News Items
Choir Members sing Christmas Carols for the Montecillo Veteran’s Home and the Presbyterian Support Otago Club Enliven.
This year again, the Choir was invited to sing Christmas Carols for the Montecillo Christmas Cake and Carols Morning Tea. 14 choir members attended, all in their splendid looking red blazers! Johnny, our young pianist, very skilfully played the keyboard.
After morning tea, the choir members started off by singing a few carols. They were then joined by the Montecillo staff and together they sang the remaining carols. Between the carol singing there were also two presentations. The RSA Association donated a big Christmas cake for the residents, and a motorbike club handed over a money bag full of cash their members donated for one of the various Montecillo projects. Once the last carol had been sung Santa Claus appeared with a big bag of presents for the residents of Montecillo. It was a great Christmas function!
Choir members getting ready to sing!
Santa Clause’s gifts are being rolled in!
Choir members also again sang Christmas carols for the Presbyterian Support Otago Club Enliven. During three days of each week Club Enliven operates day activities for its clients. So, for each of these three days, 6 members form the choir sang Christmas carols and Alison Paterson, a former choir accompanist, skilfully accompanied on the piano. - A wide variety of songs were in the selection, from the very light hearted like “Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer” over the well-known semi classical like “Winter Wonderland” to the very traditional such as “Silent Night” and “Joy to the World”.
This Christmas Carol singing for the Club Enliven has now been happening for many years, since some of the choir members are voluntary drivers for the Club Enliven.
For Huia Ockwell who attended the sessions, this is sadly the last time he was wearing the Choir Uniform. Huia, after singing for the choir for the last 17 years, decided to retire from the choir. He has been a very valued choir member and his singing and story telling ability will be greatly missed. We wish him all the best.
Huia reading a Christmas Story.
Huia, Ken, Otto, Peter and Neil singing.
Otto, Alison, Neil and Peter
Some of the audience, singing with the choir.
Choir Christmas Party 2020
The Choir had its Christmas Party this year at the Village Green Café and Bar, Green Island.
With not having had many opportunities for singing during the year, the choir committee decided to make this an even more special occasion, where the choir would sing some pre-prepared items and also would ask the invited Choir Scholars if they would sing a few items.
This format worked very well with 80 attending the function. Besides the choir members with their partners, choir member’s guests and our Musical Director Karen Knudson, we also had attending our three Choir Scholars, Rhiannon Cooper, Lillian Gibbs and Emma McClean, their lecturer Tessa Romano and pianist Mark Wigglesworth.
The choir first sang 4 items with support in the last item from the Scholars and Tessa Romano. This was followed by a lovely buffet meal, followed by the traditional toasts, and some excellent singing by the scholars. This was capped off with good desserts. To close off the evening we all sang Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. A very fitting end to a very pleasant evening!
Choir members ready to sing!
Lillian, Tessa, Rhiannon and Emma singing with the choir with Mark playing the piano.
All the choir members watching Karen, our Musical Director.
Armistice Day Concert in Knox Church – 11. November 2020
The combined concert by our choir and the St Kilda Brass was a great success! After such a difficult year, it was great to be able to perform in a concert again and Knox Church was a very fitting venue.
The Choir and Band, ready to perform!
Under the direction of the two conductors, Karen Knudson and Shane Foster, the combined effort of the choir, the Brass Band, Johnny Mottershead on the piano, David Burchell on the organ and Alexander McAdam providing soloist support, made for an outstanding evening of music.
The choir’s songs and the band’s items were all well-known items. In the first half, The Lord’s Prayer was dedicated to Colin Challis, the choir’s last World War 2 veteran, who died earlier in the year. In the Ceremony of Remembrance towards the end of the second half, Shane Foster played The last Post on a bugle handed down from his Grandfather, who played the instrument at Somme during World War 1 a very special performance!
The large audience seem to really enjoy the programme, so much so, they were relucted to get up after the final item, God saves the Queen!
All photos kindly provided by Paul Donovan
Shane Foster conducting
The Cornet soloist.
Choir Members singing
The Basses and Baritones singing.
Alexander McAdam, our soloist.
Our audience!
Karen Knudson conducting
Johnny Mottershead on the piano.
Our audience.
The two drummers.
Beautiful instruments!
A combined effort!
Two recitals for Scholar Rhiannon Cooper’s honours degree.
Rhiannon is having two recitals for her honours degree at the end of this month and she would love to see us all there.
First Recital: Tuesday 20. October at 2 pm at Marama Hall - Otago University.
An approximately 35-minute programme with Handel arias from Giulio Cesarean, Serse, Hercules and more. This is being combined with items by Terence Dennis followed by Scott Bezett’s recital at 3pm.
Second Recital (the big one!): Wednesday 28. October 7 pm at Marama Hall - Otago University.
An approximately 1 hour programme featuring a wide variety of languages with French, English, Spanish, German and Italian as well as some fabulous women composers and also has a few ensembles which feature Scott as well as the other two RSA Scholars, Emma McClean and Lillian Gibbs.
Everyone is very welcome and both events are free of charge.
Anderson Lloyd Dunedin Lawyers
Tribute to one of their founding partner, Peter Anderson
Plaque at the Railway Station
On Monday 12 October 2020 the Choir sang in the Dunedin Railway Station entrance hall 3 songs for Anderson Lloyd’s tribute to their founding member Peter Anderson who was a soldier in the Passchendaele battle during the first World War. Peter Anderson was also a founding member of the RSA Choir in 1920.
Choir Members Ron and Neville relaxing!
27. September 2020
The Choir is now back, practicing for our November Armistice Day Concert!
We were not able to have practices during the Duration of the Covid - 19 Level 2 restrictions due to the age of many of our members and the required restrictions like keeping members apart during practices.
However since we are now in Level 1, practices have resumed. It is great to be back!