Portsmouth Harbour
As most of you lovely readers know by now, my time at The Royal College of Music is supported by The Josephine Baker Trust. The trust selects students with outstanding potential from The Royal College of Music and supports their studies by providing paid performance opportunities throughout England. On Saturday 25th March, my fellow Josephine Baker beneficiaries, Rosanna Cooper (mezzo), Thomas Erlank (tenor) and I popped over to Aldershot to perform Handel’s Israel in Egypt with the Waverley Singers at St. Andrew’s Garrison Church.
The church was absolutely beautiful to sing in, cosy and warm and we had the added bonus of the Brandenburg Baroque Soloists who made the performance feel so much more authentic. People are often under the assumption that ensemble singing is easier than performing alone as there’s not much of a risk of being exposed however, I always find that while performing with others is a joy, there is a greater need to listen intently and pair your sound as best you can with another voice. This was definitely the case in the duet Rosanna and I sang together: The Lord is my strength where there is a great deal of call and response however, her voice has the most deliciously fruity buttery quality to it and it was such a delight to sing with her.
I would like to thank Richard Pearce who conducted the concert, Stuart Kenny who took some absolutely gorgeous photos (view here) and Jo Reader, who I am so grateful to for giving me this fabulous opportunity and supporting my time in London.
Just last weekend on the 1st of April, Dominic Bevan (tenor), Christian Adolph (baritone), Anna Cooper (mezzo) and I all squeezed ourselves into Anna’s car and whizzed off to Portsmouth. My wonderful friend Dominic had booked us all to perform Dvorak’s Mass in D Major at Portsmouth Cathedral through his old friend and conductor, Thomas Neal.
Luckily for us all the weather was absolutely gorgeous and made the Cathedral and Harbour look even more beautiful. It was Thomas’ first concert with the cathedral choir as the newly appointed musical director so we all felt a little pressure to make sure it was a success. It was a blast and such a delight to sing with a choir that performed so passionately. It was a wonderful way to end the semester and we clearly all know how to do that in style: Anna and I whizzed off back to London belting out musical theatre tunes while Christian attempted to sleep and Dominic slipped of to France for a stag do! I hope you all have a wonderful Easter holiday and thanks as ever for reading!
Davidona Pittock 