Che sara sara

Che sara sara

I took ages introducing this Doris Day number into my repertoire - just too schmalzy, in my opinion. But once it was printed out, and I'd slotted in its three chords in the key of A, I felt as though I had always sung it. Since early childhood, I had known its...

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Crear

Crear

The lowest period of the year, when all the kids seem to have colds, and people my age have been in bed for weeks with a flu that the vaccine-makers hadn't anticipated. Argh. A young lass in Scotland has died of pneumonia that set in as a result of all these bugs. And...

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Heaven postponed

Heaven postponed

This evening's concert at the Town Hall is cancelled, due to Storm Emma and associated white-out. What a pity. Pete McMullin and I have been preparing a clutch of brilliant songs by Aaron Copland - settings of Emily Dickinson poems. The ones I had chosen for this...

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Tone deaf

Tone deaf

What a superb day of strange and wonderful singing. Two workshops - one for dementia victims no longer able to read lyrics but seriously engaged in Rocking around the Clock - sexy and young and joyful again; the second for more 'able' folk who took such pleasure in...

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Welcome Autumn

Welcome Autumn

Summer seemed so long and luscious - back in july I was the soloist in a super Brazilian concert in Oxford which was such fun and so much appreciated that it is being reprised - this weekend. And next morning I shall rise bright and early to recommence my duties as...

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Rehearsals

Rehearsals

Going well for our Brazilian concert next weekend - guests of Headington village where we will perform in their super church - St Andrews.Come along on saturday september 30 at 7.30 to hear me sing Villa Lobos songs and more. Lots of cross- rhythms and sensual...

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Blog

Wren - not her real name - has been at one of my daycare groups for a while. She was introduced to me as an artist - 'a rather wonderful artist' - who loved music. Not that I could tell what sort of music - except for some clapping in the warm-ups, she wouldn't sing...

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October 15

October 15

3pm on October 15, Oxford A concert with Pete McMullin - songs by Faure and other Parisians, at Pegasus Grange  

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Bird song

Bird song

"You can muffle the sound of the drums, you can loosen the strings of the lyre, but who can stop the skylark from singing?" Kahlil Gibran Over the summer I've been making music round campfires, in streets and churches. In churches there's been a lunchtime 40's...

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Improv

Improv

IMPROV Last week was a good singing week - bounded at either end by a good solid Latin Mass (the first of which was a 4-parter by Palestrina, bliss), in the middle I did two pub gigs and a Cole-Porter afternoon, plus a day improvising in London. The improvising is a...

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