Chillin' After The Big Pink

Every concert is a special event, not only because we have been rehearsing for the twelve or so weeks prior to it, but because every single one is different. The Pinkies’ last concert – the Big Pink Chill – this Saturday just gone, was no exception, but for me, there were a number of changes this time round which made this particular experience more memorable.

The most significant difference actually began a week or so before the concert itself when we had news that the tickets had sold out. This is an achievement in and of itself, and it was with some disappointment that I had to turn away some of my tardier friends. I’m not sure of the ins and outs of it, but it looks like this was due to a combination of more tickets sold by members, combined with a trebling of the tickets we sold through the website. Now, usually we do, especially in the winter season, sell out, but to do so so far in advance certainly caused Simon W a bit of a headache and more than a few late, sleepless nights.
We aren’t a professional organization by any stretch of the imagination, so our systems are constantly being developed. In the past it was easy to have tickets both for direct sale by members, as well as on line, because we knew that even if the exact numbers of membership sales was not known, there would be enough of a buffer to meet the on-line commitments. With the growing scarcity of tickets though, it looks like this process will have to be tightened up.

This does beg the question why it is that this has happened now. One can only conjecture, but on-line at least, the Pink Singers’ web presence has stepped up, with a more active Facebook fan page, MySpace page, Twitter feed and even a number of YouTube videos (all the links are in the column to your right). It certainly helps that in the popular press as well, shows about group singing, including Glee, have kept choirs in the limelight. This is all good, especially for those of us on stage, because there is nothing like performing to a packed and wildly appreciative audience.
The Royal College of Music is fairly familiar to us now, given that this is our second time there, so there are fewer surprises in terms of the venue itself. Nevertheless, since this time we were performing with two other choirs, Purple Harmony and Sing Out Bristol, rather than by ourselves, it took significantly more organizational work to make sure everyone was in the right place at the right time. None of this would have been possible without the volunteers like Kate D who kept Sing Out Bristol entertained and updated, but a great deal of credit goes to our UK Concerts director Ben P.

I have no idea how he does it, but he manages to co-ordinate moving nearly 150 people in and around the theatre, set out instructions to the production crew, and act as the general lynch pin of the whole operation, while still keeping a calm exterior and still singing! The fact that, as a choir, we just have to concentrate on our own performance, and not worry about all the extraneous logistical issues is down in no small part to Ben’s hard work. Ben, for going above and beyond the call of duty, I salute you!
Indeed, I wish to salute all the Pinkies in general, not only for putting on a great performance, but for contributing to it in so many different ways. The Pink Singers are about singing, true, but the creation of the end product requires so much input from a huge number of people. It is salutary to observe that it is no longer just the people in the committee doing all the work; there is a whole phalanx of Pinkies helping out in other ways, from choreographing our moves, to making announcements, to performing solos, to arranging sectionals, to recording multimedia, to organizing social events. All of these things create a much richer experience for all the members. And all of these Pinkies are doing this as volunteers at that, so it is good that we now have a tradition of recognizing their efforts at the concert. This Pink Insider loves his new key chain thank you very much!
One of the big events this season has been our inclusion of religious music in our repertoire. To be correct we have, for a long time now, sung music with a sacred theme, but the songs have largely been in Latin or classical, or about Christmas. So if you really want to split hairs, this is the first time we have sung modern Christian songs which are not carols in English. Hopefully that just goes to show how arbitrary the classification is, but it would be remiss of me if I did not acknowledge that this caused some consternation in the choir. We are an LGBT choir, and many of our members have an uneasy and occasionally fractious relationship with the Christian faith. So it is with some pride that the choir still stuck together to perform these songs well, despite any individual reservations.

