Competition, Vindication, Learning

We're back! And the Pinkies come bearing a prize for second place in the Manchester Amateur Choral Competition. As you know, I have written about my misgivings when it comes to choral competitions, but in the end, I am quite happy to admit that I was somewhat mistaken, and the experience of being in a choral competition again was much more pleasant this time round.

Second place was a tremendous achievement, especially when you consider that we only had 2 months of vocal rehearsals and 3 weeks of choreography rehearsals. At the same time, none of the competition pieces are in our winter concert repertoire, which may be seen as dividing our attention a little. Even so, the majority of us recognized the challenge for what it was, and knuckled down to some serious memory work, and at the end of the say we could spend most of that short time polishing the performance.

Manchester is a beautiful city, even in the torrential rain and gale force winds, and the organizers from the MGLC were gracious hosts. This year, the real tragedy is that they did not manage to secure funding for the event, and are so reliant on ticket sales to pay back the bills for the event. I'm crossing my fingers that they at least break even, but from the way the audience filled the auditorium (even discounting the choirs) I am at least somewhat optimistic that this will happen. They deserve massive applause for making it happen this year though.

We arrived early at the venue, and because it was somewhat chaotic and there wasn't much room to warm up, we ended up rehearsing in the foyer. The stage check also proved to be a bit of a downer when we realised that the stage not only had no risers, it had wasn't even sloped. It put paid to the original plans for the cross formation for Locus Iste, but the consummate professionals we are, the show must go on!

And go on it did! Actually we were amongst the earliest to perform which meant there were fewer members of the audience in the auditorium. These conditions are hard at the best of times, but we put on a proficient performance and managed to get a standing ovation at the end of Italian Salad from some of the judges.

Choral competitions are always interesting because I have a vicarious interest in seeing how other choirs do things. Over the last five or so years the Pink Singers have maintained our sense of family, but our look has become ever more professional. I think Pinkies are proud to be Pinkies and this shows in how we dress, stand and behave on stage. There were a number of choirs who looked sloppy or messy, and very few who can "perform", and not just "sing", like we do. We were undoubtedly helped by our new pink accessories, the handiwork of the very diligent and skillful Mikki and Karin.

Then there are other choirs who are so beyond our league it just isn't funny, and it is both humbling and an honour to see such greatness. I'm talking of the eye-opening Cottontown Chorus, who are without a doubt, one of the slickest choirs I have ever seen. Barbershop is a difficult musical style at the best of times and they had such a beautiful sound, a breathtaking dynamic range, and moves to die for. I was deeply impressed.

I guess the question then is whether the Pinkies want to be that kind of choir, and it isn't clear that we do. I was watching us perform later that afternoon in St. Ann's square, in the pouring rain, and thinking, "Look at us, we're performing well, we're having such a good time, and that's what counts." And there was the meal together that evening in Villagio followed by drinks and dancing in Via Fossa that night which reminded me that we don't really need to compete with other choirs to share our special Pinkies magic.

But we can still learn, and there is always room for improvement. I know I would like us to learn our lines earlier, so we can spend the time on the repertoire as we did with the contest, polishing and buffing, and not just learning the notes. It does mean that everyone will have to up their game, certainly in terms of learning the music, fast and early in the season.

We are getting there, and I am re-energized to bring that polish to our winter concert!

Edit: Bonus! Check out Oskar's photos of us warming up and on stage. There are even more photos available - links are in the Pinkies On The Web column to the right.

Edit edit: And now I've added videos of the performance - more in the Pink Insider YouTube channel in the list of links to the right!