STOP PRESS
We have 21 singers for Easter Sunday so far. That's wonderful! More welcome.
Choir event updates
ANZAC Day Service
Beaumaris Memorial Garden and Cenotaph (behind the Community Hall)
Sun 20 Apr 2025 1.30–4.00pm
This year the traditional march and commemorative service falls on Easter Sunday, which is a bit of a challenge, so we need everyone who is free from family entanglements in the afternoon to come along and support this always moving ceremony – bring the family with you. There's something special about singing with a band and an appreciative crowd in the open air, and the bugler's haunting Last Post would make a stone weep. And Kiwis get their own song, asking for God's help.
It's an important and valued part of the growing identification of our choir with the local Beaumaris community, something you really feel when take up the invitation to go on for a cuppa and cake afters at the Beaumaris Bowls Club. Highly recommended – last year we thought we'd nearly recruited half the RSL and Bowls Club members to join the basses, admittedly after a beer or two. Well worth another try.
Check your email from Sue Beazley (10 Feb) for full details. Our thanks to Sue again for her characteristic drive and thoroughness to get us there.
Please add you name to the sign up sheet on the front table at rehearsal.
Festival of the Open Mic
Beaumaris Community Hall
Tue 24 Jun 2025 8.30 ish
Well, okay, the Festival of Voices is in Hobart, not Beaumaris, and it doesn't start until the weekend of 27 Jun. But although we are not participating as a choir in Hobart this year, that won't stop a lot of our mob heading south to eat, drink and sing after the great time they had last year.
So we've brought Open Mic back a week so we're all together for the enchanting soirée that this end-of half-year hootenanny has become under Lesley's professional eye. Many will look back after distinguished careers in men's choruses, story recitals and acapella jazz and mutter nostalgically, "It all started at Open Mic".
With the stunning success of the December edition, all those who coulda and shoulda last time will be falling over themselves to get on to the running sheet and into Lesley's good books this time.
Keep your eye out for the sign-up sheet, but you'll probably need to be quick.
Vocally Wild Annual Concert
Beaumaris Community Hall
Saturday 2 August 2025 2.00pm tbc
We've gone a bit earlier this year to leave some breathing room before the exciting new September combined concert on the big stage in Kingston, so it's a winter concert again.
This is our showcase event, presenting the range and quality and joyfulness of our singing to our family, friends and community. It's the third concert at our new home at the Community Centre, and is likely to be another sell-out. We are also looking forward to displaying the much-improved sound we are enjoying from the work of our audio technical team during the Bayside Carols rehearsals and at the Community Carols in December.
Please make sure it gets into all the relevant diaries.
Kingston Combined Concert
Kingston Town Hall
Sun 14 Sep 2025 2.00–4.15pm
The hall is booked and planning has begun for this ambitious collaborative concert between Vocally Wild, Mosaic and the Southern Area Concert Band (SACB). Similar events in the past have attracted up to 500 people in the big Kingston auditorium.
The program will feature brackets of songs from Vocally Wild, from Mosaic and from SACB, with a special set scored for all three, which will be an ensemble to rival the Bayside Carols with potentially well over 100 singers on stage. Likely combined items include Viva La Vida, Like A Prayer and Amazing Grace. It will in many ways be a celebration of the musical riches of our area. The program will include a featured piano soloist (for Rhapsody in Blue) and a vocal duo.
More details as they are to hand. There will be two lead-up rehearsals to be held in the Beaumaris Hall. Songs for our 30 minute set will be drawn mostly from the highlights of our annual concert in August.
Another one for the diaries in your network. Not to be missed.
Our Christmas Concerts
Bayside Carols
Dendy Park
Tue 9 Dec 2025 (tbc)
Vocally Wild Community Carols
Beaumaris Community Hall
Sat 20 Dec 2025 (tbc)
In one hit, our Community Carols event has become a must-have to follow up the Dendy Park festivities. This year we can move to a weekend to increase the appeal to neighbours and families.
Both dates/times to be confirmed, but you can pencil in with a good confident HB or darker.
 Summary of dates
| 2025 |
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| Term 1 |
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| Tue 4 Feb |
First rehearsal Term 1 |
7.30–9.30pm |
Beaumaris Community Centre |
| Tues 1 Apr |
Last rehearsal Term 1 |
7.30–9.30pm |
Beaumaris Community Centre |
| Sun 20 Apr |
ANZAC Day Service |
1.30-4.00pm |
Beaumaris Memorial Garden |
| Term 2 |
|
|
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| Tue 22 Apr |
First rehearsal Term 2 |
7.30–9.30pm |
Beaumaris Community Centre |
| Wed 28 May |
Vocally Wild AGM |
7.30–9.30pm |
tbc |
| Tue 24 Jun |
Last rehearsal Term 2
(with Open Mic) |
7.30–9.30pm |
Beaumaris Community Centre |
| 27 Jun |
Festival of Voices starts |
|
Hobart |
| Term 3 |
|
|
|
| Tue 22 Jul |
First rehearsal Term 3 |
7.30–9.30pm |
Beaumaris Community Centre |
| Sat 3 Aug |
VW Annual Concert |
tbc |
Beaumaris Community Centre |
| Sat 23 Aug |
Queen Symphony |
tbc |
IWAKI Concert Hall (tbc) |
| Sun 14 Sep |
Kingston Combined Concert |
2.00–4.15pm |
Kingston Town Hall |
| Tue 16 Sep |
Final rehearsal Term 3 |
7.30–9.30pm |
Beaumaris Community Centre |
| Term 4 |
|
|
|
| Tue 7 Oct |
First rehearsal Term 4 |
7.30–9.30pm |
Beaumaris Community Centre |
Tue 2 Dec
|
Last rehearsal Term 4
(with Open Mic) |
7.30–9.30pm |
Beaumaris Community Centre |
| Tue 9 Dec |
Bayside Carols |
tbc |
|
Sat 20 Dec
tbc |
VW Community Carols |
6.00–7.30pm |
Beaumaris Community Centre |
Choir resources
Not so magic link
Some important clarifications to the mailer to members on 9 Feb ("Free gifts!! Practice tracks, reference recordings, and other resources with one click!"):
- The Magic Link provides a short-cut access to practice tracks, reference recordings and teaching resources for current songs from an online storage called Dropbox – that is, without logging on to the VW website.
