Past Performances

Sat, 20 May 2023

Concert programme:

Sat, 8 Oct 2022

An amazing concert, put together in record time following a vastly shortened planning period.

Our first annual concert in 3 and a half years was the first to be coordinated by Jen Talbot and the first to be led by our new MD team of Gena Rose, Olly Balcombe and Rob Hales, following the departure of MD Rónán de Búrca and AMD Lindsey Williams, in the summer. Rob had a particularly special day as he bcame engaged in the afternoon, to his partner, John. Congratulations from us all.



We were supported on the St George's Bristol stage by The Chandeliers, (led by friend of Sing Out Bristol Wendy Sergeant) and Bristol Gay Mens Chorus (led by our former MD Rónán de Búrca).

Our part of the concert on the night, consisted of songs from our summer performances, with 3 songs from our recent past repertoire. Although all of the songs were familiar to older members of the choir, they were new to many and made for a very steep learning curve indeed, making the standard of the overall performance even more remarkable.

The theme of the concert was re-starting, demonstrating how it felt to be back singing together and showing the world we are still here, being ourselves despite all the challenges thrown at us.

We asked each of the choirs to sum up how it felt to be back and put a compilation video of some of those on screen as each choir came to the stage.  Here are the three videos:
 

The Chandeliers

 

Bristol Gay Mens Chorus

Sing Out Bristol

"Wow Rob what a day - congratulations! " - Ian Howlett (Basses)
"Well, absolutely *glorious* humans. We smashed it!! " - Avery Hammett on Facebook

"Buzzzzzzzing! Such an enormous privilege to sing in St George's again with you guys, gals and non binary pals , something I had thought could never happen again. Thank you so much to those who put in the long hours of work to make it happen especially Jen and Gena and the whole Sing Out team  Never give up friends. We are Glorious! " - Lis Beere on Facebook

"I'm so happy and proud of each and every one of you!!! So many people absolutely raved about how great you sounded, how amazing you were from start to finish & how they were deeply moved to tears of joy!!! THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK AND... YOU TOTALLY, ABSOLUTELY, BLOODY, BRILLIANTLY SMASHED IT!"  - Gena Rose (MD) on Facebook

IN REPLY TO GENA'S POST
"Cheers Gena, much appreciated" - Alfie Green

"And thanks to you for all your hard work too x" - Andrew Rosser

"What Andrew Rosser said! Thank YOU! And Jen and all the wonderful Sing Out family " - Lis Beere

"Wow, what a show. I've had a number of comments telling me how fantastic our moves were last night. I know that movement and Choralography is not to everyone's tastes and can be challenging in terms of pushing you out of your comfort zone, but I'm genuinely in awe of how each and every one of you trust us and just throw yourselves into it, and really commit to it. This concert has been especially challenging to prepare for due to timescales, but you have all worked so incredibly hard (especially the newer members, absolutely amazing!) and last night we reaped the rewards from all that effort and hard work. You should all be really proud of what you've achieved. This choir is so special, and so unique - it's a genuine privilege to be a part of it.
Also, huge shout out to Avery, Nick, Keyz and of course, superhuman Jen - who have all been putting in a lot of work behind the scenes, getting to choir early and sacrificing breaks to get us concert ready. Avery & Nick had only joined the team recently and were massively chucked in the deep end and have done such a great job considering.
Thank you all for your hard work - now time to relax and celebrate! xx" Vince De Freitas (Choralography co-lead) on Facebook

"And you too, Vince. You are equally amazing in your quiet, but always dedicated and hardworking way. X" - April Pye

" While I was busy taking myself on holiday straight after the concert, for a couple of days R&R, Gena, Vince and others have said everything I could possibly want to say. So I’m just gonna add a huge thank you to all of you, and leave it at this - SMASHED IT!" - Jen Talbot (Concert Coordinator) on Facebook

IN REPLY TO JEN'S POST:
"Thank you Jenny - You've worked so hard without complaint to produce a brilliant show  So patient with everyone's demands, never mind singing and dancing aswell !!! Just fabulous. Xx  - Hilary Miller

