As the 主播大秀 Singers prepare to enter their 90th year, soprano Olivia Robinson reflects on life as a 主播大秀 Singer whilst on tour in France.
I can still feel the effect on my calves of the 鈥� latest trip: a visit to the hilltop village of V茅zelay in Burgundy, France, to take part in the annual four-day festival, . Our concert venue was the stunning 11th Century Romanesque Basilique Sainte Marie-Madeleine, perched on the very top of the hill at the end of a steep 10 minute walk from the closest spot that our coach could park.
Happily we had time to explore the village (which I have since discovered is a ) between our rehearsal in the afternoon and our late evening concert, as well as enjoying some of the local restaurants. It seemed half the choir were carrying the pretty orange gift packs from a local specialist bakery selling macacroons, while some of us opted instead for the instant gratification of a half-dozen in a white paper bag...
Our charming hosts at the Festival had given us each an elegant souvenir wine glass, along with the irresistible invitation to taste some of the local wines after our concert. Sitting outside in the village square at close to midnight, relaxing after the intensity of an entirely a capella full-length programme will no doubt remain a favourite touring memory of mine. We were joined by friendly and appreciative audience members, and surrounded by various stalls offering local cheeses, crepes and waffles. On the outdoor stage (where earlier that evening we had glimpsed a Finnish trio, Las Chicas de los Tango), they were projecting a slideshow of reportage photographs taken during the previous couple of days.
The invitation to V茅zelay has been one of the highlights of what will be the 主播大秀 Singers鈥� 90th Anniversary year. Earlier in the summer we took part in the new Proms commission, by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe (aka the Pet Shop Boys), tackled one of the biggest challenges of the unaccompanied choral repertoire, Deutsche Motette by Richard Strauss, performed Oedipus Rex by Stravinsky and looped our way through Steve Reich鈥檚 extraordinary The Desert Music. By the end of the summer we had sung chorus in Strauss鈥檚 and let our hair down with the revellers at the . This is just a small selection of the wide ranging repertoire we get to perform as 主播大秀 Singers, and our 90th birthday year will be no exception.
A short film about the 90 years of the 主播大秀 Singers
Our actual anniversary falls on 28 September, and we will be celebrating at the on the 24 September. The celebrations start at 6pm at , performing some of the many 主播大秀 Singers鈥� commissions from throughout the group's history, including works by Benjamin Britten and Sir Michael Tippett. Later that evening we will join our 主播大秀 Symphony Orchestra colleagues in the Barbican Hall to give the premiere of Kevin Volans鈥檚 The Mountain That Left, written especially to mark the occasion.聽
One of the great delights of this job is the collaborative relationship between the group and the many composers it works with - as evidenced several months ago when Kevin came to workshop an early draft of the piece. Helping to shape pieces that we hope will enter our regular repertoire is very rewarding and valued by all of us. It's something that I hope will continue to be a regular feature of the 主播大秀 Singers in its next 90 years.
Olivia Robinson is a soprano in the 主播大秀 Singers.