I bet you thought it was an earthquake eh Nottingham? Well no it was actually Rock Choir Live in concert at The Albert Hall Conference Centre and what a concert!!
This was the scene we were greeted with when we first walked into the Main Hall, yes confronted with a huge big organ (so many jokes, so little time), our stage for the evening. The Derbyshire Choirs performed on Saturday (14th) and the Nottinghamshire Rockies performed last night (15th). Two years ago we all performed on one night at The Royal Concert Hall but this was so much better, a little less hectic shall we say. We were not just randomly chucked into our places here, oh no there was a plan. Time was taken to get us all in our harmony parts and in a position we could all see our choir leader and be seen by our audience. That's important, we need to show off our beautiful singing faces and show off our moves we've worked so hard to perfect. After all this was done there was a chance to soundcheck a few songs, get the levels right you know.....oh get me - I am not just a gal talking about tea, I'm now a performer (who loves tea). Next came the rehearsal of everyone coming off stage and then everyone leading back onto the stage. We had this fabulous walking on routine, singing as we go which just worked with perfection (well done Jennie). What a way to enter.....this was just getting so exciting beyond belief. An hour to go until we needed to get back into position so now was airtime to eat our tea and then get into our Rock Choir uniform ready for the big show. Now I'm not going to tell you that we had a bit of a panic before we lined up because that would be daft, no one in the audience knew so why mention it, well I fear if I don't tell you my friend Lesley will. When we rehearsed this line up thing we got used to the person in front of us and who was behind but then when everyone changed into their uniform they all looked the same. So there was a bit of a ka'fuffle about where in the line me and Lesley were, well after a dash panic up and down the stairs we settled in the right place but for a moment I had visions of having to sit on someones knee, completely ruining the logistics of all this carefully choreographed routine because I had got in the wrong line up. Phew it was ok in the end........we laugh now. Boom the lights went down and off we went. My heart nearly pounding out my chest but once we got going it felt just awesome to be on that stage doing everything we had learnt, practiced and put together. With added extras from choir leaders Jennie and Kat, the solos from the very brave Rockies who stepped up to that challenge and the magnificent poem read out by two of our members it was night to be so proud to be a part of Rock Choir. We were also joined by two volunteer representatives from The Alzheimer's Society who talked about the charity and how it helps people with the condition. There were also collection buckets there to raise very valuable funds. I can't tell you how great it felt to take part in this show. To some it may seem no big deal but for me and a lot of others it is. Rock Choir is not just a bunch of people turning up to sing every week, we have become great friends. We socialise together, we help each other out when times are tough and I suppose you could say we have become one big family. To get up on stage and sing these songs for some takes a huge amount courage and confidence and we had a lot of members who were taking part for the first time and guess what? We were all there to help the newbies pop their performance cherries .......as it were. I would like to thank my fellow members because you mean so much to me. I would like to say a big thank you also to Jennie our choir leader who is just amazing, without her we would never have done this. She gives us confidence but keeps us relaxed to believe we can do great things. Jennie's mum Sue is lovely and her organisation makes us look as good as we did that night. Just don't tell her I lost my place!!! Jennie's dad takes photos for us which we all appreciate when we have all calmed down and able to look back on our time here and also choir leader Kat who gave us beautiful piano accompaniment to some of our songs. I still need to come down from this experience and will do eventually but I will, like most other Rockies look back on this as just one of the best experiences ever........what World Cup? Who won Wimbledon? Who blooming cares now............we are Rock Choir and definitely ROCKED!!!! If you would like to join in the fun then why don't you come along for a free taster session in September? Go to www.rockchoir.com for more information and to find your local session. We also have a Facebook page at www.facebook.com/rockchoirderbyshireandnottinghamshire/ so if you want to see what we actually got up this weekend then do feel free to take a look. Take a look at some of my Music Monday posts as they do feature Rock Choir a lot. I do try to give to an idea of what goes on and a taste of life as a Rockie. Thanks for reading today, please join me again tomorrow for Teapot Tuesday but for now...... Take care.
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I know!!! This is how I feel when our sessions break up for the summer. All is not lost though as we still have our Summer Concert to perform on Saturday, yes this coming Saturday!!! So although our weekly sessions have finished we are now ready for rehearsal this week and onto The Albert Hall, no not that one......the Nottingham one. Blimey give us a break......we've done Abbey Road, lets not get too carried away.
For those who do miss Rock Choir over the summer there are also the Summer of Rock Workshops where Rockies can have a go at singing out a few tunes such as the Guns n' Roses classic 'Sweet Child O' Mine', Tina Turner's 'Simply The Best' and Europe's 'The Final Countdown'. Do do do do do do do do........sorry got carried away there. We can also invite our friends and family too so wake up granny on the sofa and take her to a session near you. For details of your nearest session got to www.rockchoirsummer.com There are also some tickets left for our Rock Choir Live Concert.... for details of those and to be a part of the evening go to: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/rock-choir-live-tickets-44324646210 Not so bad eh? There is hope for all of us addicted to Rock Choir and we have some cracking new tunes to look forward to learning in September. No I'm not telling you what they are until later.......keep reading - watch this space. If you fancy joining us come along for a free taster in the new term. I don't think the free taster will include the upcoming concert which would be a bit daft and immense pressure. Here you go.......nervous newbie - straight in with fourteen songs you don't know. That's why it's good to start with a new term and new songs, starting fresh with everyone else. It's great, there's no audition and you don't have to have any previous vocal tuition, you just come along and sing for fun.....that's all there is to it. For details of your nearest session go to www.rockchoir.com So there we leave it.......I'm sure I'll keep you updated on how the concert goes and anything that pops up in the meantime.......but take care for now. Join me tomorrow for Teapot Tuesday. Bye for now. After my post last week about our Summer Concert with Rock Choir that is getting quite near now I thought I might follow it up with a survival guide. Why you ask do we need a survival guide?