The result was, for me, the most significant event of the evening, which was when Purple Harmony joined us on stage to perform. They are a children’s choir from Surrey, and the choir in which Cass used to sing when she was a little one. Thanks to her hard work, she managed to get them to perform with us where my own efforts at securing a children’s choir had failed. To me their being on stage with us was a profound statement of how far our society has progressed in terms of inclusiveness and equality. In rehearsal, our joint song Rutter’s Look At The World sounded beautiful, but with children’s voices it was sublime. I had to stop myself from choking with tears during the song itself it was so transcendent. The performance defied all stereotypes of what an LGBT choir is, and I certainly hope that the more conservative elements will at least have had some of their prejudices questioned.
I also want to highlight our other guest choir, Sing Out Bristol. They are one of the newest LGBT choirs in the UK, being just over two years old, but already they have over 60 members, 40 of whom came to London. I met them for the first time at Various Voices back in May 2009. Speaking to some of their members, they face the same problems we do – deciding on a direction for the choir, managing a large group of people and dealing with the right balance between the needs of the individual and needs of the choir as a whole – but at least we have had a quarter century lead on them! There is so much to learn, from each other, and it is wonderful what we can give each other the platform to perform at and support each other in the way we do. I can see our relationship growing from here on in.
All of this is wonderfully virtuous, but the best part is that the Pinkies really know how to have fun, so after the concert it was on to a raucous karaoke at the Imperial College bar, followed the next day by an understandably more subdued post-concert brunch at the Ku Bar in Lisle Street. Time to put away the pink accessory for another season; see you at the end of February for Summer 2010!

Look Back In Wonder

Every season with the Pinkies is memorable, just as every season is different. There are always new Pinkies coming, old Pinkies leaving, new places to visit, old friends to catch up with, and the baseline level of flux keeps things interesting. This season, and this year in fact, has been significantly more exciting than before though, because there has been a considerable amount of change happening. Lynne, our former chair, left the Pinkies on a very even keel, and I know I felt a little trepidation at the prospect of someone else taking over. But Mark and the new committee have put their own successful stamp on the Pinkies, and I thought I'd like to jot some of my thoughts down on what it has meant for me.

1. A much busier season
The biggest change has got to have been that we have performed a whole lot more this season than in any season before. Even before the summer session properly kicked off we were in the Southbank Centre, and this was followed by loads of small gigs, trips to Paris, Edinburgh and Malta, Various Voices London and our usual summer concert. There has been nothing quite like it, and it has been challenging to the choir to learn all the music and choreography to the level we want.

I must confess to not being entirely comfortable with this level of activity, in the main because choral singing really is a team effort. Because we are amateurs, it is hard for all of us to commit the time required to fully polishing up our performance. Most seasons I learn all my music by week 6 or 7, and then I just cruise until the concert. This time round though, the music was chopped and changed from concert to concert, and we had new joint songs to learn as well. I barely got all my music down pat, and must confess that I probably had 95% of the repertoire at performance level, not the 99% I am used to, but even that required a lot of hard work. I am not sure that others want to or can put in the hours needed, nor, arguably, should they be expected to.

On the plus side - there's nothing like common adversity (this word is a bit strong, but you get the idea) and a shared challenge to draw people closer together, and I know the Pinkies who stuck through all the gigs from the start of the year came away feeling exhausted, yes, but with a sense of satisfaction at having worked hard to create something which was worthwhile. I was rather teary at the end of our gig in Malta, partly because we performed really well, but also because it was the end of a great season, packed to the brim with fantastic moments and lasting memories.

I hear that in the coming season we are going to take things just a little bit easier, with fewer events. After the summer I think we need it! But at the same time we do need more performance opportunities to progress us musically, and also to create those experiences which make me glad to be in the Pink Singers. That line is a fine one, and I think the Pinkies are still trying to find the right balance. We know now how far we can go if pushed though!

2. A cap on numbers
When I joined the choir those years ago there were just over thirty members. In the intervening years our choir has grown steadily, and each time we moved our rehearsal venue, from the Drill hall to the Royal Academy of Music, and then to the Place, it became possible to increase the size of the choir. Thankfully, the choir has never had a shortage of would-be Pinkies, but the number of place in the choir always seemed to grow in tandem with the them. At present, however, we have a cap of 80 members, that's 20 per section or 10 per voice. Yet our retention rate is now very high as well, and if you couple that with more and more people writing in their interest to Liang, our new-members' rep, something has got to give.

The first thing was that former Pink Singers are now no longer guaranteed a place in the choir if they have spent more than 2 seasons out. Retired Pinkies still get first dibs on places if they are under that threshold, because people have to take time out for a multitude of reasons. But I certainly think this makes it much fairer for newbies. At the back of my mind, I realise that circumstances may mean I am unable to sing for a year, which would in turn mean that I may not be able to come back. But at the same time I would not want to deny others the wonderful experience of being a Pink Singer.

