Saturday 25th March at 5pm
Round Chapel, Hackney
Victoria Park Singers conducted by Hannah Brine
Jonathan Williams pianist
Please ensure your phone and any other electronic devices are switched to silent. Enjoy the concert!
Programme
Ergen deda Traditional Bulgarian folksong. Music Peter Lyondev arr. Bryan Welton
Cough Cough Everything Everything arr. Robert Brooks
To the Mothers in Brazil Lars Jansson arr. Gunnar Eriksson
Total Praise Richard Smallwood
The Rose
Danza de gardenias Natalia Lafourcade
Performed by Antony Berou and Milena Berges
One Note Samba
Interval
Shed a little light James Taylor arr. Benny Lee
Thula Mama Traditional arr Alexander L’Estrange
I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun Nuyorican Soul
Come on baby light my fire Robby Krieger
Performed by Louisa Gummer
Kindling (Fickle Flame) Guy Garvie and John Grant arr. Michael Barker
Performed by Michael Barker & Theo Wardley-Cresser
And so it goes Billy Joel arr. Bob Chilcott
Performed by Spring Onions
Rivers of Babylon arr. Ken Burton
Stars Ēriks Ešenvalds
Sure on this shining night Morten Lauridsen
Victoria Park Singers
Victoria Park Singers is a 100-strong community choir formed by Hannah Brine in 2013. We are proud to have a no audition policy, yet are not afraid to tackle ambitious new choral works as well as music from the pop, gospel, folk and jazz genres. We have performed across London, including at the Union Chapel, Southbank Centre, St John at Hackney, Rich Mix and the the Museum of Childhood and since forming we have raised around £20,000 for charity. Ladies from our choir were lucky enough to perform as the opening act for the 2017 Olivier Awards at the Royal Albert Hall with Gary Barlow & the cast of his musical The Girls, having performed the previous November at the Royal Variety Show. Choir members have also recently been spotted performing in the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall this summer (Prom 66: In the Name of the Earth) and on BT Sport, being ‘conducted’ by football legend Gary Lineker. In 2020 we graced the Barbican stage, together with the LSO orchestra and a massed choir to perform Andre Thomas’ Symphonic Gospel Spirit. Our summer term starts on Wednesday 19th April and new members are welcome.
Hannah Brine
Originally from Leicester, Hannah has founded Finsbury Park Singers, Kensington Singers, Victoria Park Singers, High Peak Singers and the ITV office choir. She coached the choir for, and sang with, Gary Barlow for his 2016 Royal Variety performance and his 2017 Olivier Awards, for which he was the opening act, and also performed with Gary on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.
Her session credits include Disney, Upstart Crow and various dance releases, including her 2022 single You & I, which reached number 1 of the worldwide Trance charts. She can also be found composing for choirs. Her virtual choir piece Winter Lark, written during the 2020 pandemic, was first aired on Scala Radio, and Ray of Sunlight was performed last year by the London Symphony Orchestra’s Discovery Youth Choir. In 2015 Hannah was named a BBC Unsung Hero for her work with Victoria Park Singers.
Jonathan Williams – pianist
Jonathan Williams read Music at the University of Cambridge, receiving a BA (Hons) and MPhil, before going to London to study at the Royal Academy of Music. Since then, he has worked as an actor, singer and musical director for numerous productions in the West End, the UK and Europe. He has been a musical director for the Royal Shakespeare Company and worked on its recent productions of The Shoemaker’s Holiday, Oppenheimer, Doctor Faustus, Don Quixote and The Alchemist. Jonathan also works regularly for the education departments of the Royal Opera, Wigmore Hall and English National Opera, providing workshops for children, students and families.
Acknowledgements
A huge thanks to all the singers involved in tonight’s concert for their hard work. An especially big thank you goes to the team of volunteers from the choir who have helped make this event possible.
Thanks to the staff at Round Chapel, Hackney and our rehearsal venue, Lauriston School, and to you, our lovely audience, for supporting us.