- The Magic Link is mostly for anyone who has had difficulty accessing the resources on the Members section of the website, for whatever reason, and for new members.
- You need to have Dropbox installed on your device for the link to work. It's free. Talk to Clint (for Mac) or Russel (for PC) if you need any help with that.
- If you have no problem getting what you need from the Song Library and the Teaching Resources sections of the VW website, keep doing that.
New resources
In case you missed them, Emma's practice tracks for Dedicated to the One I Love and Africa are now also available in the Songs Library.
And a very special treat – our newsletter reader Lidia Maslin has generously recorded the Italian lyrics to Va Pensiero for us, now also available in Members/Teaching Resources and on Dropbox. Who needs You Tube when we have the skills in the choir community?
What's on
The Queen Symphony
IWAKI Concert Hall, Southbank
Sat 23 Aug 2025 (tbc)
If you missed it, check my email (8 Feb: "Queen Symphony: Invitation to Vocally Wild Members to participate") for details of this remarkable opportunity to join in a very special musical experience.
Basically, you can be one of the 80-odd singers in a one-hour performance of Tolga Kashif's Queen Symphony, an anthology of the works of Freddie Mercury and Queen. We have had 11 hands up so far, and will send more information to that group as we receive it (it is a work in progress).
The deal is:
- you will receive scores and comrehensive practice materials
- you need to attend 3 Wednesday evening rehearsals in Blackburn during July and August
- you need to be available for the performance on Saturday August 23 or 30 (tbc).
You are still welcome to put your hat in the ring – just email Clint on learnwks@bigpond.net.au or text on 0410 569 386
Festival of Voices
Various venues, Hobart
from 27 Jun – 6 Jul 2025
If you've been before, you'll know all about it. If you haven't, seriously consider joining in the group of self-organising Vocally Wilders who will be making their own arrangements to go and may compulsively tell you stories (some of them true) of last year's adventure. We won't be participating as a choir (i.e. perfoming) this year, but don't let that put you off.
Find out about the event here. Pretty simple really – your register online for the festival, sign up for any special workshops (be quick), book your flights, book you accommodation, hook up with friends.
But the best thing is to ask around. There are FoV agents everywhere in the choir.
Reports
Mayflower Christmas Singalong with Bob Hook
From Pat:
After I had written this report, the Vocally Wild community was extremely saddened to hear that dear, much loved Patty died on 7th January. There was a very good representation of choir members at the wonderful celebration of her amazing life. We will remember her always with a smile. Yes Patty, we believe in angels too!
On Thursday, 19th December, in Mayflower’s delightfully decorated Harry Williams Room, 21 fabulous Vocally Wilders sang Carols and seasonal songs with beauty, harmony and gusto along with the wonderful Bob Hook and his guitar. Russel and Bob had set up the audio/visual equipment, which meant that the lyrics were there for everyone to see.
The residents enjoyed the singalong very much and delighted in Robert Dryden’s “Santa” appearance where, to the strains of ‘Here Comes Santa Claus’ he handed out baubles and chocolates. (Thank you to those who donated chocs or money – it was much appreciated). Robert sang and chatted; he sat next to a very delighted and very surprised Patty Chaplin. Patty had recently been unwell, so this was a particular pleasure for her and we’re sure it absolutely ‘made’ her Christmas.
We were all treated to afternoon tea, so thank you to Emma and her team for making us so welcome. By all accounts the residents loved the ‘singalong’ and look forward to Bob’s (and Vocally Wild) return in 2025. Thank you sincerely to all those who took part – it is a heart-warming activity!
Pat Lowry
Bayside's Big Sing at Billilla
On Saturday, 14th December, a few Vocally Wilders joined a large choir ‘The Billilla Chorale’ comprising “anyone who loves to sing” for the Big Sing at the beautiful, historic 1878 mansion ‘Billilla’ in Brighton. This event had been planned for and rehearsed during November and December.
It was a warm afternoon, but the crowd enjoyed superb singing as they relaxed on their blankets and chairs underneath the ancient trees in this National Trust registered property. We were finely led by Stephen Hodgson, with Kym Dillon playing keyboard. The premier vocal ensemble ‘The Consort of Melbourne’ exploded into song with their set of fabulous pieces, plus joining the massed choir in some delightful seasonal songs and Carols. This was a very worthwhile event, very much appreciated by everyone present. Thank you to Stephen, Kym and the City of Bayside for making this possible.
Pat Lowry
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