The second thing, is that the entry process is now not just a simple "voice check" as it used to be. In fact, for a while it has been an audition of sorts. But while Mladen and Michael De can keep an ear out for vocal quality, the Pinkies are not just about singing, it is a real community of people. Sadly, you can't tell how much people will embrace being in the choir by a single trial session: some of the quietest people in their first rehearsal have blossomed the most in the past year, just as some of the noisiest contribute the least. How this is going to be addressed is another issue. I know this is an area that Liang is putting a lot of thought into. We'll see what happens in the coming year!

3. Dividing the load
Although a larger choir means a lot more organisation, this is balanced by having more people who are willing to volunteer a little bit more in running the choir. For the first time in a while all the committee positions were filled, and we even had two positions which were contested at the elections. This is a marvellous place to be in. Part of this was due to the reorganisation of the roles within the committee, to make them more consistent with what they were actually doing, but part of it is due to people now getting more involved in how the choir is run. The open meetings certainly give people a say, and many Pinkies now participate in the running and promotion of our concerts. I agree with Emelda, as she told me on the night of the concert, that it has felt a whole lot more of a team effort this season.

What is probably most reassuring for the committee members is that there are many Pink Singers who would be willing to take on individual projects, even if they do not want to go for a committee role. For instance, Gary did a superb job in handling our new T-shirts with Mark's guidance. Our twitter, Facebook and MySpace pages have been handled by people other than the webmaster (already a full-time job!). It was wonderful that the committee this year recognised the help so many general members provide by giving them a token of appreciation - the limited edition Pink Singers mug. Looks like I have to keep doing stuff for the next few years if I want to get my set of 6!

4. Taking care of new Pinkies, remembering old ones.
One downside of the manic summer season was that because we had so many concerts early on, it was really only possible for existing members to perform, using older repertoire. The new Pinkies were started on the new repertoire of course, but they didn't really get a chance to be part of a performance until later on, and I think they felt a little left out as the rest of us went of and did gigs everywhere else. Some people, like Joanna and Frances for instance, seized the day, but some others found it really hard going and eventually left the choir. My philosophy is that we can't please everyone all the time, but what we can do is offer as much support to struggling members as we can. I know the section leaders do keep an eye out to make sure people are not being left behind, but if they do, and they decide that being a Pink Singers is not for them, then we need to find out whether there is anything that can be done to remedy the situation. Often there is not, and being in a choir does need a degree of commitment which they were perhaps unwilling to make.

Conversely, this season we have also had to deal with two of our longest serving members leaving the choir for personal reasons. Bill has been a Pinkie for 11 years and Andy M has been one for a decade. Both have contributed in so many different ways to the choir, by singing and taking part in events, and in Andy's case also arranging music for us. They will be sorely missed, and it was wonderful that we could recognise their labours. Thank you both once again!

5. A sense of Pride
Although we can hardly be described as activists, I don't think it is going too far to say that for an LGBT choir we weren't very LGBT about it. This does not, of course, mean wearing spandex or platform shoes - we can be gay or lesbian without any of the stereotypes thank you very much - it meant that, apart from Pride, LGBT History Month and World AIDS Day, we weren't really doing very much in or for the community. Part of the hesitation was that people were, for personal reasons, worried about being out. However, the fact that the Pink Singers identifies as a lesbian and gay choir, and have many public performances, makes this point somewhat moot, as well as being incongruous. Indeed, just because you are in the choir doesn't mean that you are necessarily lesbian or gay, just that you share a sense of social justice for all members of society, especially lesbian and gay people. The good news is that where we were once hamstrung by issues of privacy, we are now much prouder. Our role in Malta has galvanised me, and now that we have a community director by way of Jules, expect a lot more Pinkies community involvement in the future.

There are so many other people to thank this season: the entire committee of course, with special shout outs to Ben P, Andrew F and of course Mark. And there are so many things to look forward to in Winter 2009. It is a very exciting and challenging time to be in the Pink Singers, and we are still all trying to find our way. But it is oh so rewarding as well!

Fair Thee Weel!

