On Wednesday 20th September, Epsom Choral Society held an open rehearsal at St Martin’s Church, Epsom, their usual concert venue. An ‘open rehearsal’ served a double purpose. It was part of the preparation for their concert, performing Felix Mendelssohn’s Elijah on 18th November. It was also a bid to attract some new singing members by offering a chance to come and try it out.

I went along.  I enjoy Mendelssohn’s music and it is easier to appreciate after an attempt at performing it. As Wednesday’s weather approached biblical proportions, it was a good night for singing about whirlwinds droughts and floods.

After a welcome from choir chairman Isobel Squire, conductor Julian Collings began the rehearsal. The whole work has about 40 songs. The choir sings in about half of them. Usually, a rehearsal would entail concentrating on a few items, looking to correct some mistakes, find the music among the notes and then sing each piece all the way through. Wednesday was more of a taster. We sang fairly quickly through almost all the choral numbers, saving the detailed work for Julian’s favourite movement, ‘He, watching over Israel’. The conductor’s role is to know the music inside-out (he does!), warning which notes are likely to go wrong and suggesting ways to make them sound better. Once the notes are correct, the next stage is suggesting how to shape them to bring out the musical effects.

No-one has to sing alone. Epsom Choral Society has room for some new members but they do have all parts covered. There are confident singers among sopranos, altos, tenors and basses. Any newcomer will be adding to the overall sound, not sticking out while searching for the notes. They also have an expert pianist, Marion Lea, who can highlight  the choir parts while learning or pretend to be an orchestra when everyone is singing something through.

Although the open rehearsal has passed, there are still plenty of Wednesdays before the concert. If you fancy a chance to discover Elijah from within an able and welcoming choir, I’m sure Epsom Choral Society’s membership secretary (membership@epsomchoralsociety.org.uk) will be very happy to hear from you.

Nigel Williams.

A new contemporary art fair is coming to The Duchess Stand, Epsom Downs Racecourse, 6 – 8 October 2023.

Art Surrey opens on Friday 6th October with a Preview Evening and a complimentary glass of fizz from 6pm to 9pm and opens over the weekend on Saturday 7 October 10am-6pm and Sunday 8 October 10am-5pm.

This inaugural art fair, curated by Art Surrey and Ewell based Art Adviser and Gallery, Caiger Art, offers art lovers and collectors the chance to browse and purchase artworks from over 80 of the most exciting contemporary and traditional artists selling today, many of whom are Surrey based artists.

As final preparations get under way, Carol Caiger, Director of Art Surrey, is understandably very excited about this new Epsom venture, “Being one of the largest art fairs within the south east of England, this new contemporary art fair will the perfect place to find artwork to start your art collection, or add to your collection if you are already an art enthusiast!”

There will be over 3000 works of art to see, paintings, drawings, prints, digital art, mixed media art, photography, sculpture, glassworks and ceramics. With all artwork ranging from £50 to over £3000, there will be something for everyone.

This year the invited showcase is Surrey Sculpture Society, who will be showing a selection of their artists sculptures for sale.

Carol Caiger adds, “The bonus is, as well as awesome artwork, the Caiger Art and Art Surrey Team are on hand to give expert advice on the best artwork to buy for your home, too.”

Weekend facilities include a bar and café serving teas, coffee and food throughout Saturday and Sunday, so you can easily spend a whole day there! The venue has ample onsite parking and is wheelchair accessible.

You can have see the limited edition art fair brochure here: https://artsurrey.co.uk/brochure-2023/.

Tickets are available to buy for the Friday Preview Evening, Saturday and Sunday from
https://artsurrey.co.uk/tickets/

Epsom Jazz Club returns this Tuesday 12th September for another three highly anticipated world class jazz concerts, beginning with their first intimate duo show.

The wondrous pair of Cuban Jazz violinist Omar Puente and Italian pianist and composer Ilario Ferrari have performed their “Mediterranean meets Cuba” show numerous times in London to sellout crowds and now Epsom Jazz Club has encouraged them to bring it to our Borough to launch the new Season. Omar can often be seen leading his own sextet in venues such as Ronnie Scott’s and upon many a Jazz Festival stage. Ilario is equally busy, having just released his third album as band leader, a work for piano and string quartet that combines Classical music, contemporary Jazz and Indian rhythms. They promise to take the audience on a journey from Cuba, the shores of south Italy and back, exploring the common ground and new possibilities that come from the encounter of the Afro-Cuban Jazz tradition and the Mediterranean Culture.

