Cabaret at the Casa

The choir Liverpool Voice hosted their first ever Cabaret evening at the Casa at Hope Street last Friday, and it proved to be an enjoyable evening with a wide range of musical experience.

The evening got off to a dramatic start, with just two choir members on the stage. Dee Owen and Erik Bichard sang the soloists parts in Verdi's Brindisi, while the choir joined in flash mob style from amongst the audience, making their way onto the stage for the final section. This chorus, celebrating the pleasures of love youth and wine, was in contrasting mood to the chorus of the Hebrew slaves from Nabucco, the other piece by Verdi in this bi-centenial year of his birth.

During the course of the evening the choir, conducted by their musical director Lesley Bentley, former Director of Arts at Notre Dame Specialist Arts College, went onto to perform Java Jive, Moon River, and Somewhere over the Rainbow, before finishing the evening with what has become their signature piece, Keep you in Peace.

There is a rich vein of musical talent within the choir, and the evening gave opportunity for this to be show-cased. Phil Hargreaves and Erik Bichard are confident entertainers, and we were well entertained by their folk songs, sung as solos and duets, accompanied by guitar, trumpet and accordion. The most rapturous applause of the evening was probably reserved for singer songwriter Sean Keogh. Singing from the keyboard, he wowed the audience with a spirited performance of his songs which made full use of his excellent vocal range.

With the exception of Richard Dempsey, whose rich unaccompanied voice was well suited to the two Irish folk songs he performed, the other soloists were accompanied by the choir's accompanist, RNCM trained John McHugh. Brenda Connor sang her two Patsy Cline numbers from the stage, Mike Pendray sang Fields of Gold next to the keyboard, and Pauline Bellis sat on the edge of the stage to sing her song, Hiding my Heart Away. The warm and appreciative audience made it a very rewarding experience for the soloists, some of whom had little or no experience of performing solo before.

The third leg of the evening was instrumental music from Acoustica. Introduced by Martin Dobson, an erstwhile member of Liverpool Voice himself, the trio played folk music from various parts of the world on the concertina, flute and bouzouki.

This was the first cabaret evening put on by Liverpool Voice, and we expect that it will not be the last.

Liverpool Voice rehearse on a Thursday evening in the Edge Hill area of the city. They aim to perform to a high standard while keeping the rehearsals both fun and workmanlike. They are always on the look out for potential new members. Anyone interested in joining can ring 07901349080 and leave a voicemail message, or email liverpoolvoice@hotmail.co.uk and they will hear back.

Their next scheduled performances are Christmas concerts at St. Anne's church, Edge Hill on Saturday 7th December, and at Crosby Hall on Friday 13th December. They are also taking part in a Nugent Care fundraising concert at Bishop Eton on Saturday 14th December.