In The Pink Midwinter

Well, it has now been a couple of days since the concert weekend, and I have to say that I am only just recovering. A cold which threatened to blow my chances of performing at the concert miraculously settled down during our rehearsal, and it was all go from there. It didn't help either that the weather was absolutely dreadful - it had been raining for 24 hours non-stop! It caused delays on the roads which meant that our guests, the Brighton and Hove (actually) Gay Men's Chorus - now there's a mouthful, henceforth referred to as BH(a)GMC - were also running behind.

Excitement was, as usual, running high. It is always hard to imagine how just three months ago we were looking at the music for the first time, and the choreography was but a twinkle in the eyes of Tanya, Karin and Rachel, and now we were about to put on a show! I always feel a certain pride when the whole choir gets into their black formal gear with their pink accessories, and now that our numbers have swelled, there is that much more love to go round. I am especially impressed by our new members this season who have shown such incredible dedication to learning their music and enthusiasm to the choir. They are no longer 'new' members, since their pink cherries have well and truly been popped!

Despite Simon's constant fretting about ticket sales, it emerged a couple of hours before the concert that we were going to sell out. It is a pretty darned amazing feat as it means that we've been sold out now for three concerts in a row. The audience was, as always, incredibly supportive and they clapped and cheered with aplomb. What the larger numbers did mean, however, was that as a choir we were not able to see our guests perform. I snuck backstage and heard them from under the organ; not the best place to hear things acoustically, but you did get a feel for them.

And the BH(a)GMC were oustanding. They are much more theatrical than the Pink Singers, and in that sense put on more of a cabaret show. All choirs have different styles, but it amazes me just how complementary we were. They certainly entertained me, and went down a storm with the audience. Their rendition of You Raise Me Up was clearly one of their most well-rehearsed numbers, and they performed it with skill and passion.

Then it was our turn on. What a rush again! My quick thoughts on the experience: Britten was technically impressive, Rutter was good, Good King, Dancing Day and Mid-winter were gorgeous, Merry Christmas Darling was really emotional, Rocking and Christmas Medley were musically less than optimal, but went down an absolute storm with audience thanks to the brilliant choreography. The audience especially couldn't help but clap out of sync with Rocking Around The Christmas Tree - this was undoubtedly because they were clapping in sync with what they heard, but by the time it rebounded to us we were a semi-quaver ahead - yet despite this we plowed on steady and true. In fact for all the pieces, including the difficult Rutter Carols we managed to hold our pitch firmly.

I had eleven guests at the show, so afterwards was a bit of a rush thanking everyone for coming along. Sadly there wasn't really a chance to speak to BH(a)GMC because of this, and to be honest, the RAM bar was, in the words of my cousin, a bit of a mosh pit. A load of us then moved on to the Green Carnation in Greek Street for the aftershow party. We'd been there the Monday previously after the carolling we did, but this time we were in the basement. I have to day the experience was quite different this time, with the lighting and environment more closely resembling some kind of interrogation chamber than a club. All the photos taken that night were also hazy, which makes me worry about what exactly it was that I was breathing in. Oh well, at least the humidly cleared my sinuses! We stayed out until just gone three, well past my bedtime, because the adrenaline was still flowing.

After just four hours of fitful sleep (alcohol, shame on you!) I had to get up to roast the chicken for the brunch. This is normally a party we put on for our guest choir to thank them for coming along and to get to know them better. Sadly because they were based in Brighton they all went home the night before, and so it was just the Pinkies in the Loft Bar at the Yard. In a way this was a bit of a blessing in disguise because I was utterely knackered, and wouldn't have been up to meeting and greeting. I had a bite to eat, chatted with some of other people in the choir and then decided I needed to take a bit of a nap. When I got home I closed my eyes, and before I knew it it was 10am on Monday! All in all though, I had a fantastic weekend and I wouldn't change being in the Pinkies for the world.