Next month, on Tuesday 10th October Epsom Jazz Club plays host to an all-star Saxophone Quartet led by swing and the straight-ahead focussed Fraser Smith. In-demand pianist Rob Barron makes his return to Epsom after his visit in August (with vibes player Nat Steele), alongside revered bassist Simon Read and stalwart jazz drummer Steve Brown. Swinging sax quartets are often so popular with audiences and these four musicians are amongst the best. Following Fraser’s album release in April this year, the band has been gigging all over the UK showcasing much of the music from “TipTop!” as well as hard bop / bebop arrangements of popular standards.

And finally, on Tuesday 7th November arguably one of the world’s best jazz clarinettists, Giacomo Smith, will be performing on the Oaks Room stage. Born in Italy and raised in upstate New York, Giacomo leads many great projects (including Kansas Smitty’s, Hot Five, Trav’lin Light) as well as being in demand all over the world as a soloist and collaborator. He’s produced recordings for Jamie Cullum, rising star Jas Kayser and the debut album from actor Damian Lewis alongside performing regularly as a featured soloist with Gregory Porter the Southbank Sinfonia and other international orchestras. His writing, production and collaborations have garnered 10m + streams and counting. Alongside New Zealand born jazz guitarist and banjo player Alexander ‘Honey’ Boulton, and US born (and Manhattan School of Music and Royal Academy of Music graduate) double bassist Will Sach, Epsom Jazz Club has booked a phenomenal trio for their Autumn Season finale!

Tickets for all these concerts are on sale now and available to buy in advance either via their website EpsomJazzClub.com or by going directly to the ticket site.

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On Monday 31st July we went to see Annie Get Your Gun at the Lavender Theatre – a recently erected outdoor space amongst lavender fields in Reigate Road, Epsom. A new venture for Mayfield Lavender.. the owners of the family-run lavender farm in Banstead. Fortunately, it was a lovely evening and the setting perfect. We were welcomed into the theatre after passing through the stunning shop with beautiful gifts including ‘lavender chocolate bars’ – outside one could buy drinks and enjoy delicious eats before the performance.

The show included celebrated stars from the music world – SuRie (represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song concert in 2018) as Anna, Charlie Mccullagh (Frank) and many other wonderful performers including three children.

We were enthralled by the magic of this open-air show, tapping our feet to the famous tunes including “no business like show business” and ‘Doin’ what comes natur’lly’.

I can honestly say it was one of our best evenings out! Huge congratulations to Director Simon Hardwick and his team.

Tickets are still available until the show ends on Saturday 5th August!

On sale today at lavendertheatre.com.

As locals we hope that this innovative exciting venture will continue – another jewel for our area.

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This was Mark Biggins’ last concert in charge of Epsom Chamber Choir. He may return some day as a guest. The conductor Chamber Choir have shared with English National Opera moves on to take a post with the Grand Théâtre de Genève, a bit too distant to combine.

Auditions for a replacement happen this autumn. Conductors leave their impression on this choir. For two decades Michael Stevenson worked on refinement and blend such that you needed to be very close to pick out individual voices from the ensemble. His successor, Piers Maxim, liked to entrust choir members with solo spots instead of hiring outside soloists. Mark Biggins has brought an added experience of the opera house, so the timbre has gained energy and exuberance, especially among higher voices, that would do justice to a larger venue even than St Martin’s Church, Epsom.

All these influences were on show in Saturday’s concert (24th June at St Martins Church, Epsom). The ensemble retains its refinement, between singers well used to listening to each other. The big and difficult tenor solo in the choral dances from Britten’s Gloriana was skilfully handled by Dominic Morris. Neil Thomas took the baritone spotlight in the folksong arrangement The Lark in the Clear Air. The Britten choral dances, from Gloriana, were straight out of the opera house, with fast tempi and committed dynamic variations creating an aural spectacle.

There were over a dozen separate items, showcasing an eclectic range of repertoire, mostly on a theme of summer but with one bizarre Christmas piece apparently left over from an earlier programme, Jonathan Dove’s Wellcome All Wonders. Covid may have cancelled the date when it should have been sung but the choir were not to be denied the chance of demonstrating their prowess tuning its complicated discords.