"Thank you Jen, you did an awesome job!" - Karen Goddard

"I'm awestruck at how brilliantly you coordinated the concert, right down to sitting by me when I was feeling inadequate. An awesome job indeed, Jen, and thanks so much" - Lesley Welch (stage manager for the evening)

"Thank you Jen" - Serena Hevesi

"You were amazing and seemed super chilled despite what must have been a stressful time on the day of the concert I am sure that helped us all be so amazing! You have organised the concert and done lots of the choralography too! We definitely need to get you a superhero cape or something! Well done on an awesome concert!          Xxx xoxo" - Becky Unwin

"Thanks again Jen, it was so nice having you in charge (you have a lovely approachable style) Fab job done xx  Ps. That brilliant This is Me finale was one of my favourite moments ever! " - Lis Beere

"Awesome. You should be so proud. You did such a magnificent job under very difficult conditions. I am so very proud of you." - Dave Johnson

"You did an amazing job, Jenny!! Congratulations and now enjoy a rest xx" - Andrew Jarrett (screen controller for the evening)

"Thanks for all your hard work, Jenny" - Andrew Rosser

"Enjoy your well deserved rest. Loved our concert." - Alfie Green

"Totally agree with all the other comments. Added to which you remained cool, calm and collected when asked questions or needed to clarify things. If that was a facade it was a very convincing one!" - Nick Gill




"Brilliant Concert  " - Peter Twining (former member) on Facebook

"Was a fab evening. Was lovely to see you all singing live." - Peter Lyth on Facebook

"Yes.. Brilliant. An unscaleable wall of sound and energy with beautiful on-point harmonies. So impressive. " - Eddie O'Sullivan (former member) on Facebook

"What a fab show you put on last night - really einjoyed it. So lovely to see you all. Sounded great! xx" - Jane Emma (former member) on Facebook

"You sounded fantastic last night a huge well done. Lovely to hear some old music and you sang it beautifully. Miss you all should definitely think about coming back soon x" - Polli Mulder (former member) on Facebook

"Another great show! Well done all involved x" - Pete Spain (former member) on Facebook

"It was a fabulous evening. Well done to all involved " - Saadia Thomson on Facebook

"You always improve year on year, which always amazes me, but this time you jumped ahead 10 years! Incredible" - Chris, audience member 


To view the complete concert as a playlist click here

01 Save The World/Don't You Worry Child


02 Opening Speeches (Gena and Jen)


03 Truly Brave


04 Viva La Vida


05 Just Give Me A Reason


06 Second Speeches (Nigel, Alfie and Matthew)


07 Asimbonanga


08 Shallow


09 Purple Rain


10 MD Speech (Gena)


11 Let The River Run


12 Rise Up


13 Closing Speeches


14 This Is Me


15 Thank You Speeches


16 Finalé: I'm Still Standing (all choirs)




CLICK ANY IMAGE BELOW TO SEE THE FULL GALLERY

Sat, 9 Jul 2022

Another blistering hot Pride Day in Bristol saw around 40 of us perform as the opening act for the first in-person Bristol Pride for three years.

We performed five songs for an audience that grew in size as we sang (due to a technical issue, the gates were half an hour late opening).

A great day continued as we took turns to run our stall in the community area and enjoy the sunshine and the many acts performing across the five stages, culminating in the headline act, Carly Rae Jepsen.





Truly Brave
You Got A Friend
Purple Rain
Hey Jude
Save The World/Don't You Worry Child



WITH THANKS TO PEARCE MENDY
Watch each song individually or click here for full playlist
TRULY BRAVE


YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND


PURPLE RAIN


HEY JUDE


SAVE THE WORLD/DON'T YOU WORRY CHILD




CLICK THE PHOTO BELOW TO SEE OUR GALLERY

Wed, 6 Jul 2022

Our third Pride Fundraiser saw us take to the St George's stage in front of a sell-out audience, along with three other fantastic Bristol choirs.