"Sit on the east side." I was told, "You can see much more of the British coastline". It was 7 a.m. and far too early to give much consideration to the geography of seating. Still, nearly half the Pink Singers had shown up at King's Cross and were waiting to get onto our London to Edinburgh train. Ben P, with his clip board, was in his natural school marm element, and the rest of us were much like school children, with our packed lunches and Kelly's ukelele.

The ride up to Edinburgh, apart from being very hot, was very enjoyable, and in true Pinkie fashion, there was considerably singing in the carriage. Kate N started off with songs from Oliver then Sally-Ann took over with her rendition of Fiddler On The Roof. None of this was from our repertoire, but at least it got some of the non-Pinkies in the carriage singing along. The other half just wondered (loudly) whether we were all drunk.

Our arrival in the Scottish capital meant that we had enough time to deposit our bags and take a quite rest before showing up at the concert venue for our rehearsal. This was a delightful Methodist church called the Central Hall in West Tollcross. It was there that we got to properly meet Loud & Proud, our Scottish equivalents and our hosts for the weekend. We'd already met some of them at Various Voices (I have the St. Andrew's tie pin to prove it!) so it was more of a gathering of friends than of strangers.

Although Loud & Proud were of a similar size to our delegation, and they were also a mixed choir, there were enough differences for us to be quite complementary. Led by their phenomenally talented MD Karen Dietz, Loud & Proud are principally an a capella choir, and a very accomplished one at that. Furthermore, their repertoire tends more towards folk songs, which they sang with the spirit, conviction and honesty which is so necessary, yet so hard to achieve. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to them perform, and we were fortunately given the opportunity to sit in the balcony to watch their second half. I especially loved the urgent emotionality of their rendition of I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free.

The Pinkies performed in the first half, and our set was essentially the songs that we did at Various Voices. Since, on the Friday of the festival, Loud & Proud were rehearsing while our concert(s) were going on, most of them never saw us, so I guess it must have been a bit of a surprise for them. I think we did well, and I felt much more relaxed this time round which helped. The acoustics of the hall were great and helped mold and amplify the voices, so it sounded very good from where we were on stage at least!

After the concert it was time to party! Loud & Proud had laid on a spread at a pub called the Counting House, and because of the Scottish summer, it was still bright when we made our way there. There was a slight glitch with the beer taps at the upstairs bar, and it delayed our drunken revelry by about 15 minutes as everyone then rushed to the downstairs bar. Once the much needed beer started flowing though, it was time for chatting and mingling. Made some new friends such as Jonathan and David, the latter of whom had just come from the Highland Festival, and in the bright sunshine had acquired a farmer's tan.

As you might imagine, there was a considerable amount of singing as well, we kicked off with a number, followed by Loud & Proud, and there was then a succession of songs, performed in groups and solo. Kelly's ukelele made an appearance, as did a guitar, and loads of Scottish songs. Right into the wee hours.

Sadly, it all had to come to an end though, and we made the trip back down to London with heavy, but contented hearts. I can honestly say that Loud & proud were one of the friendliest choirs we have ever performed with, and we are really looking forward to hearing them sing with us in the future.

A Busy Weekend - Sunday

Saturday's description was posted just before this, so read that one first. this is about Sunday which was really important because it was also the proper start of the new season. In a way, the seasons are starting to bleed into one another, partly because we have gigs throughout the breaks. Still, not having rehearsals is a welcome change to the weekends, even if after a while I start to itch to get back into the swing of things.Liang, our new members' rep., has been a super busy-bee in the break. Who knows whether it is because of the promotion of choral singing by Sing London, or shows like Last Choir Standing or The Choir on TV, but there has been huge interest in joining this year. On Sunday we had nine new attendees. They all seem really friendly and according to Mladen and Michael De had good voices. It can be hard for new members to feel at home, but I think that the Pinkies generally do a good job of welcoming them. On my part I think I have to rein the friendliness in just a tad to avoid sounding a bit too leery.

This season we are singing Christmas songs which makes a significant departure for us from the usual. I know many of the pieces already, at least by ear, but singing them is quite a different story. We began with Britten's Ceremony of Carols, and I can recall when we last did this two years ago how long it took to learn the timing and notes of This Little Babe. This time everything seemed to fall into place beautifully. I'm not sure whether this causes consternation to the new members who may feel that this is how the choir always sings.