The audience got invited to sing a refrain in the title number, the mediaeval tune Sumer is Icumen In. A cuckoo has been known to visit Epsom Common. If you encounter it and were at this concert, you know now how to address it.

Instead of more Britten, Flower Songs were furnished by Eric Whitacre. His trademark use of dissonance is more velvety and luxuriant. I have heard it compared to chocolate cake. The choir tuned all the clusters confidently and allowed their audience to wallow in the rich sonority.

Steve Ridge played for the one jazzier piece, by Bob Chilcott, that needed a piano. The other accompanied items employed a harp, more exotic and less percussive and played by Mared Pugh-
Evans. She was kept busy, in the Britten dances, in a mystical upper-voices song Summer by Gustav Holst and in two euphonous folk-song arrangements by John Bawden. He was singing tenor with Chamber Choir last time I heard these settings but has now gravitated to bass. He composes with a calm facility combined with a lifelong immersion in choral idiom. Hearing these songs was as refreshing as being handed a long, cool drink.

Mared Pugh-Evans switched from subtle accompaniment with hints of ancient bucolic tradition to virtuoso display for her solo item, Rhapsodie, by Marcel Grandjany. Composed by a harpist, it let her demonstrate a vast range of impossibly rapid ripples and resonant chords, sometimes at the same time, while always giving the impression that this is what harpists do for fun.

Epsom clarinettist Zoë Humphries joined her for the Victorian Kitchen Garden Suite by Paul Reade, a piece chosen to entertain rather than dazzle. They played with appealing, never forced tone, passing the tunes from one to the other and radiating serenity around the building as the evening started to cool. We heard a Monteverdi madrigal and two joyful, sparkling partsongs by Fanny Hensel.

Then Mark Biggins’ valedictory item, a nod to his past studies in America, was Stephen Paulus’ The Road Home, which was encored affectingly.

Nigel Williams

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Set amidst rolling lavender fields, the Lavender Theatre will open for its inaugural summer season this July in Epsom. The theatre is located at 139 Reigate Road, Epsom KT17 3D

The 250-seat open air theatre will be home for an annual season of plays and musicals with a truly elegant backdrop. Based at Mayfield Lavender in Surrey, the theatre has been co-founded by director Joe McNeice (producer/director of ‘DIVA: Live From Hell!’), Mayfield owner Brendan Maye and Jonathan Muir.

The inaugural season will open with Irving Berlin’s classic musical ‘Annie Get Your Gun’ from July 17, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin, original book by Herbert and Dorothy Fields as revised by Peter Stone, with new direction and choreography by Simon Hardwick (‘My Fair Lady’).

The launch of the theatre will see the completion of a significant investment into the Epsom site, which already boasts a coffee bar, shop, and a full service glasshouse restaurant due to open alongside the theatre this summer.

“This will be more than just a visit to a theatre,” commented Joe McNeice, “Audiences will be able to grab a picnic to enjoy among the blossoming rows of lavender as the sun begins to set, before taking their seats in our covered auditorium to watch a show under the stars.”

Since opening in 2006, the Mayfield Lavender Farm in Banstead has grown into a major summer destination for tourists and locals in South London, and this year the team are opening the gates to a theatre at their sister location in Epsom.

Lavender Theatre Artistic Director Joe McNeice worked behind the scenes at London’s immersive ‘Great Gatsby’, and was Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre’s Visitor Services Manager until 2022, after graduating from the University of York in 2018.

“The whole place looks incredible, just walking about the site is a real treat for all the senses,” McNeice added, “so our shows have to compliment their surroundings and match the sophistication that the natural landscape has set for us.”

Speaking of his plans for ‘Annie Get Your Gun’, Simon Hardwick said: “The show will be a rip-roaring staging of the well known Broadway musical in a very raw and kinetic production that evokes the energy of Buffalo Bill’s original touring celebrations of the Wild West. The Lavender Theatre will be a dream destination; an environment in which to enjoy a West End-standard production under a hazy summer sky.”

The theatre, privately funded and managed by Lavender Productions Ltd., will produce its own shows with plans to see the summer season expand year on year with diverse and engaging programming.

