What's On
When - Sunday 11th May 2025 at 7:30pm - Doors 6:45pm
Where - Uppermill Civic Hall, Lee Street, High Street, Uppermill, OL3 6AE
Tickets - Adults: £12.00
Children and Students £FREE
Love's Travails
For our Spring Concert we'll be singing our way to a better world. The songs we've found from a wide variety of cultures describe some dispiriting situations. But the folks who came up with them used music as a solace and a motivation: and they've inspired us.You'll be amazed at the funky jazz arrangements Bob Chilcott has crafted from traditional staples. Let us reveal to you how Gustav Holst has taken humble English tunes and woven the most exquisite, evocative soundscapes. Allow us to take you to the Seville cigarette factory: life is hard, but a young French genius conjures the unforgettable opera Carmen from the setting. Music is miraculous. Just when we're at our lowest ebb, it can show us the regenerative power we all have at our disposal. Choral music is no exception. This year SMS has been rehearsing with some of the region's most exciting young conductors. We've learned how brilliant composers take - as a seed - the melodies and laments which ordinary people have sung for generations; how they then nurture them, grow them, add a twist, and sculpt them into a glorious piece of art; and how we in turn - with patience and teamwork - can bring them to life and share them as an inspiring and entertaining challenge to the conspiring storms.
We will be joined by outstanding soloists including Toluwani Idowu, who is a member of the Mancunian Consort and has enchanted audiences whilst working with star conductors like Harry Christophers. She is looking forward, amongst other favourites, to bringing Gershwin's Summertime to a May evening in the hills.
Marshalling our eager choral forces and a concert orchestra - and making his Civic Hall debut - will be award-winning Manchester-based composer, conductor, singer and musician Henry Page MMus.
Programme will include excerpts from:
Bizet - Carmen
Holst - Six Choral Folksongs
Chilcott - Jazz Folk Songs and Irish Blessing
Tippett - Five Spirituals from A Child of Our Time
Gershwin - Porgy and Bess
Diary Dates
11th May 2025 - Spring Concert - Uppermill Civic Hall
14th December 2025 - Christmas Concert with Diggle School Choir - Uppermill Civic Hall