This concert was memorable for several reasons. As well as being our first concert in three years, it was the final ever Sing Out Bristol performance for Rónán de Búrca as MD, after nearly 15 years with the choir.

It was also the first live stage appearance from Bristol Gay Men's Chorus (Rónán's new choir) who gave an amazing performance.

This concert finally saw us collaborate with Gurt Lush Choir, something that had been first discussed in 2010! This was also one of the final performances from the Bristol Man Chorus, who are disbanding this month.

And, finally we dedicated the evening to our much missed choir member, Gareth Lloyd who sadly passed away earlier this year, aged just 27.

The audience included special guests from Bristol Pride, The Lord Mayor and her consort, and former Lord Mayor, Peter Main, a good friend of Gareth Lloyd and long-time supporter of Sing Out Bristol.

The choir performances were interspersed with testimonies explaining the importance of Pride to individuals, including a member of Trans Pride South West and two members of Sing Out Bristol, Avery Hammett and Alfie Green. 



- Truly Brave
- Rise Up
- You've Got a Friend
- Hey Jude
- Purple Rain 
- Viva la Vida
- Save the World/Don't You Worry Child


"Well done tonight everyone. You sounded amazing. Like others have said it felt odd (and a little sad) to be in the audience and not up on stage with you. But I was immensely proud of what you have achieved under such difficult circumstances". - Helen Churchill

"OMG that was amazing!!!
You were fantastic and everyone looked like they were enjoying themselves. I felt so proud of you all and so moved in some of the songs. Thank you.
Thank you Rónán de Búrca so much for the last 15 years as our MD. You are amazing and will be missed.
Thank you Gena Rose for your support, being our Assistant MD and now for becoming our new MD
Thank you to the amazing Amy Brewer for her talent and skills on the piano
You should all be proud of yourselves
Lots of love Suzanne xxxx" - Suzanne Doyle

"What a superb performance from you all tonight . You sounded absolutely amazing and did Ronan proud!   It felt a little sad not being up on stage with you all but I was singing along and doing the actions from my seat . Thanks to Ronan for his years of dedication and hard work making Sing Out Bristol the top quality choir it is today. All the best to Gena for carrying the baton for the next leg of the journey. It really was a wonderful evening " - Christine Hunt

"Alfie, your testimonial  was beautifully written and was much appreciated by all who heard it. Thank you x" - April Pye

"Just wanted to say thank you all so much for your kind words about my speech Sing Out really has been the most pivotal part of my journey and I couldn't have got up to talk about it without you all (literally and figuratively!) behind me" - Avery Hammett

Reponses to Avery's comment on social media from other choir members:
"I loved the honesty and the humour and admire you for standing proud and being brave to show us the person you are, which is a lovely amazing individual" - April Pye

"Fantastic heartfelt speech Avery. Really inspiring and thank you for sharing xx" - Suzanne Doyle

"Well done, Avery. You came across really well - delighted that voices were given to B & T people from the LGBT+ community too." - Peter Spain

"You were Truly Brave, and honest - well done Avery. Xx" - Hilary Miller

"That's awesome!  Congratulations!" - Alfie Green

"So proud of you it was well thought out and very honest. Just pleased we have been able to help you to be true to yourself!     Xxx xoxo" - Rebecca Unwin




Here are the videos of our performance from the night. The quality isn't amazing as it's filmed on a phone from the back of the room, but it's enough to give you an idea of how we sounded (fabulous of course!). Purple Rain and Rise Up have extra footage and are edited from two angles. Watch each song individually or click here for full playlist
 

Testimonies - Avery & Alfie

Truly Brave

Rise Up

You've Got A Friend


Purple Rain


Hey Jude


Viva La Vida


Save The World/Don't You Worry Child (& Thank You speeches)


Over The Rainbow (Encore with all 4 choirs)

CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW TO VIEW FULL GALLERY

With thanks to Steven Elvins, Tom Feilding and Guy Keith-Miller for the images

Sat, 25 Jun 2022

On Saturday 25th June we joined 14 other choirs for an all day concert celebrating the choir talent in Bristol.

