2006, History and other events
2006 started with a social afternoon at John and Diane Morgan’s home that was well attended. At the start of April many members were involved in a surprise wedding anniversary for John and Diane Morgan where new words were written for the Madrigal from Mikado.
After an analysis of Hobyahs it was decided that the timing of performances just after Christmas was inopportune as many people were away. It was decided to have a follow-up season to recoup the financial loss, but unfortunately this didn’t happen.
The Boorondara Band was invited to join us for a Cabaret evening and this proved very successful, though with Serendipity singing as well it was a long night, but at the end everyone still wanted to stay around for karaoke.
Later in April we were contacted by an agent wanting a choir to record some non-vocal music for film clips. This happened mid-May and took quite a bit of organizing to find eight soloists available for one rehearsal and one performance at short notice. This was a scary and exciting venture to be part of as we had limited preparation and studio time. One difficult part was recorded one note at a time! Later it was exciting when some heard their voices as background music for promotional ads on TV. However, when the CD eventuated some singers didn’t recognize it!
A rehearsal for Calamity Jane was moved from Sunday to Saturday to ensure everyone was available for the Choral@Montsalvat, where Serendipity assisted with the program. The program featured choruses from Calamity Jane with Meg including some solo passages and afterwards members of the choir went around listening to other choirs, including the Yarra Valley Singers. They’d heard our efforts and were pleased to be singing with us.
After the finances settled it was agreed to donate $4,500 to World Vision and $3,500 to Open House. World Vision had paid for the printing of the posters. In October, Suzanne Ireland, a finance manager in a small company and new member of DVS, asked if we’d like her to be treasurer. Would we! Also at the AGM Lynne Counsel was awarded a life membership.
At the end of October our second Open Day took place with well-known choral conductor, Faye Dumont. We rehearsed the choruses the week before, so were semi-prepared. The afternoon was for Faye to work with the singers, followed by a catered evening meal and the concert in the evening. Other choirs included The Proclaimers, The Bellbird Singers and the Heidelberg Choral Society. They each did a bracket before everyone joined in what had been rehearsed during the afternoon. It was a very successful day.
The eisteddfod was a bit down on numbers this year, though the Novice, won by Tim Warren, was full. Lucas Richter won the ballad and art song, while Malcolm Wilton won the musical and Kristina Hoel-Turner the encouragement award
Barry Gration, an experienced conductor married to one of our newer members, was invited to conduct the carols and he had some great ideas on conducting.
DVS wishes to thank it’s co-founder and long-time Artistic Director, Graham Ford, for the detailed biographical notes for the first 21 years of our history. From this point on, readers will find much briefer reports on our activities!