Glossolalia
Sunday 18th March 2007
The Sage Gateshead Jazz Festival
‘Glossolalia’ Andy Sheppard / Bigger Sky
The gig was a blast! The two choirs Norwich and Newcastle blending perfectly. The Newcastlers welcoming in the Norwichers to their town and the Norwichers pouring a reassuring balm over the nerves of the Newcastlers having done the gig once before. It looked and sounded amazing the lighting was fantastic. One of the most moving moments was watching the choir dressed in black silently walk from the back of the auditorium onto the stage whilst Andy improvised with bird song, a pied piper playing the choir onto the stage. I was having such a good time improvising I nearly missed Sian’s cue to end the piece on a long high note!!!!!!! The spirit of the gig was fantastic Andy’s melodic dances, Kuljit Bhamra’s rhythms and vocalisations driving the choir, John Parricelli’s caressing sensitive guitar chords binding the sound together with the massed voices. Sounds to re visit in my dreams.
History
A little bit of background to this project. Every year for the last 6 years or so Sian Croose as conductor and director of community choir Big Sky has commissioned (with the support of the Norwich and Norfolk Festival) a composer to write a composition for a community choir a100 strong. It is an open project, absolutely anybody can be part of it, and no previous experience at all is needed. All they need to join is enthusiasm and commitment to the project. The 50 or so strong Big Sky choir has been in existence for around 10 years now and has substantial experience in tackling each new project. This forms the backbone to the choir giving the 50 or so Bigger Sky singers confidence. Sian Croose has teamed up with Jon Baker forming a formidable teaching team taking the choir through the learning process. The dialogue between Sian and composers during the writing and the rehearsing of the piece is crucial to its success. Each year there is only one night to get it right and each year it is an extraordinary experience for everyone involved whether you are an experienced performer, a professional or someone who has stepped on stage for the first time.