We were the penultimate choir of the day and performed 4 songs, having an extra 5 minutes allocated to us at the last minute, when another choir pulled out.  Rónán was unavailable for this performance, so this marked the first performance as MD for Gena. 

We followed the performance with our Summer Night Social, in the bar of St Georges and the Queenshilling, with a quick stop off at Nandos on the way!




Great job today!! Wonderful performance!!! Thank you to everyone who came out to sing. Your singing brought tears of joy to so many who came up to me and told me afterward, including one of the presenters! Thank you for making my first time conducting Sing Out Bristol an absolute blast!  I look forward to many more!!  - Gena Rose, MD

A fantastic performance, great harmonies and beautiful sound overall. - Samir Savant (CEO of St George's Bristol)

Thanks Gena Rose for keeping us all in line for our performance today at St George's Bristol! It's so nice to be back singing to an audience again!     Xxx  - Becky Unwin

We smashed it, Nandos and QS was fun afterwards as well  - Alfie Green

So proud of my choir family! We did a great job and the choirs were great to listen to as well! It was a good day!       - Becky Unwin



Asimbonanga
Truly Brave
Save The World/Don't You Worry Child
Purple Rain




Click below to watch each individual song or click here to view the full playlist of all 4 videos

1 Asimbonanga


2 Truly Brave


3 Purple Rain


4 Save The World/Don't You Worry Child



 

Sat, 27 Nov 2021

After a massive 2 year break from live public performing (due to COVID), we returned in style by guest appearing at Brigstowe's annual World AIDS Day commemoration event in The Watershed, Bristol.

This event has become a regular fixture in our performance calendar and is usually the first time audiences get to hear new material from us; as we premiere songs we've learnt over the autumn months.  Last year, we were restricted to a pre-recorded video submitted to Brigstowe's online only event, but this year the Zoom audience were joined by a sizeable crowd in the Watershed as the live event returned.

We debuted our latest track, The Beatles classic, Hey Jude along with two other of our recent favourites.

One Day Like This
Over The Rainbow
Hey Jude

This event marked the first performance for some of our newer members, a couple of whom had joined just two months earlier and others nearly two years ago but had to wait an extremely long time to get on stage in front of an audience....

"As soon as I moved to Bristol two years ago, one of the first things I wanted to do was join the brilliant Sing Out Bristol choir. I’d already been to a few of their concerts when the lovely David Abbott & Gerald Swift were members. Having joined in January 2020, it was after only a few (highly enjoyable) rehearsals that in-person sessions came to an abrupt end and we all retreated to Zoom. But we had our first live concert in two years last night, closing a World AIDS Day event! And I loved it!! We performed Elbow’s “One Day Like This”, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and a gorgeous arrangement of “Hey Jude” - it all seemed to go down well. Can’t wait for the next one… "

- Andrew Jarrett (Tenor)

Click the image below to view the gallery of backstage photos and some of our performance taken by the event's official photographer

Click here to view a playlist of all 3 songs

ONE DAY LIKE THIS

OVER THE RAINBOW  

 

HEY JUDE

Sat, 30 Nov 2019

For the second year in a row, we performed at Brigstowe's World AIDS Day celebration event hosted in The Watershed. This years's event also launched Bristol as a Fast-Track City (one of only a handful of UK cities to achieve this status), with Bristol Mayor, Marvin Rees attending the event to sign the declaration. The Fast Track Cities initiative is a world-wide movement towards achieving zero new HIV infections and zero AIDS-related deaths by 2030.  

We performed 3 songs at the end of the 2 hour event. from our current repertoire: You Are The Reason, Shallow and Truly Brave.  The audience seemed to react well, with the last song in particular moving some to tears.

