviland
SECOND BASS
Norman Carpenter
Isabel Mealor
28
Vivace Chorus
Vivace Chorus Patrons
The Vivace Chorus is extremely grateful to all patrons for their support.
Honorary Life Patrons
John Britten
James Garrow
John Trigg MBE
Life Patrons
John and Jean Leston
Platinum Patrons
Richard & Mary Broughton
Amanda Burn
Humphrey Cadoux-Hudson CBE
Norman Carpenter
Andrea & Gunter Dombrowe
Rosemary & Michael Dudley
Geoffrey Forster
Susan Hinton
Stephen Linton
John McLean OBE & Janet McLean
Ron & Christine Medlow
Lionel & Mary Moon
Peter Norman
Robin Privett
David & Linda Ross
Geoffrey Johns & Sheila Rowell
Catherine & Brian Shacklady
Prue & Derek Smith
Dennis & Marjory Stewart
Idris & Joan Thomas
Pam Usher
Rob and Susie Walker
Anthony J T Williams
Bill & June Windle
BECOME A VIVACE PATRON
If you have enjoyed this concert, why not become one of our patrons? We
have a loyal band of followers whose regular presence at our concerts is
greatly appreciated. With the valued help of our patrons, we are able to
perform a wide range of exciting music, with world-class, professional
musicians in venues such as G Live, Dorking Halls, the Royal Albert Hall and
the Royal Festival Hall. If you are interested, please contact Anna Arthur by
emailing: patrons@vivacechorus.org.
Vivace Chorus
29
Vivace Chorus dates for your diary
The Mayor of Guildford's Christmas Concert
Sunday 15th Dec. 2024 7:00pm
Holy Trinity Church, Guildford
Join Vivace Chorus and the Mayor of Guildford for the season's most
popular carol concert, attracting a capacity audience at Holy Trinity
Church on Guildford High Street. This concert is a festive mix of
traditional and contemporary music, along with your favourite
audience carols, all in aid of the Mayor's Local Support Fund.
Come and Sing: Berlioz Te Deum
Saturday 15th Feb 2025 10:00am
Guildford Baptist Church
We’ll be singing this wonderful work in the Royal Albert Hall on
Sunday July 13th 2025, with around 400 singers, the Royal
Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and soloists Lucy Crowe and Nicky
Spence. Why not come and experience this wonderful music for
yourself at our Come & Sing? As always, your ticket includes music
hire, tea and coffee and a Vivace lunch.
Rossini: Petite Messe Solennelle
Saturday 22th March 2025 7:30pm
Holy Trinity Church, Guildford
“Dear God, there you have it, finished, this poor little Mass. Is it really
sacred music or is it damned music that I have created? I was born
for opera buffa, as you well know! Little technique, a little heart, that
is all. So may you be blessed and grant me Paradise.”
This is what Rossini wrote at the end of his manuscript for the Petite
Messe solennelle – not a ‘poor little Mass’ at all. In fact, it’s quite
unlike any other Mass for several reasons, and is beloved of
audiences and musicians alike.
Further details at vivacechorus.org
Printed by IMPRINT COLOUR LTD
Pegasus Court, North Lane, Aldershot GU12 4QP. Tel : 01252 330683
Vivace Chorus is a Registered Charity No. 1026337
30
Vivace Chorus
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Memorial Annual Lecture:
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with former BBC Arts
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BOOK TICKETS HERE
St Mary's Church, Worplesdon, GU3 3RE
For Further Information:
enquiries@sidneysimegallery.org.uk, 07951024220
PETITE MESSE
SOLENNELLE
ROSSINI
Conductor:
Jeremy Backhouse
Saturday
22 March 2025
at 7.30 pm
Vivace
Holy Trinity,
Guildford High Street.
For further details and to book go to vivacechorus.org
Registered Charity No. 1207710
Vivace 2024-25.indd 12
29/10/2024 10:05
FUTURE CONCERTS
Vivace
Come
+Sing
Rotary in Guildford and
Vivace Chorus present
THE MAYOR OF GUILDFORD’S
CHRISTMAS
CONCERT
Conductor: Jeremy Backhouse
in aid of
Guildford Veterans´ Hub and Matrix
Berlioz
Te Deum
Saturday
15 Feb 2025
10am - 4.30pm
Sunday
15 Dec 2024
at 7pm
Holy Trinity Church, Guildford.
Vivace
Guildford Baptist Church, Millmead.
For further details and to book go to vivacechorus.org
Registered Charities: Rotary No.1201415 / Vivace No.1026337
PETITE MESSE
SOLENNELLE
Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra
ROSSINI
TE DEUM
RAVEL
POULENC
Conductor:
Jeremy Backhouse
BERLIOZ
DAPHNIS ET CHLOË
GLORIA
Tenor: Nicky Spence
Soprano: Lucy Crowe
Conductor: Jeremy Backhouse
VIVACE CHORUS
GUILDFORD CHORAL
SOCIETY
Saturday
22 March 2025
at 7.30 pm
Vivace
TIFFIN CHOIRS
FARNHAM
YOUTH CHOIR
Holy Trinity,
Guildford High Street.
Registered Charity No. 1207710
Extravaganza-Programme.indd 1
THE LONDON CHORUS
TWICKENHAM CHORAL
SOCIETY
Vivace
Royal
Albert Hall
Sunday 13 July 2025