McNeice said: “With no public funding or grants to help us achieve this mammoth project, we are relying solely on our Box Office income to build the Lavender Theatre into a profitable business, but we believe that creating a new producing theatre, a proper landmark location for the arts in Surrey, is something worth the investment, for both the local community and the wider industry.

“I’m really passionate about developing new shows, particularly musicals. The location is perfect because it’s actually very close to London, but far enough away to have its own identity, which will give us the opportunity to develop work without the vast expense and pressure that comes with opening new shows in the capital. It’s an incredibly exciting opportunity.”

Tickets for the inaugural season are on sale today at lavendertheatre.com.

Epsom Choral Society gave us a night to remember at St Andrews Church in Cheam last Saturday. Their programme was an unusual and attractive coupling of works by Constant Lambert and David Fanshawe.  In The Rio Grande, Lambert sets a poem by Sacheverell Sitwell for choir, two pianos and percussion, while in African Sanctus, written following visits to Africa in 1969, Fanshawe combines African sounds, both human and natural, with live musicians and a Latin Mass.

The concert got off to rousing start with the choir in fine voice, with plenty of rhythmic verve and effective dynamic contrasts throughout. It’s worth remembering, however, that in very soft passages articulation needs to be even crisper. I did also wonder whether there might have been slightly more sway and swagger in phrases such as “… they dance in the city, down the public squares…”. These are minor quibbles; the performance was as accomplished as one might expect.

Marion Lea, the choir’s regular accompanist, took the solo piano role, with its virtuosic cadenzas, while Peter Jaekel, a regular visitor, took the ‘orchestral’ part. Both pianists dealt expertly with the technical demands, and they displayed an excellent rapport. This was also apparent as two pianos became one for the three lollipops from Walton’s Façade suite, namely Polka, Popular Song and Foxtrot, hugely enjoyed by the sizeable audience. The first half ended with a brief introduction to African Sanctus by the late composer’s widow Jane Fanshawe. During her very informative words and photographs, conductor Julian Collings was presented with one of David Fanshawe’s trademark caps.

The second half of the concert was heralded by a mighty roar of “Sanctus” from the choir, accompanied by a full percussion ensemble. Having conducted this work myself many moons ago, I recall just how tricky it was to get all elements perfectly aligned – I wish I had had professional sound engineers such as the excellent team on Saturday!  A mesmerising muezzin’s call to prayer got the next movement under way. Here the gorgeous blend of the voices produced some exquisite singing with perfect intonation. Other qualities such as stamina and staying power presented themselves in the next two movements. The call of the muezzin translates into the key of D, and as any soprano will tell you a very high D lies well out of the comfort zone so full marks to the sopranos here.

Following the Credo came Love Song, a tender and moving episode in which a cattle boy in East Sudan sings about a girl called Abdha. At the start of the movement, we hear a recording of a mother ringing tiny bells outside her tent in an ancient custom signifying the birth of a baby son. In the context of the mass this signifies the birth of Jesus Christ, and as the sound of the bells gently faded the effect was intensely poignant.

The Crucifixus is described by the composer as the “heart of the work” and it features a fearsome mix of war cries, rainstorms and dances, resulting in a dramatic and menacing texture. I wondered for a moment whether the percussion was slightly overpowering here – the war cries from South Sudan, for example, were not easily picked out. A belated mention here of the excellent soprano soloist, Lisa Swayne, who managed the wide jagged leaps with great style and aplomb.

The gentle Lord’s Prayer which followed drew a lovely gospel feel to the singing, although I did feel that the lead guitar was slightly over-amplified.  After a movement of chants and a superbly effective Agnus Dei – with the soloist once again shining in her three consecutive cries of Jesu Christe – a thrilling, exhilarating and exuberant finale brought this unique work to a close. Rapturous applause followed, leading to an encore – a repeat of the Lord’s Prayer – during which Julian Collings, fittingly I thought, wore the cap presented to him earlier.

Martin Seath

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_{Photo credit: Clive Richardson}

Celebrating World Refugee Week (19th – 25th June) Epsom and Ewell Refugee Network has been celebrating the talents and success of refugees the charity has supported.

Nataliia Zadorizhna is a concert pianist who started playing the piano at the age of 4. She graduated from the Glier Kyiv Academy of Music and also has a PhD in Linguistics. She arrived here in May to flee the war in Ukraine.

