Category: News

Ticket sales for the Aspire Concert have been exceptionally good  and it looks like there will be a really good crowd on Saturday evening.

Car Parking on St John’s Street and at the St John’s Centre will not have sufficient parking capacity for everyone.

There is plenty of parking on the Rosemary Street car park or on the old Bus Station site

“Aspire” – A Concert in aid of the Spire Appeal at St John’s Church, Mansfield – Saturday 10 November 2018 7:30pm

Mansfield & District Male Voice Choir, The Singers and the Boots Orchestra:  What a combination -an evening of musical delight!

The venue – the building dates to 1855-56 and the height of the so-called Gothic Revival; architecture was part of a movement back then to distinguish Anglican churches from the large number of non-conformist churches being built at the time. It has to be said that the church building has suffered through a long period of neglect and is in need of major work to the structure; this work is now on-going. For the purposes of the concert we will have a lovely atmospheric venue and excellent acoustics.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]What a combination -an evening of musical delight![/perfectpullquote]

The Singers under the direction of Meryl Chambers go from strength to strength. Meryl’s passion for teaching and her great love of choral music has been the foundation for the choir. Following their recent performance at the Festival of Remembrance at Mansfield Palace Theatre a member of the audience was heard to remark that the Singers were “the best I’ve ever heard” from them. It’s a great joy to see these young people develop their talents and their love of music and will it be wonderful to sing with them again.

The Boots Orchestra will be new for many of our audience. The Boots Company have a long tradition of encouraging cultural involvement (between 1898 and 1966, many branches of Boots incorporated a lending library department) and Jesse Boot himself encouraged a variety of choirs and bands. The present orchestra was founded by Arthur Brown in 1951 and the current conductor is John Sheppard. We are very much looking forward to hearing their music in Mansfield and the experience of singing with and listening to a 38-piece orchestra will be amazing.

As always, the programme will be rich and varied, with something for everyone including some items with all choristers and musicians together. Not to be missed!

For full details and ticket information see the Events page

25th Festival of Remembrance – 29 October 2018 – Mansfield Palace Theatre. Presented by the Royal British Legion, Mansfield & Mansfield Bellamy Branches.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old
Age shall not weary the, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning,
We will remember them.

11 November 2018 is the centenary of the Armistice which formally terminated hostilities on the Western Front and brought that bloody and bitter conflict, which came to be referred to as the Great War, to an end.

The end of that war has a special meaning of course in centenary year but the remembrance of the fallen in 1914-1918 and of those who have given their lives in every other conflict since will continue as a moral imperative, lest we forget, for us and for every generation to come.

The items chosen for our programme this year were Rachie ( sung in Welsh), Mansions of the Lord, Gwahoddiad (sung in English), For the Fallen, Goin’ Up A Yonder ( with the Singers) and American Trilogy (with Blidworth Welfare Band).

Hush little baby don’t you cry
You know your daddy’s born to die
All my trials, Lord
Soon be over
( All My Trials from American Trilogy)

As always, it was a privilege, for us choristers to sing at this event. Barry Robinson (baritone) expressed his experience of singing one particular song,  “American Trilogy with the band was, in my opinion, out of this world.”

[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”American Trilogy with the band was, in my opinion, out of this world” –  Barry Robinson[/perfectpullquote]

That amalgamation of three separate songs commemorates another conflict which was just as bitter and just as bloody and just as heartbreaking as any war. The songs and the piece together as a Trilogy encapsulate the agonies of loss in every war and the longings we all have for a world where there is no war.

This song and all of the  songs in the programme  we sang  with respect and honour for the fallen and for the  ones they left behind.

With special thanks to the Committee of the Royal British Legion in our local area and all those who organized the Event.