The Melbournaires
| Type of post: | Club news |
| Sub-type: | No sub-type |
| Posted By: | Dick Bushell |
| Status: | Current |
| Date Posted: | Fri, 16 Dec 2016 |
One of the great pleasures in life is to sing in a Barbershop Chorus. One of the great challenges in life is to sing in a Barbershop Chorus against a brass band.This happened to the Melbournaires recently, and although the Stonnington Brass Band may be among the best in Melbourne, being stuck behind a very enthusiastic tuba player makes it impossible to hear the pitch pipe, and harder still to find the first note. Still, the audience seemed to enjoy the unusual mix and probably declared the band the winner, but in all honesty, the chorus and the band had their own parts and only came together thankfully only briefly, with the band giving that brassy flourish to finish the number. It should be said that our MD, John Webb, was also performing under difficulties. Whilst conducting alongside the brass band conductor, he successfully avoided injury from the trombone players and only suffered mild deafness from being too close to the action.
A couple of months earlier we had been performing on a busy street corner opposite a train station, so should have been well versed in the art of blocking out extraneous noises and interjections, something that doesn't often happen at rehearsals.
At the end of November we had our Christmas dinner which show-cased our singing and comedy to many friends and families. Many members put in a lot of hard work to make the event the success it was, as everyone seemed to have a good time. The occasion is always one where the hirsute guys can let their hair down while the follically challenged ones provide the entertainment.
Terry Phillips