MUSIC and humour in the hands of some of the most talented singers, musicians and comedy actresses around.
What more could you ask for from an evening out which will also help to raise money for one the area’s best known choirs, Honley Male Voice Choir?
Norman Mellor, the choir’s chairman and one of its bass soloists, has long organised concerts to raise funds for organisations around the district. He does it for his own choir too and that’s precisely what he is doing on March 8 at Honley’s Southgate theatre where Norman will compère a fund-raising concert for Honley Male Voice.
This is the fourth fundraiser that Norman has organised for the choir though he has been running charity concerts for more than 30 years. That’s why he’s able to call on the talents of his many musical friends for concerts such as this.
As well as all of the Honley choir’s own soloists, the concert will feature bass/baritone Gerry Wheatcroft and soprano Julia Garbutt.
Gerry is equally at home singing oratorio and opera. Well known for singing principal roles with operatic societies in the Halifax area, Gerry says that he was drawn to the entertainment facet of singing through his concert work in the forces both in the UK and in the Far East.
Gerry currently spends a lot of time as a solo singer and entertainer for the national organisation, Music In Hospitals.
Alongside him will be Julia Garbutt, whose soprano voice is much in demand these days for concert work. Julia won many fans with her work with operatic societies in Huddersfield. She made her first stage appearance as a nine-year-old and went on to sing principal roles in many shows, particularly at the Lawrence Batley Theatre.
She and Gerry will be accompanied by pianist Catherine Warwick. Catherine has a masters degree in music and left her post as head of music in a Yorkshire school to start a family. She now has three young children and is much in demand as an accompanist and for private music lessons.
Local duo Sapphire, that’s Joan Rock and Maureen Meddick, will offer a very different style of music.
The two met while working in a local primary school and when singing with the children, they found that their own voices were very compatible.
Though both have a choral background, they concentrated on folk songs when they began singing as a duo at local folk clubs. Twenty-eight years on, the two continue to be much in demand for fund-raising and social events.
Cellist Eric Cooper, joint conductor of the U3A Choir, will play and there will be bags of comedy courtesy of Honley Male Voice Choir members David Ellis and David Jagger who will sing comic songs.
David Ellis will be joined by operatic society stalwart Derek Sharples to contribute some comedy sketches and what evening at Honley would be complete without the knock-about comic style of Gina Cook and Marina Haigh.
The events begins at 7pm. Tickets from Joe Ramsden on 01484 851060.