Thankfully we put that impression right by our total massacre of Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day. There was no hope in hell of us getting this right first time, especially at the pace at which it has been written, and for once the tenor line is not particularly melodic. I'd not heard the carol before, which helps in a way because I don't have a tune to forget.

Mark, our new chair, is currently away on holiday, so Ben P, the new U.K. concerts co-ordinator, gave us a little talk in the break, as did Simon our new treasurer. The atmosphere of the choir is changing because of the change in the executive committee, and I can see many Pinkies wanting to participate in how it is run. This can only be good for the choir. We're still looking for a secretary, which should hopefully be filled soon.After that it was off to the pub. As usual, we had the upstairs area to ourselves and there was a great buzz. There were many members of the choir I hadn't seen in the last two months, so there was loads of catching up to do. I also had a chance to chat with Karen, a new alto this season who is also going to be in charge of publicity for the Pinkies. I can only admire someone who we unfortunately had to space for last season, yet who stuck around till there was. Some of the newbies stayed right to the end, which is either a sign that they like being in our group, or that they're alcoholic, or both! There are allegedly another ten newbies coming next week, and the week after that. Good luck to them all!

Team PS At The London Pride Run 2008

"Citius, Altius, Fortius" is the Olympic motto, and this last week it has been impossible to avoid being caught up, at least a little, in the Games over in Beijing. Unfortunately, for the somewhat less athletic of us, taking part in any sport is more a case of "Rubor, Calor, Dolor" than anything else!

With that in mind, a group of more the adventurous Pink Singers decided to brave the risk of inflammation, and went on an jaunt on Saturday through Victoria Park for this year's 10km Pride Run. There was, initially, quite a bit of enthusiasm for the run from the choir, but with the usual attrition rate for various reasons, the numbers were whittled down to a hard-core six: Annie, Ben P, Claire G, Hsien, Mark and Michael Da.

The biggest fear had been that it would rain on the day, and given that it had been pouring down just two days' prior, it was definitely within the realms of possibility. As it turns out, meeting at Mile End tube, the sun was trying to peek out from behind the clouds, and there was a pleasant breeze blowing - the perfect weather for a run. I know all of us had been training a little for the run. Some Pinkies like Michael go for runs regularly, and since I joined the Frontrunners, so does the Pink Insider. But that said, for the majority, 10km was an unimagineable distance which they had never even attempted before - just showing up to the start was a definite victory!

We all met at the northeast end of the park where were got changed and pinned the conveniently matching number tags to our Pink Singers T-shirts. There were loads of people there, but the run was very well organized, and it never felt chaotic. Of the 800 people who registered, 577 people (or thereabouts) actually ran. After dropping our bags off in the clubhouse, we went on to the start point. Ooh ooh! Andy Bell from Erasure was there to honk the horn to set us off.

And away we went! The route itself was a fairly simple one: three laps of the park though shaded avenues with no hills. I started the run at a leisurely pace alongside Michael Da, but before long some of the last year's worth of running paid off and I pulled ahead. There were some tremendous runners competing, and I was lapped at 6km by the eventual winner. What is most annoying is that I put my slow running down to my short legs, but this guy was actually significantly shorter than me (damn!). He completed the course in 32 minutes, an unbelieveable time, considering that I finished a good quarter of an hour or so later. The real dark horse was Claire. I know she runs quite a bit, and she certainly has the physique (i.e. long and lean), so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised at how fast she actually ran, but she really was a speeding bullet, and she finished right next to me.

As I mentioned, for some of Team PS, 10km was a never-before-attempted distance, and completing it was quite the achievement. When things were getting rather shakey on the ground, it was good to hear the calls of support from the Pinkies who had come to cheer us on. Joey and Charles were there, as was Emelda, and Celso and his friend. Warren also had a word with the race commentator, and whenever a Pinkie ran past the stand, he'd call out "Go Pink Singers!" which was a great psychological boost. Thanks to their help, I am really happy to say that all of us made it through the final rainbow arch, and in pretty good time too. We all walked away with our medals and our goody bags. Then there were the unexpected perks, as Ben discovered, of sharing a changing room with dozens of fit, sweaty atheletes...

