June 8, 2008
For Life is the UK arm of the Christian Care Foundation for Children with Disabilities (CCD) which works in Thailand to provide care and support for abandoned disabled children. They are currently seeking to raise funds to refurbish and renovate a hospital building in northern Thailand. Further details can be found on their website www.4lifethailand.org.
If all their fundraising efforts are as lively and entertaining as this one, they won’t be long in raising the funds they seek. Oxford Gospel Choir (whose former musical directors Lydia and Henry George founded For Life) bounced onto stage and maintained the energy and fun all evening.
Clapping, swaying and non-stop smiling enhanced a well chosen programme of traditional gospel music, mixed with show tunes, pop and a piece written especially for the choir by the drummer of their excellent supporting band. Gospel singing is infectious and OGC was most effective when the full choir were in full voice. A number of songs from the professional choir (a smaller group within the body) lost impact as delicate harmony was drowned by the band; a shame since the soloists were excellent throughout in all songs. That said, the outstanding piece of the evening was the professional choir’s rendition of Shadowland from The Lion King with excellent solo singing from Laura Capillaire and, especially, Lizzie Brown – the stand-out voice of the show.
Regular changes of conductor were accomplished seamlessly, each bringing their own personality to the songs they led. Highlight in this area was the song that started the second half, In the Sanctuary, led by Rantimi Atijosan with infectious energy and real soul. My programme notes tell me that surgery is one of her passions – scary!
The programme finished with Holy Prince of Peace, with the audience encouraged to our feet to join in. That was a lot of fun, and filled the space with even more sound – St. Aldate’s is wonderful from an acoustic point of view. It is also a very smart way of getting a (well deserved) standing ovation! The single encore, an African number, featured the great voice of Yannick Kimbutu and once more brought the audience to their feet, this time spontaneously. One minor suggestion – after the show, take your bows and applause and thank the band and sound desk. The rest of the thanks could probably be saved for the choir alone, after the audience have left.
The choir is always on the lookout for new members, check the website www.oxfordgospelchoir.org.uk, and the full or professional choirs can be booked for any occasion that would benefit from excellently performed, uplifting music.
If all their fundraising efforts are as lively and entertaining as this one, they won’t be long in raising the funds they seek. Oxford Gospel Choir (whose former musical directors Lydia and Henry George founded For Life) bounced onto stage and maintained the energy and fun all evening.
Clapping, swaying and non-stop smiling enhanced a well chosen programme of traditional gospel music, mixed with show tunes, pop and a piece written especially for the choir by the drummer of their excellent supporting band. Gospel singing is infectious and OGC was most effective when the full choir were in full voice. A number of songs from the professional choir (a smaller group within the body) lost impact as delicate harmony was drowned by the band; a shame since the soloists were excellent throughout in all songs. That said, the outstanding piece of the evening was the professional choir’s rendition of Shadowland from The Lion King with excellent solo singing from Laura Capillaire and, especially, Lizzie Brown – the stand-out voice of the show.
Regular changes of conductor were accomplished seamlessly, each bringing their own personality to the songs they led. Highlight in this area was the song that started the second half, In the Sanctuary, led by Rantimi Atijosan with infectious energy and real soul. My programme notes tell me that surgery is one of her passions – scary!
The programme finished with Holy Prince of Peace, with the audience encouraged to our feet to join in. That was a lot of fun, and filled the space with even more sound – St. Aldate’s is wonderful from an acoustic point of view. It is also a very smart way of getting a (well deserved) standing ovation! The single encore, an African number, featured the great voice of Yannick Kimbutu and once more brought the audience to their feet, this time spontaneously. One minor suggestion – after the show, take your bows and applause and thank the band and sound desk. The rest of the thanks could probably be saved for the choir alone, after the audience have left.
The choir is always on the lookout for new members, check the website www.oxfordgospelchoir.org.uk, and the full or professional choirs can be booked for any occasion that would benefit from excellently performed, uplifting music.