Sun, 18 Aug 2019

Our second performance of the Hand In Hand weekend was originally due to take place on an outdoor stage at The Norwegian Church in Cardiff Bay. However, due to inclement weather, the venue was switched to the magnificent  Wales Millennium Centre building.

We performed largely the same set as the day before, only swapping Like A Prayer with Rise, as we were unable to use a backing track.  A relaxed morning was spent watching the choirs performing before us, came to an unexpected halt when we were asked to go on stage half an hour early, due to Brighton's Gay Mens Chorus not having all their singers ready in time.

An enthusiastic response to our set meant we left Cardiff on a high after a great weekend.



The Turing Test
Just Give Me a Reason
Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This
The Writing's On The Wall
Rise Like a Phoenix
Rise

Sat, 17 Aug 2019

Our third trip to Hand In Hand, this time in Wales...

Cardiff's three LGBT+ choirs (South Wales Gay Mens Chorus, Songbirds and Cardiff Trans Singers) co-hosted this year's event.  70 of us travelled across the Bristol Channel on Friday in time for the opening event, a party in the Cardiff University Student Union.  The majority of delegates (there were nearly 1000 of them, representing 30 different choirs) stayed in the University accommodation at Talybont North.

On Saturday, we performed in the magnificent St David's Hall, in the centre of Cardiff, to an enthusiastic audience made up of our peers from some of the other choirs at the event and paying members of the public. This was followed by a gala concert, presented by the three host choirs, the Festival Chorus (of which some of our members joined for the weekend) and the Festival Orchestra, a new project making its debut at this event 

We rounded off the festival with a free performance in the Wales Millennium Centre (switched from the originally planned Norwegian Church outdoor stage, due to weather concerns).  Another enthusiastic audience showed their appreciation and we returned to Bristol on a high, as we tend to do from these festivals.  Attention now turns to 2021 and the next Hand In Hand festival to be held in Gateshead and hosted by Proud Northern Voices.

Music Director & Conductor: Rónán de Búrca
Assistant Music Director & Conductor: Lindsey Williams
Accompanist: Amy Brewer
Hand In Hand Coordinators: Danny Champken & Dave Johnson


“I just wanted to say what an incredible performance you gave both today and yesterday. Sing Out Bristol has really upped their level of musicality and performance. Congratulations!”
- Hsien Chew , Proud Voices Coordinator (basically the guy in charge of Hand In Hand)

An absolute delight watching you perform Sweet Dreams 
- Sarah Duffy via Facebook

You sounded amazing singing Val Regan's beautiful song 'The Turing Test'.
- Sandra Baker via Twitter

You really did, Many thanks.
- Val Regan (composer of The Turing Test) via Twitter

Your set was stunning, you should all be very proud!
- London Gay Mens Chorus via Twitter

Great Set!
- Ben R via Twitter

OMG you smashed Like A Prayer! 
- Sandra Baker via Twitter

Was wonderful to see you all perform and Sweet Dreams was fantastic,
- Micheal Doyle (Dublin Gay Men’s Chorus) via Facebook




The Turing Test
Just Give Me a Reason
Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This
The Writing's On The Wall
Rise Like a Phoenix
Like a Prayer

For Sunday's set list, see here.



Click 'View Photos' to see lots of photos taken by members of the choir and posted to social media (along with some pics from the official Hand In Hand photographer). There's also a special album from Kellie Walters featuring High Def images.  Thank you Kellie for sharing these fab photos.  Both galleries show images from the whole weekend, not just this performance.

Sat, 13 Jul 2019

The 10th anniversary of Bristol Pride saw a move to a new venue, after outgrowing Millennium Square.  Durdham Downs was chosen as the new home of Pride in Bristol, allowing for an extra 10000 people to attend and returning to a more green field festival feel to the day.

We've been the opening act at every Bristol Pride, but this year, due to the change of venue there were concerns over whether we could march in the parade and get to the Downs in time to perform at 12.30; so we asked to be placed second on the bill, giving us an extra 30 minutes.

