On Saturday 25th April Caldicot Male Voice Choir joined with the fabulous Usk and Chepstow Singing Club to perform a concert at St Mary’s Priory, Chepstow to raise funds for SARA, The Severn Area Rescue Association which, as explained by compere Richard Newhouse, carries out sea and land rescues and searches throughout the Severn Estuary. Entirely made up of volunteers the Association receives about 100 callouts every years, saving many lives.
The concert opened with Caldicot Male Voice Choir, conducted by Musical Director Sian Hatton, Deputy Musical Director Shirley Anne James and accompanied by John Nicholson presented to an audience of almost 200, a wide range of 15 songs in its programme, opening with ‘Rachie’, ‘African Prayer’ sung partly in Welsh and including favourites ‘Shenandoah’, ’16 Tons’, ’Benedictus’ and ‘Anfonaf Angel’, both by Robat Arwyn and the hymn ‘Cwm Rhondda’. The choir’s programme also included ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, ’May You Always Have a Song’, Autumn Leaves’ and finalising with ‘This is the Moment from the musical Jekyll and Hyde receiving enthusiastic and long lasting applause.
The concert also included the wonderful Chepstow and Usk Singing Club conducted and accompanied by Jayne Thomas. The club, consisting of mixed voices presented a delightful range of songs opening with ‘Lean on Me’ followed by ‘Rags to Ritz’ a medley of Irving Berlin songs. The next items included ‘O Waly Waly’ (The Water is Wide, a Scottish Folk Song) with violinist Sara Long and on whistle Suzanne Moore-Orly and included ‘A River of Dreams’, ‘A Million Dreams’ from the Greatest Showman, finalising with ‘One Day Like This’ arranged by choir founder Karl Daymond.
The concert was thoroughly enjoyed by all and everyone left knowing that they had experienced a unique event to raise much needed funds for SARA.
Please visit the web sites https://www.sara-rescue.org.uk/ www.caldicotmalevoicechoir.co.uk and https://singingclubber.co.uk/ for more information of both choirs and SARA