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York Community Choir Festival on song for concert week at Joseph Rowntree Theatre

The Rolling Tones: Performing at York Community Choir Festival on March 5

EIGHT shows, with a different line-up every time, make up the York Community Choir Festival 2022, York’s celebration of choral music from Sunday to March 5.

Taking part will be three primary school choirs (Osbaldwick, Robert Wilkinson and Headlands), Huntington Secondary School gents and ladies’ choirs and 30 adult choirs.

Despite there being close to 200 song choices, in only one concert will the same song be sung by two choirs, in very different styles. Each concert ends with everyone singing I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing. Tickets are on sale on 01904 501935 or at josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk

The concert line-ups:

Sunday, 4pm

Jubilate, ladies’ choir; Community Chorus, mixed voices; Chechelele, world music a cappella; Singphonia, Don Pears’ new choir.

Monday, 7.30pm

Garrowby Singers, mixed voices; Tadcaster Community Choir, mixed; The Chorus Crew, male shanties and folk song from Harrogate area; Main Street Sound Ladies Barbershop Chorus, ladies’ barbershop.

Tuesday, 7.30pm

Track 29 Ladies Close Harmony Chorus, ladies’ chorus; In Harmony, mixed voices; The Daytones Harmony Chorus, male barbershop, from Clifford; Dunnington Community Choir, mixed voices.

Wednesday, 7.30pm

Sounds Fun Singers, ladies’ choir; York Celebration Singers, mixed voices; Euphonics, ladies’ choir; Stamford Bridge Community Choir, mixed voices.

Thursday, 7.30pm

York Military Wives Choir, ladies’ choir; York Hospital Wellbeing Choir, mixed choir; Easingwold Community Singers, mixed choir; Spirit Of Harmony, male barbershop.

Friday, 7.30pm

Eboraca; Huntington School Choirs; Acomb Community Choir, mixed; York Phoenix Harmonies.

Saturday, March 5, 2.30 pm

Osbaldwick Primary School; Headlands Primary School; The Rolling Tones, seniors’ choir; Three Crown Sound; York Musical Theatre Company.

Saturday, March 5, 7:30 pm
The Abbey Belles, ladies’ choir; Bishopthorpe Community Choir, mixed choir; York Philharmonic Male Voice Choir; Supersingers, mixed choir; Robert Wilkinson Primary School Choir.

Gus, the theatre cat, takes up residence on Joseph Rowntree Theatre frontage to add to York Cat Trail 13/4/2022

Paws for thought: Who’s that climbing the Joseph Rowntree Theatre wall? Meet Gus, the Theatre Cat

THE Joseph Rowntree Theatre has joined the York Cat Trail with the arrival of Gus, the Theatre Cat, on the Art Deco building’s handsome frontage in Haxby Road, York.

Inspiration for the new addition came from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Cats and T. S. Eliot’s original poems about the Jellicle Cats in Old Possum’s Book Of Cat, whereupon Gus was commissioned from York wood sculptor Jonathan Newdick.

Stan Young, author of The Mystery Cats of York, said: “The Joseph Rowntree Theatre is a very iconic building in York. Not only was it created by the Rowntree family and company, but it’s also York’s only Art Deco theatre. The theatre board made a great decision, leading to Jonathan making the cat!” Gus was duly welcomed to his new home by York’s Town Crier, Ben Fry, in an official ceremony in April.

Theatre trustee and community engagement director Graham Mitchell said: “My colleague Keith Barnes came up with the idea of adding Gus to our frontage as an extra interest for theatregoers, especially the younger ones. We may be a mile away from the nearest York Mystery Cat on Goodramgate, but we hope that people will visit us in the Rowntree/Nestle Conservation Area.

“The Rowntree Society have many Rowntree-related walks that can be found on their website, as well as handy walk guides. The theatre also offers theatre tours – in person and online – for interested groups.”