This was easily the biggest, loudest, most colourful and most well attended Pride festival the south west has ever seen. Daryn Carter, who has organised each event since 2009, announced at the end of the festival that he is stepping down as CEO of the Bristol Pride charity and will hand over the reins to someone new to lead us in to the next decade of Prides.  he will be sorely missed and deserves huge thanks for all the hard work he and his team of volunteers have put into organising such a fantastic series of events, which grew bigger and more ambitious each year.  We hope the new organisers still want us involved, because we consider Pride to be one of the most important dates in our calendar. 

Music Director & Conductor: Rónán de Búrca
Pride Coordinator: Stephen Santouris


Just Give Me A Reason
Rise
Like A Prayer
I Don't Feel Like Dancing



JUST GIVE ME A REASON

RISE

LIKE A PRAYER
 
I DON'T FEEL LIKE DANCIN'
 

Wed, 3 Jul 2019

Our first ever Pride Fundraiser, in partnership with St Georges, turned out to be a corker.  Coming just a month after our last annual concerts, we were back on the wonderful St Georges' stage, raising money for Bristol Pride, with some special guests to help us.

Our very own Francis Strange, from the bass section, opened up proceedings playing his trademark accompaniment to some silent movie clips on the big screen, while the audience took their seats.  Little Sing Out then took the stage, performing three songs, including Life Lived Well, written by our assistant MD, Lindsey Williams.  We kept the Sing Out theme going, with Bashema, also from the bass section, who performed one of her own songs and a medley of Pride themed songs (look out for a repeat perf0rmance on the Diva Stage at Bristol Pride). The first act closed with our guests The Great Sea Choir, whose amazing tight harmonies thrilled the audience. 

Following the interval, and another rendition from Francis, our second guests Airbus Filton Choir wowed the audience with a selection of classic tunes, including an emotional Hallelujah and a wonderful version of Bridge Over Troubled Water.  While Airbus were on stage, we were in the warm up room, preparing to take to the stage.  We closed the evening with a selection of songs from our Icons concert, as well as an old favourite, Christina Aguilera's Beautiful, which seemed most appropriate for the evening.

In between acts, a number of guest speakers from Sing Out Bristol took the stage to describe what Pride means to them.  Our thanks go to  Soprano, Suzanne Doyle, along with Michael O'Callaghan and Matt Crocker from the bass section, who all moved the audience with their emotional stories.  

The finalé/encore featured all three choirs on stage to perform our unofficial Pride anthem, Colour My World.  A fantastic evening, attended by representatives from Bristol Pride and the Lord Mayor and a very enthusiiastic audience.  Hopefully, this won't be the last time we host a Pride Fundraiser.

Music Director & Conductor: Rónán de Búrca
Assistant Music Directors & Conductors: Lindsey Williams & Kellie Walters 
Accompanist: Amy Brewer
Concert Coordinators: Dean Buck, Danny Champken, Rhi O'Gorman, Stephen Biles 



Legit the whole thing was astounding. You should be so proud

SENSATIONAL evening. I cried basically non stop.  Well done and thanks for a great night xx

Well done for a fab show this evening. Right proud of the lot of you.

Great performance tonight. Well done everyone.

A very enjoyable evening. Well done to you all. Great to hear the other choirs. Fab fab fab.

You guys were INCREDIBLE! It was lovely to watch from the audience tonight -  amazing to see how songs like Rise (my favourite from Icons) and Sweet Dreams look like from the audience perspective. And of course you don't just look good, you sounded ICONIC! 

My friend and I were blown away by the amazing talent of all the performers. Never been to a choir show before, so had no idea what to expect. We left feeling so uplifted and so positive! And it gave us so much hope for change during these political times. Huge thank you to everyone and you are all incedible!

Thank you Sing Out Bristol for your words, songs and excellent moves! Was such a lovely night of singing and solidarity.

