Reviews
December 2023 - "A Christmas Carol"
The audience who filled St George’s Church in Takapuna for the Christmas concert by the North Shore Male Choir on the 3rd December may have been expecting the usual rolling out of familiar carols by a choir. What they got was something quite different and definitely, unexpected.
It began with Mrs. Cratchett entering, pushing her rag and bone cart, followed by the choir entering from three different points singing “Christmas is Coming” and throwing soft ‘snowballs’ into the audience. What followed was an abridged version of Dickens’s classic story, interspersed with carols at the appropriate places.
Mrs Cratchit was played by renowned international singer, Vanessa Kelly; choir members Terry Kaye and ET Archer played Scrooge and Bob Cratchit respectively, with Levi Uhila as Tiny Tim who was looked after by his guardian angel, Grant Feasey. As a soloist, Dragan Atanasov sang “Three Kings.”
There was a wonderful balance of humour, pathos and drama as the fundamentals of Dickens’s story was told interspersed with carols and scary ghosts. Another highlight was the wonderful piano accompaniment and a solo piece by Megan Quatermass, the choirs accompanist. It was even more remarkable as she had broken a wrist three weeks before the concert and played everything with one hand!
As the choir and performers gave their final bow, the audience returned the favour by throwing the snowballs at them. There was a great response from the audience, a number saying that they were disappointed that there was only one performance as they would have loved to come again and bring others. One woman commented, “I love Christmas carols and this was a stunning, creative way to present them differently. I loved it!”
November 2023
December 2020
“Just thought I should tell you that my friends are still talking about how much they enjoyed our end-of-year concert. They reckoned it was our best for some time. They enjoyed the variety, Choral numbers, the Coalminers and the Christmas songs. Well done.”Grahame
September 2018
“What a treat it was to listen to the North Shore Male Choir sing a wonderfully varied programme of music, from Paul McCartney’s Let it Be, to The Slaves Chorus from Verdi’s opera Nabucco, from our much loved Pokarekareana, to hymns like Guide me O Thou Great Jehovah and songs from the Welsh repertoire, yes, sung in Welsh too. I had many favourites, but my standout favourite was Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, which sent shivers down my spine. I loved the addition of guitars to the piano in this number.I found the choir’s singing very moving and uplifting. They know and believe what they’re singing about and the emotion they feel is spontaneously transferred across to us in the audience. I loved the interesting arrangements that were used in many of the songs. Having such talented soloists within the choir adds another dimension to the sound of massed singing. The soloists were of the highest standard and brought variety to the concert. Congratulations to your accompanist, Megan. Hold onto her. She is a very talented pianist and accompanist and plays very sympathetically while following the conductor to a ‘t’.
They are a very well-trained choir and credit must go to their conductor, Lynn John, who as a soloist in his own right, knows the correct technique to have the choir produce such a beautiful, rounded sound whether singing in unison or parts, or at pianissimo or forte levels. Their pianissimo singing was very moving and when a forte was required they all responded immediately to the conductor and delivered just what was needed. It is a delight to hear phrases ending in words with a soft consonant and all men finishing together. This only comes from a well-disciplined choir, with a strong leader at the helm. The men’s eyes never left their leader.
It is no mean feat to sing for an hour with no words or music for reference. Well done, men. Thank you all for such a wonderful concert.”
Joy Crabtree
(Former accompanist to Dame Malvina Major)
Concert at Bethlehem Shores Retirement Village, November 2017
Hi Jim and Natalie.
Just some comments in the aftermath of your visit.
Email from Bob & Josie Maslin (Bethlehem Shores)
Thank you so much for organising the North Shore Male Choir. It was a great occasion & very much enjoyed. Certainly worth waiting for. Well done.
Phone call from Jenny and Grant Netlingham
A big thank you to the team organising the visit. Wonderful. Amazing etc etc.
Thank you, loved every song sung, lovely men and the lady.