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Mick and Jessa, Fields and Lanes, poems and songs, under an Easingwold willow tree

MIck and Jessa Liversidge in the Yorkshire open air during their Fields And Lanes lockdown project

JESSA and Mick Liversidge are to perform Fields And Lanes Under The Willow Tree, an uplifting hour of timeless songs and poetry, in the open air at Easingwold Community Library on Sunday afternoon.

“Fields And Lanes is a joint project for Mick and me, inspired by the wonderful reaction we’ve had to our outdoor poetry and songs in lockdown,” says Jessa, the song half of the creative Easingwold couple, whose performances can be viewed at https://www.facebook.com/fieldsandlanes/.

“It’s been a great structure for us through the weird and difficult times we’ve all been going through: a way of expressing ourselves creatively, choosing and learning the songs and poems, and we’ve had such warm responses from a wide range of people.

Mick Liversidge performing one of the 82 outdoor poems he recited online once lockdown began

“To begin with, when lockdown started, it was great for those who couldn’t get out – and a nice way to see the countryside as well.”

Actor Mick chalked up 82 outdoor poetry readings before calling a temporary halt to his regular routine on September 9 when learning dialogue for acting work demanded his attention.

“It all began at the beginning of lockdown,” he recalls. “I was due to appear in a play at the end of March: it was a two-hander, so lots of dialogue learned and lots of work put in by all involved, for nothing.

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to share a selection of our songs and poems with an actual live audience,” says Jessa Liversidge, looking forward to Sunday afternoon’s performance. Picture: Rebecca Rowan

“So, I was feeling a bit lost and down, but we saw Sir Patrick Stewart had decided to recite a Shakespeare sonnet a day to keep him active, which prompted Jessa to suggest I should do the same with passages of Dickens.”

Mick took that advice on board but decided that his love of poetry should lead him to recite his favourite poems instead. “So, what I did was find a poem, learn it and go out into the beautiful countryside around here the following day and recite it,” he says.

“That’s what I did during lockdown, one day looking for a suitable poem, making sure it wasn’t too long, learning it during the evening, ready for ‘outdoor poem’ recital the following day.

Mick Liversidge as Malvolio in York Shakespeare Project’s Sit-down Sonnets at Holy Trinity, Goodramgate, York, in September

“It became harder as the weeks progressed as I had to find new poems that I’d not heard before. The positive side of that is I’ve found some real gems. I’ve loved doing this and it really has kept my brain active and ready for the next job when it comes along.”

Mick wrote on Facebook on September 9: “After 8I ‘outdoor poems’, today’s No. 82 will be my last…for now. I’ve loved reciting them so much and many of the poems have genuinely moved me to tears, so I’ve decided I’m going to continue reciting one a week for the foreseeable future. I’m looking forward to getting out into the countryside as the seasons change and finding new poems.”

Meanwhile, Easingwold Community Library has been running socially distanced, Covid-secure events under its beautiful willow tree, the latest being Sunday’s all-seated show starring Jessa and Mick at 2pm.

“It’s a beautiful space, under an amazing willow tree, and the forecast looks promising,” says Jessa

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to share a selection of our songs and poems with an actual live audience, after months of performing to our phones and laptops,” says Jessa, whose diary is invariably busy with teaching and choir-leading sessions for Singing For All, the York Military Wives Choir, youth choirs and more singing groups besides.

“On Sunday, Mick will include some of the most well-known poems such as John Masefield’s Sea Fever and W H Davies’s Leisure and even some Spike Milligan.

“The songs, from pop classics by Carole King and The Beatles to gentle folk songs, and even my own take on a Harry Lauder classic, will all be sung unaccompanied, apart from my new performing friends, the real songbirds.” 

Back for more: Mick and Jessa hope to do more Fields And Lanes shows

Places for Fields And Lanes Under The Willow Tree must be booked in advance on 07526 107448 or via ecl.generalenquiries@gmail.com to ensure that everyone is aware of and agrees to the safety procedures. Tickets are free, with a pay-as-you-feel collection on the day.