What a fantastic concert..., so many beautiful voices, vibrant, poignant, joyful and such a broad repertoire so a huge thank you. I think l experienced the full range of emotions as people sang and shared their stories, l feel that l understand more now why Pride means so much to people and even more so why allyship is so important.  I hope the event runs again.




The wonderful Rónán de Burca and team! What a superb job you all did at organising the gig last night in aid of Pride. Thanks for all your hard work and exceptional organisation. You are all brilliant! -  The Great Sea Choir on Twitter.

Thank you so much for inviting us. We had an amazing evening and loved watching and listening to all the brilliant musicians tonight. - Airbus Filton Choir

Wow the fabulous Sing Out Bristol.  Thank you for inviting me. - Lord Mayor of Bristol on Twitter

A fantastic concert to help launch Bristol Pride. Three great choirs, some wonderful solo performances and several moving and inspirational speeches too. Delighted to attend with our Lord Mayor. - Andrew Varney ,The Lord Mayor's escort

Truly amazing experience. Must be one of the best concerts that I have ever participated in - David Evans from the Airbus Filton Choir

We're all still buzzing! Your performances were superb and your moves... wow!! - Airbus Filton Choir on Twitter



LITTLE SING OUT
Life Lived Well
Nothing Compares 2U
Elastic Heart
SING OUT BRISTOL
Beautiful
Rise
Just Give Me a Reason
Rise Like a Phoenix
Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This
The Show Must Go On
Like a Prayer
FINALÉ/ENCORE 
Colour My World (with The Great Sea Choir and Airbus Filton Choir)



A few clips recorded on the night by audience member, Sophia.

LSO - LIFE LIVED WELL 


LSO - NOTHING COMPARES 2U 


SING OUT BRISTOL - BEAUTIFUL 


SING OUT BRISTOL - SWEET DREAMS


ALL CHOIRS - COLOUR MY WORLD




CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL THE PHOTOS FROM THE EVENING:

Sat, 1 Jun 2019

The second night at St Georges.  This year's theme was LGBT Icons, where we paid tribute to our favourite singers, songwriters and human rights advocates.

The sellout crowd gave us probably our best reaction ever, enough to give us goosebumps. 

We opened with the haunting Stevie Wonder classic, 'They Won't Go When I Go', also covered by our first Icon George Michael, with Gena singing the solo.  With our sharpest moves to date and complex harmonies on many of the songs, this was our most challenging performance, but judging by the audience reaction, we nailed it.

Music Director & Conductor: Rónán de Búrca
Assistant Music Directors & Conductors: Lindsey Williams & Kellie Walters 
Accompanist: Amy Brewer
Concert Director: Christian Wismann


Warblers one & all, you were absobloodylutely fandobbymazing!!!
What a treat to be in the audience, the quality of sound you made was completely joyful - rich & deep & unctuous.  Altho' i moan about choralography, i have to admit that your moves were awesome!
job well done!

It was terrific, as ever, and everyone - audience and choir seemed to be having a really good time.

Was great to watch. Hard to believe that it still gets better each year xx

Lovely evening and a great performance. The quality of singing just goes up and up. The bar has again been raised xx

So proud of you all!!!!  You sounded amazing! Well done to you all  Amazing! Fabulous! Incredible! Professional! Oh you guys... what a simply joyous evening.  It is such a different experience seeing things from the audience side and it really was an amazing performance.  You are all ICONS 

An "Iconic" night of singing.. Congratulations to one and all involved. A very slick production. Loved the video inserts.

Sing Out Bristol, Rónán de Búrca, you all were last night. Talented and beautiful. Such an inspiring and incredible show, feel like I have had an emotional work out! Thank you for sharing your creativity, there is so much yuck and horror and struggle at the moment... so it was simply lush to acknowledge and celebrate and party to some significant human achievements. Thank you!

I can honestly say you were all amazing and sounded truly beautiful. It was an absolute joy.

The following quotes were collected by St Georges feedback forms:

1. EVENT

Such a professional show for a community choir!!

Well orchestrated and well choreographed considering the number of people in the choir

Quite remarkably distinct, engaging and at times profoundly poignant. The ending came too soon.

