The Orchestra Cometh!
The first big event conceived and staged by 100k North Arts was a grand success: on Sunday 13 September 2009 the Yea Shire Hall hosted the Zelman Memorial Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra, a 60-piece ensemble founded in 1933, was conducted by Michael Woods, with John North on viola. The day was not without its stresses for those of us on the organising team, but it ended up being a sublime experience. The players were so close you could touch them, see their faces as they worked. Both the audience and the orchestra had a memorable time. Hence it is with much pleasure that we will welcome the Zelman Orchestra back to the Yea Shire Hall at 2pm on Sunday 12 September. This time the tickets will be prepaid, thus smoothing the entry and seating process. We’ll improve the experience for everyone, with the objective of making it even better than last year.
Conductor Mark Shiell will lead the orchestra through Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, Bottesini’s Passione Amorosa for 2 Double Bass and Orchestra, Rawlings’ Snow Rising, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4. Soloists for the Passione Amorosa will be Phoebe Russell and Damien Eckersley, and the orchestra leader will be Mary Johnston.
Tickets are on sale from 3 June! See our Zelman page for more details.
Community Singing
Yea Vocal Nosh has been running since early in 2008; it was the between-song discussions that gave rise to 100k North Arts. The fourth Monday of each month sees a group gather at 6:30pm, with most people carrying food of various kinds to share. Usually we meet at St Luke’s Church hall on Pelissier Street in Yea, but we’ve also established a tradition of singing at the Cheviot Railway Tunnel twice a year, in April and November. A group of hardy individuals don their coats and beanies, gather in the tunnel and share all manner of dinner before, during and after some energetic singing led by Adam Dennis. The sound of voices in the red-brick tunnel is something that shouldn’t be missed, and the buzz of sharing in the adventure takes days to wear off. Absolutely everyone is welcome – bring a chair, a torch, some food that can be eaten cold or kept warm(ish) until we get to it.
For many people, singing is something to be avoided. So often we hear “you don’t want to hear my voice singing along”. Oh, but we do. Our group celebrates how much fun it is to sing, how easy it is when you’re with a bunch of other people, and someone is telling you exactly what to do. We laugh and sing and share food and never worry at all about how good or bad anyone’s voice is. If you come along you are guaranteed to have a good time.
Use the Contact page to enquire about singing along.