Natalia has been appointed as a peripatetic piano teacher for Surrey Arts and also gives private piano lessons. She has formed a Ukrainian choir in Epsom and is a top-class musician who has played in several concerts in and around Epsom.

Ksenia Bugrimova is an award-winning film producer and creative director who has made many films and tv programs in Ukraine. Since arriving in the UK, she founded Talented U – https://talented-u.com/en – a Ukrainian-British Association of screen industry professionals. Here is an example of her much acclaimed work https://youtu.be/ayVgCK-3f00

Samira is a 17-year-old Afghan girl who came to the UK in summer of 2021 and moved to Epsom in May 2022. She is a gifted artist and doing a dressmaking course at college. EERN provided her with a sewing machine and one of our volunteers helped her learn how to use it (as she had never used an electric machine before). Within 2 weeks she had made 4 traditional Afghan dresses and she hopes to become a professional tailor.

Samira has been working very hard at her English, supported by EERN, and was very pleased to pass her driving theory test first time!

Helin Konyar was studying singing at Kiev Municipal Academy of Circus and Variety Arts when, at the age of 20, she had to leave Kyiv last May. When she arrived here, she auditioned for the famous Laine Theatre Art College in Epsom and was awarded a 3-year scholarship. This week she appeared in her first show at Epsom Playhouse.

Yuliia Komyshan is a professional bandura player from Poltava, Ukraine (a bandura is a Ukrainian plucked-string folk-instrument). She has degrees from Poltava Professional College of Arts and from Glinka Dnipropetrovsk Academy of Music and a PhD in Educational and Pedagogical Sciences.

Yuliia came to the UK when the war started in Ukraine. She dreams of introducing people all over the world to the interesting and rich Ukrainian culture and traditions. She loves giving people the opportunity to listen to the bandura and to connect with Ukrainian musical culture, both traditional and modern. She performs at concerts whenever she can.

Yuliia says that she is very grateful to the government, sponsors, volunteers and new friends for the support which she has received here.

For more information about the work of Epsom and Ewell Refugee Network visit their website. https://epsomrefugeenetwork.org

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This year, Epsom Choral Society’s summer concert will take you on a journey of discovery with two exciting British 20th century works on Saturday 24th June 2023 in St Andrew’s Church, Cheam.

From green and leafy Surrey, Epsom Choral Society travels firstly to Brazil to enjoy the jazz rhythms and sparkling piano of Constant Lambert’s popular 1927 work The Rio Grande.

In the second half, the singers cross the Atlantic to Africa with David Fanshawe’s African Sanctus (1972), a work which combines the traditional Mass with an original soundtrack of African music recorded by the composer during his travels up the Nile.

Jane Fanshawe, David’s widow, will attend the concert and will give an introduction and her personal memories of African Sanctus. David Fanshawe (1942-2010) was an English composer and self-styled explorer with a fervent interest in world music. His best-known composition is his choral work, African Sanctus, written in 1972

African Sanctus features soprano soloist, Lisa Swayne, and the soloist playing the fiendishly virtuosic piano solo in The Rio Grande is ECS’s very own Marion Lea, a formidable pianist who next year celebrates 50 years as the choir’s accompanist! Marion will also be joined by Peter Jaekel for duets from Walton’s Façade. The concert will be conducted by Epsom Choral Society’s Musical Director Julian Collings.

Chairman Isobel Squire said: “This is an exciting end to our season, and we look forward to transporting our audience from a gentle English summer to the dynamic rhythms of more southerly climes.”

The concert takes place at St Andrew’s Church, Northey Avenue, Cheam on Saturday 24th June 2023 at 7.30pm.

Entry is £18, or just £9 for students and under-18s.

Tickets are available via Epsom Choral Society website www.epsomchoral.org.uk/tickets

Epsom Choral Society has been singing for 100 years with around 90 singers. It puts on at least four concerts each year which attract a loyal following. Epsom Choral Society is a friendly choir – it does not require auditions but does aim for high performance standards. Rehearsals are on Wednesday evenings under the baton of their Musical Director, Julian Collings.

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Ashtead Choral Society – review of its concert on 13th May St Martins Church, Epsom. The evening began with Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. Written in 1936, this secular work has remained a favourite of many choral societies as it is great fun to sing and encompasses a wide range of musical genre and emotion.

