By IW Observer.co.uk
Ryde Chorus returned to its roots, to celebrate its 30th Anniversary, with a concert at All Saints’ Church, Ryde, on Saturday (April 2).
The concert was held opposite the school where the choir was formed by Marc Coote, head of music, in 1992 together with parents and teachers. Philip Fryer, the choir’s current musical director, has been leading and encouraging the members for almost 20 of those years.
This concert was a challenging programme. The choir sang Haydn’s ‘Te Deum’ and Cherubini’s ‘Requiem’ both a good work-out for the lungs. There were also two solos sung by soprano, Jackie Maw, the rector for the West Wight churches group, while Joshua Attrill performed Mozart’s clarinet concerto in A major. Joshua grew up on the Island, attending Christ the King College and is now at Cardiff University where he has his own band.
These works were accompanied by a full orchestra made up mainly of Island players. The members of All Saints’ Church made the choir very welcome and served refreshments during the interval.
Anyone with a love of music and singing, plus a willingness to learn a wide variety of good music from simple to quite challenging, can join the choir which welcomes new members of all ages.
Regular rehearsals take place at the United Reformed Church, Upton Road, Ryde at 7.30pm on Thursday evenings. More details on rydechorus.org.
On Friday, June 24, the choir will be performing at St Peter’s Church, Shorwell, for a Summer Concert which will be a varied programme of traditional folk songs.
Press Release