Congratulations to all of us - go Pinkies! Pride Run 2009 anyone?

We Did It: What A Rush!

Well it is now the day after the day after, but I am still riding high after our 25th anniversary concert. We have worked jolly hard this season: not only did we have to perform the full concert with all the repertoire that involves, but we also had learn and perform the choreography with last minute tweaks all the way through. The past few months have been long and arduous, but it all paid off in the end - what an amazing concert we gave!

The day itself began early, starting at 2pm with our stage rehearsal. We ran through the entire concert, from Locus Iste to Come What May, and have to say that there was the usual horror of sounding terribly flat through nearly all the songs. This was interspersed with the similarly traditional trauma of having to get on and off the stage, and getting into the right positions for our moves. I have to say that running through There Is Nothing Like A Dame for only the second time on stage with last minute jiggery and pokery to the choreography was not the easiest experience on my nerves.

By the time the run-through was over, nearly three hours later, my nerves were fairly well shot through and I was totally exhausted. Usually, I'm a bundle of nerves and can't eat a thing just before the concert, but given that we were on our feet for so long, I was absolutely famished. There was no time to go out for our meal (plus the choir is now huge, so we would have filled Pizza Express quite easily) so we had a 'pot luck' type meal down in the canteen of the Royal Academy of Music. This worked out really well for us as some people had really gone out of their way to prepare some amazing food. Kudos especially to Nathalina for making the most beautiful fairy cakes known to mankind! Yum! We also had Warren to thank for being the man behind laying all of the food out in an artistic and oh-so-tasty-looking way.

Pretty soon it was time to get into costume and warm up backstage. This year, since we were doing both halves, we were given the option of wearing two outfits, and some people really made the effort. Lynne's spangly dress for the first half, followed by her corset for the second (ooh la la!) was one of the stand outs. Jo C's full length tail coat was a stunner, and of course people like Amy always look glamorous. Ben P, who is already very cute anyway, looked very Prada in his black ensemble including pencil tie, and Johnathon and Naomi's rock chic(k) leather trousers certainly turned up the heat in the second half.

We gathered backstage as Mark Bunyan introduced the Pink Singers. Unfortunately, we couldn't hear anything of what he said, but in his ten minute preamble he gave a little bit of the history of the Pink Singers, and apparently led the audience in song with I Am A Homosexual, the first song the choir ever sang at that Pride twenty-five years ago. I think it must have been quite a surprise then when we got onto stage and opened with Locus Iste!

I am always nervous on stage, and more so when I know I have to make an announcement or sing a solo piece. It always makes me feel really edgy which means I can't really get into the singing until after the ordeal is over. I'm much happier melding into the background. That said, from the moment we finished singing the Bruckner Motet, I knew that this was going to be an amazing concert. We have never sung that piece better, and there was a wonderful union of voices, we didn't drift in pitch and the ebb and flow of the dynamics was amazing. It certainly set the tone for what was to follow.

If I had to pick out a slightly weaker piece in the first half it would have to be the Triumphal March from Aida. The piece is a grandiose one, and still, I think, a little bit beyond the reach of a sixty voice choir with piano accompaniment. I have to say that Karl Jenkin's Requiem never sounded better though, and Italian Salad was a triumph! Our soloists Adam, Michael D, Simon and Sally Ann really camped it up, and I especially liked Sally Ann's little kick of the heels at the end of her piece. It made the audience, and me, giggle.

The final piece of the first half was Ave Maria, one of the songs we performed at the IndigO2 a couple of weeks ago, with Gari Glaysher returning his visit. If anything, I think this performance was better, partly because we were singing along to Michael D's piano accompaniment, and could therefore be a little more fluid. Gari's voice was as wonderful as ever, although from where we were on stage you could not really hear it well. By this stage I think of Gari as a real friend of the Pink Singers, which reflects his intrinsically friendly nature. It was wonderful having him come along.

By the time we got to the second half things were much more relaxed and I think the whole choir really got into the performance aspect. America certainly gave us a chance to interact with each other, and a friend who came for the first time remarked how much it looked like we were having a good time as part of a team. I couldn't agree more. Everyone really dug deep and pulled what they could out of the bag.