The choir began with the punchy accents we know so well of the ‘O Fortuna’ (Oh Fate), filling the space of St Martin’s full of grandeur. The first male-only entry was strong and confident, as was the lamenting unison passage to follow. Then we heard the first of the fantastic Baritone soloist Rupert Pardoe, who shone with his clarity of lyric and tone. The choir returned to sing with great joy and spirit, aptly reflecting the ‘welcoming of spring’ in the text. The Tanz, or dance, gave the Kent Sinfonia a moment in the spotlight, with especially lyrical pizzicato from the strings and the first of many incredible flute solos, again beautifully reflecting the tone and content of this meadow dance. Now into the ‘Floret Silva Nobilis,’ the sopranos tackled those pianissimo high notes with tremendous grace – I know how hard those are myself! Both choir and orchestra injected some energy into the ‘Swaz Hie Gat Umbe,’ before switching to a more calming and melodic timbre, again supported and balanced by the flute melody.

The energy returned, and the choir sang regally on ‘Were diu welt all min,’ leaning in on the outrageous storytelling about the Queen of England, and what a great ‘Hej!’ at the end of the passage! Speaking of storytelling, what a performance from the countertenor, Richard Decker! Aside from the fantastic singing, the facial expressions of the soon-to-be-roasted swan told us of the dread and terror (and slight comedy) of the situation! On to the men’s time to shine, in the Tavern, which they sang very well with clear diction and gusto, and finally we were joined by the soprano soloist Ana Beard Fernandez. Her projection was especially impressive in the pillared setting of the church, and the duet with the flute was a particular highlight. ‘In trutina’ is widely considered the most beautiful moment of the work and Fernandez’s rendition definitely lived up to this claim. The energy began to return for both choir and orchestra in the drive up to the finale, finishing with the reprise of the ‘O Fortuna’ with the same energy and punch as at the start.

In the second half of the evening, the choir sang ‘The Armed Man’, by Karl Jenkins. He is known for a wide range of work, recently having composed for the King’s Coronation, but this piece is his most widely-sung setting, originally written for the millennium, and subtitled ‘A Mass for Peace.’

It began with a strong drumbeat to set the military scene, and a wonderful folk-style piccolo solo. The choir came in strongly in unison, and moved on to a fantastic canon section, really giving them space to shine as it was unaccompanied. The call to prayer was then given by Mr Noor Sheikh from Baitul-Futuh Mosque in Morden, which was a huge highlight, and really gave light to the range of religions and genres this piece calls upon. The ‘Kyrie’ then began with some moody strings and a gentle melodic soprano line, with the choir overall sombre and well balanced. Another strong male entry complimented the flowing scalic passages, and the choir handled the chromaticism with ease.

The Sanctus was great in spirit with especially clear consonants, accompanied by the sweeping
cinematic writing in the orchestra. Towards the end of the Charge is some quite unique musical writing, where in the score it says ‘convey horror!’, and the choir did just that! The Last Post, usually always surrounded by silence, was this time played with some eerie string accompaniment at the end and this painted a similarly haunting scene. The altos then had a very strong solo line, and everyone came together for another excellent chromatic passage. The Agnus Dei was a really beautiful sing, with sweeping melodic lines and really great harmonic resolutions. It was at this point especially I felt that the choir was really enjoying their singing, which added an extra something special to the performance. The penultimate section, the Benedictus, was another spotlight on the orchestra, with a great cello solo. To finish off the piece, the final section is broken up by a really fantastic piccolo solo – to get such clarity on a
piccolo and at such speed is really impressive! The choir then interjected with the repeated word ‘Ring!,’ very effectively passing the melody between the parts. They really did sound like bells, ringing out for peace, as I imagine the composer intended!

Overall a thoroughly enjoyable performance, with two great showcases of popular choral works. I look forward to seeing what ACS produces next.

Lizzie McCaffrey

Ashtead Choral Society is one of the leading choral societies in Surrey with around 90 singers giving three concerts a year with professional orchestras and soloists. 

It is a non-auditioned choir and welcome new members. For more information visit wwww.ashteadchoralsociety.org.uk.or contact secretary@ashteadchoralsociety.org.uk