Well I know how some of our Rockies may be feeling at the moment. Maybe you’re thinking that you’d like to take part but you either don’t feel confident, a little nervous of a bigger show. Maybe you feel you just won’t remember those lyrics or the moves. Take a deep breath because I’m going to talk to through it. I took part in my first big performance a couple of years ago which took part at The Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham. I hadn’t been with Rock Choir that long so I wondered whether I had done the right thing by volunteering to perform. There were a lot of songs to perform, more than we had sang at the smaller performances and the venue was huge so that meant the audience was going to be huge too. I remember Jennie our choir leader posting a picture on Facebook of the view from the stage looking out to the auditorium and that was it…..I was nervous but at the same time I felt really excited. As soon as we all got together for the rehearsal I started to feel a bit more relaxed. I wasn’t on my own and I felt it was all going to be ok. The lights went up and it started, my heart was pounding but as soon as we got into our first song I was there in the moment and it felt great. I had suddenly forgotten all my worries. That first round of applause after the first song puts you at ease and it’s like………ok let’s do the next one….I’m in the zone now. It’s a great experience and a chance to put all your hard work into something wonderful. So go for it! Here are a few of my top tips for a big performance. Lyrics - listen to your downloads as much as possible leading up to the show. While doing the dishes, housework, in the car, walking the dog - whenever possible so those lyrics start to sink in. The supermarket is ok but be prepared for a few looks particularly if you 'salsa' or 'sway' too close to the Chilli Con Carne there is enough spice in those moves eh? Moves - if you can watch You Tube videos on the moves they help but don’t worry too much, concentrate on the singing first and the moves will follow. Yes they will - BELIEVE!!! Newbies/First Timers - talk to other Rockies, we are all here to help each other. Grab as much information as possible about what usually happens and say if you are nervous and then someone can buddy with you to make you feel at ease. Everyone has been there so don’t worry. Rehearsal - attend the rehearsals, this will give you a picture of how things are going to pan out and it also gives you chance to ask any questions you may have. TRUST - trust your choir leader!! They are there to give you lyrics, the moves and your harmony parts. When you think about it you are trying to concentrate on one part but think about them, they have learnt all of them so imagine what is going through their heads but they remain cool don’t they? Watch them and follow their instructions. Everything you need is right there in front of you so make use of them. Mistakes - Yes you may fluff up somewhere it’s only natural but if you do just act as if nothing as happened. You will notice the mistake but the audience won’t. They don’t know the harmonies or the moves so mistakes will usually go unnoticed. If you make a mistake, forget it and move on. SMILE - probably the most important one. We all have those concentration faces especially when thinking about lyrics and the moves. It is a bit like rubbing your tummy and patting your head some of the time but a smile will get you through help you relax and show the audience you are having fun. Enjoy it!! - you will be so surprised at how quick these performances go. The time zooms by and before you know it it’s the last song and it’s all done. Have fun, we are taking part for our own enjoyment and that’s what it should be all about. You can do this and the sense of achievement at the end is a great feeling. Before you know it you’ll be asking when you can do it again. I hope that all helps. Please leave a comment below if you are a Rockie and feel a bit unsure about performing or feel nervous and I’m more than happy to help. I’ll let you into a secret though, I get nervous too but I just think it’s normal and ok to feel like that…..it shows how much it means and that you care. So forget that pressure and just go and sing your hearts out. Have fun Rockies. Thanks for reading today. Please join me again tomorrow for Teapot Tuesday but for now…… Take care. We get some great opportunities with Rock Choir and after the privilege of being able to record at Abbey Road Studios we now move onto our Live Summer Show. This takes place at The Albert Hall Conference Centre in Nottingham on the 14th and 15th July.
The Derbyshire Rock Choirs from Derby, Mickleover and Duffield will be performing on Saturday 14th and the Nottinghamshire Choirs from Mansfield and Beeston will perform on Sunday 15th. So pick a date a come along and see us. We have many great songs and some new ones too so if you haven't seen us for a while you will experience some nice fresh tunes with super harmonies if I do say so myself. If you do fancy a bit of a night out then you won't be disappointed. The tickets are available by following this link www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/rock-choir-live-tickets-44324647213?aff=es2 They are priced at £13.50 and on the night there will be representatives from The Alzheimers Society who will be raising money for their fabulous charity so what are you waiting for? All of these lovely Rock Choir members enjoy getting together each week just to sing for fun. We are not professionals although I do think we have earned rock star status now we have been to Abbey Road (oops did I mention that again?) We do have a lot of giggles and so much fun but we also work hard learning our harmony parts, memorising lyrics and rehearsing to hopefully bring you a great sound to listen to. I love Rock Choir as you know and I'll not shut up about it as it just makes me so happy. Taking part in the performances we do and in a show like this gives me and the others a chance to put what we have learnt into something spectacular so we would all like to share that with you. Hope to see you there! Take care for now and I will return tomorrow for Teapot Tuesday. |
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