Email from David and Irvine Sadler.
Sincere thanks from us both for organising such a successful visit by the choir. The bar has certainly been lifted as far as entertainment is concerned and EVERYONE enjoyed it, including, methinks, the choir itself. Great job Warm regards.
The plaudits are for the Choir and I would be grateful if you could pass on our warmest appreciation to all who came with you to Tauranga.
Such a memorable visit !!
The Concert in Aid of the Hospice, Sunday 17th May 2015
What a wonderful concert on Sunday afternoon. We enjoyed every minute of it. The interludes by the Barber Shop Quartet from Westlake Boys and the St Cuthbert's College girls Orchestral group, plus Mary Newman-Pound were fantastic.
But you old and not so old fellows really get the top prize with your outstanding voices. We did not know of the existence of the North Shore Male Choir. We were very impressed and are looking forward to your next concert in October.
Click on article to enlarge
September 2018
“What a treat it was to listen to the North Shore Male Choir sing a wonderfully varied programme of music, from Paul McCartney’s Let it Be, to The Slaves Chorus from Verdi’s opera Nabucco, from our much loved Pokarekareana, to hymns like Guide me O Thou Great Jehovah and songs from the Welsh repertoire, yes, sung in Welsh too. I had many favourites, but my standout favourite was Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, which sent shivers down my spine. I loved the addition of guitars to the piano in this number.I found the choir’s singing very moving and uplifting. They know and believe what they’re singing about and the emotion they feel is spontaneously transferred across to us in the audience. I loved the interesting arrangements that were used in many of the songs. Having such talented soloists within the choir adds another dimension to the sound of massed singing. The soloists were of the highest standard and brought variety to the concert. Congratulations to your accompanist, Megan. Hold onto her. She is a very talented pianist and accompanist and plays very sympathetically while following the conductor to a ‘t’.
They are a very well-trained choir and credit must go to their conductor, Lynn John, who as a soloist in his own right, knows the correct technique to have the choir produce such a beautiful, rounded sound whether singing in unison or parts, or at pianissimo or forte levels. Their pianissimo singing was very moving and when a forte was required they all responded immediately to the conductor and delivered just what was needed. It is a delight to hear phrases ending in words with a soft consonant and all men finishing together. This only comes from a well-disciplined choir, with a strong leader at the helm. The men’s eyes never left their leader.
It is no mean feat to sing for an hour with no words or music for reference. Well done, men. Thank you all for such a wonderful concert.”
Joy Crabtree
(Former accompanist to Dame Malvina Major)
Concert at Bethlehem Shores Retirement Village, November 2017
Hi Jim and Natalie.
Just some comments in the aftermath of your visit.
Email from Bob & Josie Maslin (Bethlehem Shores)
Thank you so much for organising the North Shore Male Choir. It was a great occasion & very much enjoyed. Certainly worth waiting for. Well done.
Phone call from Jenny and Grant Netlingham
A big thank you to the team organising the visit. Wonderful. Amazing etc etc.
Thank you, loved every song sung, lovely men and the lady.
Email from David and Irvine Sadler.
Sincere thanks from us both for organising such a successful visit by the choir. The bar has certainly been lifted as far as entertainment is concerned and EVERYONE enjoyed it, including, methinks, the choir itself. Great job Warm regards.
The plaudits are for the Choir and I would be grateful if you could pass on our warmest appreciation to all who came with you to Tauranga.
Such a memorable visit !!
The Concert in Aid of the Hospice, Sunday 17th May 2015
What a wonderful concert on Sunday afternoon. We enjoyed every minute of it. The interludes by the Barber Shop Quartet from Westlake Boys and the St Cuthbert's College girls Orchestral group, plus Mary Newman-Pound were fantastic.
But you old and not so old fellows really get the top prize with your outstanding voices. We did not know of the existence of the North Shore Male Choir. We were very impressed and are looking forward to your next concert in October.
Click on article to enlarge
