Nick hits the high notes reigniting his passion for performance
February 13, 2023
What many people won’t know is that when he was a young boy Nick sang in choirs and played the violin. While this resulted in a two-concert tour of Germany and even a performance in the Royal Albert Hall, he decided to pursue other interests.
Reigniting a passion for music
Despite not playing a note for 37 years, Nick really missed singing. With various people having said that he should join a choir, he felt it may be too late to reignite his passion for music.
That was until he noticed an advert on HuddersfieldHub’s twitter feed during the Christmas break for a one-day choral workshop and performance of Sir Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man – A Mass for Peace.
Believing that to grow emotionally and mentally we all need to push boundaries and do things that sit outside of our comfort zones, Nick thought “now or never” and booked to join the £25 session.
Inspirational performance
The session encompassed a full day of tuition from Thom Meredith, an inspiring musician, a fantastic singer and best of all, for Nick, an enthusiastic leader of people who ‘encourages everyone and gets the best out of them’.
The concert on Sunday evening was performed together with the amazingly talented musicians of Musica Kirklees Youth Orchestra, augmented by some of the talented musicians of the Slaithwaite Philharmonic Orchestra, who Nick says were equally as brilliant.
Members of the Halifax Choral Society also came along to help the choir in all sections. Nick comments that this was ‘wonderful’ and ‘the four soloists were also truly brilliant’.
An emotional experience
Although incredibly nervous when travelling to Huddersfield town hall at 8:30am on Sunday, as it had been so long since he had read music, Nick says the day was fantastic.
Nick comments: “I just about managed to get through and remember how to read music to my voice. The performance on Sunday evening was very emotional. For me managing to get through and being part of a choir and getting the feeling you get before, during and after a performance again was very special.
“The piece of music was performed alongside a big screen for the audience to view pictures of WWI trenches and soldiers together with the mushroom cloud of a nuclear explosion and the scenes of devastation that follow and then the peace of nature that would be left – it was overpowering and thought-provoking.
“It really was a heart-rending yet uplifting way to perform this piece of music.
The Mrs Sunderland Festival
The workshop was the opening performance of the Mrs Sunderland festival 2023. This is one of the biggest festivals of music, speech, and drama in the country, with over 4,000 performers in workshops and classes for piano, instrumentals, choirs, vocals, speech and drama.
With performers aged between 3 and 83 years old, it is a wonderful showcase and reminder that the arts are alive and well in Yorkshire, and especially in Huddersfield.
The 2023 festival has events taking place from Tuesday 14 to Saturday 25 February 2023 in Huddersfield Town Hall. Please visit the website for more information: https://www.mrssunderlandfestival.com/the-festival
Tickets for classes are available on the day, concert tickets are available from the Huddersfield Town Hall box office and audiences are welcome to all sessions.
Leading by example
We are so pleased that Nick took the opportunity to join the choral workshop and to do something that would allow him to reignite a passion that brings him so much joy.
Listening to him talk about the wonderful experience that he had makes us all realise that he really does lead by example.
Appreciating that if we are to grow emotionally and mentally we need to push boundaries, we are all going to consider what we can do this year that will give us the same feelings of nervousness, excitement and achievement that Nick had through joining the choir.
Watch this space for more updates.