There is a certain schizophrenia in the Pink Singers in that we sing a very varied repertoire, and the two halves really highlighted this, but whether you are singing classical or Motown, the same level of concentration and skill is required, even if the vocal style is different. If I had to choose a favourite piece of the evening, it would have to be Love Song for a Vampire. It seems superficially simple, but to imbue the song with the amount of emotion it deserves is no easy task. I thought the basses were particularly wonderful and their opening line, "Come into these arms again" was the most fused and piano that I have ever heard them. It made me go weak at the knees.

Actually, all the love songs were beautiful, and I spotted some of my friends at the back bawling their eyes out at Your Song and If We Hold On Together. As Andrew F pointed out in his introduction, Michael D's arrangement of the latter song allows for a virtuoso performance on the piano, and I have so say that his fingers flew through that, and all the other songs that evening. It must feel very vulnerable to be so exposed, but Michael D is extremely talented and he turned out a near flawless performace.

Of course, the lynch pin in all of this is our wonderful musical director Mladen. it is impossible to emphasize how important an MD is in tying together the various sections and music, and Mladen does it all with panache. Even if you have only been in the choir for one season, Mladen's directions are like an open book: one gesture and you know when to really go for it, when to slow down, when to hush your voice, when to stop. The Pink Singers would definitely not be at the standard we are without him.

There are times when Mladen has to step aside, and that was certainly the case for the choreography-rich Forever Motown. And what a way to end the concert! The audience was clapping and singing along and we were having a whale of a time. This was followed by a standing ovation from the wonderful and enthusiastic crowd. I almost didn't want it to end.

But end it eventually did, and I have to say that I was running on empty by the end of it. To me, it was the best concert I have ever been priveleged to have participated in, and an example of how far we have come. This season the choir has been pushed harder vocally than ever before and it was very rewarding to see it all come to fruition. At the same time it was so much fun and I've made many new friends this year.

We have just one more gig in Brighton in a fortnight and then it is the end of the summer season. Summer 2008 will definitely go down in my memory as one of my best ever Pink Singers experiences. Pinkies rock!

Oh Paris!

In a first for me I am writing a blog post on the train on the way back from Paris. Now the weekend is over, I can look back on it with a mixture of relief and contentment but the feeling on Friday morning was quite different.

There was, first of all, the excitement of simply departing from the new Eurostar terminal at St. Pancras; and what a beauty it is. Having a coffee at the platform level and seeing the blue sky shining through the glass roof of the train shed, itself supported by sky blue ironwork was of itself an amazing experience, made better only by the wonderful and not so expensive bacon butties with tomato chutney of the Baby Betjamin café.

In contrast to the good weather in London, Paris couldn't have been damper. Clouds rolled in shortly after the tunnel crossing, and by the time we arrived at the Gare du Nord, a full storm was underway. As we arrived in the early afternoon and our host was still working, we had a couple of hours to kill. Liang, Simon and I spent it in a random brasserie: hamburgers seem to taste so much better when they are called steak haché!

Our hosts were a lovely couple called Stéphane, a long-serving tenor in Equivox, and Harald his partner (a.k.a. choir widow) originally from Vienna. Not having known anything about them before going, apart from their names, I was pleased to see that we were very similar in age and temperament. In fact, Simon and I could not have asked for more gracious hosts, and made better friends, over our time in Paris.

After settling in, we took them out to dinner at their local restaurant called La Domaine Léopold which specializes in simple rustic food from the area around Toulouse. Harald and Stéphane are obvious regulars because we were treated to free aperitifs and a wonderful starter of the most amazing warmed fois gras I have ever had. Just don't think about the duck. We were supposed to meet the other Pink Singers at the Open Café later, but as both the wine and conversation were flowing so well, we decided not to interrupt either.

The next morning was largely filled with preparations for the concert. We met Philip G and Michael for lunch at a bistro next to the town hall and were joined by Ben P, Sue, Liang and his host, also called Stéphane, so it became a rather impromptu party.

The Pinkies are very much like a large extended family, and gathering in one of the side chambers in the town hall for the warm-up was therefore akin to a family reunion. We have only been apart for six days, but you just couldn't avoid the "How've you been? What have you been up to? Where did you get that pink accessory?" type questions. To complete the picture, Liang's and Mike's cameras were out in force, as was Celso's, so I cannot be accused of being the only photo addict!