“It’s a beautiful space, under an amazing willow tree, and the forecast looks promising,” says Jessa, who is keen to do further performances.

“With both of our busy schedules during normal times, it has been so lovely to work on this project together, and we hope to roll it out to other suitable venues in the next year. So, if anyone involved with an outdoor space would like us to bring Fields And Lanes to them, it can be arranged. You can send a message via https://www.facebook.com/fieldsandlanes/.”

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Lockdown makes Jessa determined to stay on song with online singing sessions for all

Jessa Liversidge: still on song, online

AFTER her Singing For All choir had everyone singing I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing at A Night To Remember at York Barbican, now Jessa Liversidge wants to reach the world to sing online.

The York singer, entertainer and singing group tutor, leader and inspiration is going virtual in response to these Coronavirus lockdown days.

“Going from running seven different singing groups a week, plus other sporadic ones, to having to cancel them all, I was faced with a big challenge,” says Jessa. “But I’ve been buzzing with ideas to keep people singing and to keep their spirits up in these strange times and I have a lot planned.”

Not only planned but coming to fruition already too. “I held my first virtual choir session on March 18, mainly Easingwold folks but some extras, including some singing leaders from all over, who came along to check out a session from a singer’s perspective,” says Jessa.

“We did it again last night, building an online community choir with people from Easingwold, Helmsley, York, and even other parts of the country – people who knew me from elsewhere.”

Jessa Liversidge leading her Singing For All choir at Big Ian’s A Night To Remember charity concert at York Barbican on February 29. Picture: David Harrison.

How does it feel, performing together across the ether in our new social-distancing, stay-at-home world? “It is, of course, very different to a real in-person choir, but very uplifting and great fun,” says Jessa. “The good news is that everything is on screen, so you don’t need to provide the lyrics!

“I’ve had some fantastic feedback from people too; the best quotes being ‘A wonderfully positive hour’ and ‘On a challenging day, when it felt hard to be bright and cheerful, this was just a perfect end to the day. It was great to let someone with a really joyful personality take you on a different type of musical journey, a real sharing of community spirit’”

Jessa intends to run these sessions weekly on Wednesday evenings at 7pm. “People will need to contact me on 07740 596869 or email me at jessaliversidge@googlemail.com to find out how to join,” she advises.

She has started up York Military Wives Choir sessions too online, the first one being held on March 19 for one of 70 such choirs across the country.

“I’m also setting up some free open-to-anyone sessions, starting with a live stream Singing For All session on YouTube that I held on Monday morning this week at 11am: the time the Easingwold Singing For All usually meets,” Jessa says.

“It was great to let someone with a really joyful personality take you on a different type of musical journey,” said one participant in response to joining Jessa Liversidge’s virtual choir session

“I’m so worried about some of the group as Singing For All has been a lifeline to so many, and lots of them are now isolated in more than one way, so this is important for them.”

Not only Easingwold Singing For All took part this Monday morning. “We had people joining in from their living rooms, again from across the country, and that singing session is now available on You Tube,” says Jessa. “Hundreds of people have watched it already, and we had people joining in as families and even with three generations. Hopefully these sessions will now happen every Monday morning.”

A further Singing For All virtual session will be running on Tuesday mornings at 11am, this one on Zoom, set in motion last Tuesday. To take part in these interactive  sessions, you will need to ring or email Jessa.

She hatched one other project, abruptly halted by the Covid-19 lockdown’s dictum on social distancing, banning gatherings of more than two people. “I was going to try out some very spread-out, non-contact park sings,” says Jessa.

“Inspired by the Italians singing from their balconies, I thought this was the nearest we could get to it, but that has had to fall by the wayside. Instead I’m going to record myself singing outdoors, put that on social media and then people can sing along to that.”

Anything else still to come, Jessa? “Yes, youth choirs.” Watch this space…and keep watching your space too, two metres apart; you know the drill by now.