My dear Friends
I am delighted to tell you that the concert last Wednesday wasa a success. The venue was fabulous in robinson college Chapel and about thirty five people of different persuasions turned up, seemed enthousiastic and sang most of the music! It was lovely to see so many Friends in the audience.
Normally I give the audience a little time to warm up, but as i kicked off with Last night I had the strangest dream, that seminal Peace song by Ed McCurdy, father of folk in the modern day, they were encouraged to sing along amyway. it was a magic!
Donna Donna is a moving song anyway, all the more so when I stopped singing and they kept on, as they had in the first Concert for Peace and Reconciliation in Clare College all those years ago.
The evening would not have been such a great success if I had not shared the platform with a very special lady. Sue Gilmaurray is a singer and composer of some distinction, composing her own Peace songs, such as So let Peace Come.She introduce her songs in a very moving way. singing one of Tommy Sands, entitled Music of Healing, she recounted how Tommy Sands grew up as a Catholic in Belfast during the Troubles. As a child he would hear his father play some musical instrument as he was going to sleep; from the window he could hear the sound of the Orange drum, beating and from time to time he says it seemd that the two sounds were in tune together.
I sang a famous love song called Autumn Leaves (which my friend Anne Maddocks says is one of her favourites) and concluded the evening with a little medley of peace songs from the Jewish liturgy. They seemed to go down well and in the final tune from Psalm 33. Behold how good and pleasnat a tribe of brotheres living in uity together, the audience sang in parts.
Grateful thanks goes to Rev Simon Perry, Chaplain of Robinson College. I was able to make a small donation from the generous proceeds to the College. Simon was pleased, says he was sorrry not to make it to the concert, but hopes to come to the next one!
All good wishes and shalom
Gila
I am delighted to tell you that the concert last Wednesday wasa a success. The venue was fabulous in robinson college Chapel and about thirty five people of different persuasions turned up, seemed enthousiastic and sang most of the music! It was lovely to see so many Friends in the audience.
Normally I give the audience a little time to warm up, but as i kicked off with Last night I had the strangest dream, that seminal Peace song by Ed McCurdy, father of folk in the modern day, they were encouraged to sing along amyway. it was a magic!
Donna Donna is a moving song anyway, all the more so when I stopped singing and they kept on, as they had in the first Concert for Peace and Reconciliation in Clare College all those years ago.
The evening would not have been such a great success if I had not shared the platform with a very special lady. Sue Gilmaurray is a singer and composer of some distinction, composing her own Peace songs, such as So let Peace Come.She introduce her songs in a very moving way. singing one of Tommy Sands, entitled Music of Healing, she recounted how Tommy Sands grew up as a Catholic in Belfast during the Troubles. As a child he would hear his father play some musical instrument as he was going to sleep; from the window he could hear the sound of the Orange drum, beating and from time to time he says it seemd that the two sounds were in tune together.
I sang a famous love song called Autumn Leaves (which my friend Anne Maddocks says is one of her favourites) and concluded the evening with a little medley of peace songs from the Jewish liturgy. They seemed to go down well and in the final tune from Psalm 33. Behold how good and pleasnat a tribe of brotheres living in uity together, the audience sang in parts.
Grateful thanks goes to Rev Simon Perry, Chaplain of Robinson College. I was able to make a small donation from the generous proceeds to the College. Simon was pleased, says he was sorrry not to make it to the concert, but hopes to come to the next one!
All good wishes and shalom
Gila
No comments:
Post a Comment