The first real contact with Equivox was when we watched them perform on stage for the first of the two concerts. Their musical director, Babette, has definitely put her mark on the choir, and their incredible stage presence, theatricality and enthusiasm reflects her own background in street performance. Watching Equivox perform is a real spectacle, and although their outfits are more restrained than previous years (their current theme being a summer party), their stage presence cannot be denied. This is as much their signature as (I hope) musical fidelity is for the Pink Singers.

A minor upset occurred after Equivox had finished their set. We were under the impression that there was to be an interval, but when the compere began doing our introduction we vacated the seats at the back of the hall and trooped on stage. It is not easy going from being unprepared to launching into Dies Irae! I was especially impressed at the comedy double act of Johanthon and Philip R who managed to get the audience laughing and applauding in their bilingual introduction, no mean feat!

The stage itself was very small and apparently has safety regulations limiting the number to a maximum of 42 at only one time on it. That explains why Equivox singers took it in turn to sing in either concert. Even with only 40 Pinkies (and Mladen) there was a bit of a squeeze and I was in the fourth of five rows when normally I am in the third of four. The cosiness meant that I was singing into Liang's right ear and Celso was singing into my left, and I have to say that it the tenors sounded pretty tight as a result. In fact, the whole choir sounded really polished, and if anything the second performance was even better than the first because we were more relaxed. The usual adrenaline rush after a concert wore off by the time I was on stage for the second time, so I must admit I also enjoyed it much more. The break between performances also gave Philip G, who was already showing off his long, toned, stockinged legs, a chance to experiment with novel decorative uses of a feather boa…

The Parisian audience really loved our attempt at the French songs Dirait'on and Hymne a l'amour and the applause and whoops were very reassuring. So I was slightly amused, and partly deflated, when Stéphane said we were very "charming with our English accents". Aww, I was trying so hard too to "parlez la Francais" [sic]. The audience were also very generous in their donations, and by the end of the night we had raised €1,500 for Sidaction, the organization fighting AIDS in France.

The after-party was a mad rush through the rain to a venue called Le Tango, Paris’ (and probably France’s) only gay and lesbian dance hall. There was something somewhat surreal about getting ready for a night out in your jeans and T-shirt finery, to arrive at the venue where couples are doing the Viennese waltz around the dance floor. Clearly it is really popular, but being timorous souls and having four left feet between us, Simon and I elected to spend most of the evening nursing our beers and watching from the side. This did not stop Stéphane for whom Le Tango is virtually a second home. Where does he get the energy! I did get a chance to chat with one of the new altos, Christine, who for some reason I kept introducing to other people by a completely different name most of the evening – sorry about that Christine! Later that evening the music turned to Eurotrash (eek!) and then to 80s English pop, so not much of an improvement then!

The next morning it was with some difficulty, entirely self-induced, that we made it to the venue where the group brunch was to be held. This is where Equivox normally rehearses, and is a primary school near to where we were staying. Ah the mem’ries of small, low, tightly-packed and rather stinky urinals… Stéphane took Simon and I on an abbreviated tour of some of the arcades in Paris, these elaborate and often sealed short-cuts through the buildings between streets; by the time we got there a spread had been laid out. What was better was the chance to chat with some of the members of Equivox like Florian (Stéphane's - Liang’s host’s - partner), Karim (who is the only bloke singing in the altos) and Marc, a rather studious-looking and musically knowledgeable chap.

It is always good to hear feedback from other choirs. I am very much a perfectionist, and I always go back over my own, and the choir’s, performance with a fine-tooth comb to pick out the mistakes made and identify areas for improvement. So I can be quite a downer sometimes, and it was a timely reminder that the Pink Singers really are very good, and we do have a clean, tight and very polished sound, and one that impresses other choirs! We had a chance to whip out that sound again in a spontaneous sing off between Equivox and us, and then reprised Let The Sunshine In which metamorphosed into a conga line snaking around the hall. What fun!

All too soon it was time to get back on the Eurostar to return to London. Unlike Paris, it wasn’t raining when we got back in, thank goodness for small mercies, but for dinner I defrosted a pizza; it certainly ain’t no fois gras! Sigh…