Fantastic atmosphere. Beautifully presented.

Fabulous show none stop entertainment from start to finish. Highly recommended

Fabulous performance and choir.

Excellent performance and acoustics

Uplifting and professional performance by a gifted team

Amazing show as always. Staff very courteous and helpful

Musically very good, great choreography and a choir that were clearly enjoying themselves

Varied, enjoyable choice of songs, beautifully sung.

Choir fantastic but given their number the sound was very muted. Needed much better amplification. I said this politely to the team on the sound desk at the beginning of the interval and surprisingly they did not heed my advice.

2. THE VENUE

Lovely new space

The best acoustics of any hall in the UK

Providing water jugs near the seating was a life saver. Thank you.

Very smart and well- designed.

It would have been helpful to have toilets on each floor.

Love the next building make the place so much better to get around and for socializing.

Fantastic venue and acoustics. Loving the additional building.

Very nice venue

It is fabulous

Beautiful architecture and great organisation.

Extension and extra facilites a great improvement and presumably much easier for you. More nudges needed to get us to order our drinks ready for the interval - am guilty so had to wait almost missing out.

I love St George's as a venue and think the new renovations are wonderful. However I couldnt give it 5 stars as we were not able to take glasses into the show.

Excellent acoustics. Lovely bar/cafe area

Compact, comfortable and acoustically perfect - also some very clever lighting

Great acoustics

I like the redevelopment. Having the doors opening out on to the new patio is good.

3. VALUE FOR MONEY

A great evening entertainment for a very reasonable price.

What value do you put on something so memorable?!

5 star excellent

Excellent value

The performance was incredible. I wish they could have gone on for longer.

Would have been happy to have paid Hippodrome and Colston Hall prices for this show.

CASEY BROWNE
I just wanted to say a massive THANK YOU for making my first big concert with you a blast. I really enjoyed it and I'm so glad it was a success! (Also happy Pride month, which is an added bonus)

HILARY MILLER
This was my first too, and I feel a great sense of achievement - the support and friendships help so much too. X

LIS BEERE
What an awesome evening ?? and what a lovely appreciative crowd. Well done everyone involved x

GENA ROSE
It was an absolute honor and privilege to sing with all of you this past weekend!!!???? Thank you for making me feel so welcome and a part of the SOB Family!!????????????

DANNY CHAMPKEN
It's already been said time and time again but it bears repeating, these concerts have been an absolute delight and the cherry on top of a wonderful first year in Sing Out. So much hard work by so many wonderful people has well and truly paid off for what was just the most joyous experience ever. Overwhelmed by all the love in the room, you guys are my heroes. ??

RÓNÁN DE BÚRCA (MD)
I can’t even begin to say how proud I am of my Sing Out family tonight. That was easily our Best. Ever. Performance.
Congratulations to each and every one of you for all the hard work, rehearsing, moving, voguing.
It’s a privilege and an honour to stand in front of you and wave my arms about.
Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my shiny shoes ????????????
R.xx

MATT CROCKER
This really was our best performance in the 3 I've done, we should all be very proud :)

POLLI MULDER
Was a fab night my family and friends were truly blown away x

RHI O'GORMAN
Best concert and audience yet

ALF GREEN
Every year we get better and better, onwards and upwards.

CHRISTINE HUNT
It was an amazing team effort that I am VERY proud to have been a part of. I'll be grinning like a Cheshire cat for days now ????????????. Sing Out Bristol totally rocks!

ALISON JARMAN-FRY
How can an experience lift and join us all and yet leave me feeling I'd like to try to be even and much better?!! Thank you Sing Out Family. Still flying and feeling so humble..in the presence of such beauty! XxX????????????

TANYA HAZELL
I know that Sing Out has such an impact to the audience that it’s made the emotionless emotional and lifted people in such a way they’ve said ‘I’ll be smiling all week after that’ ...I’m certain it’s the unity in the choir, the family like feeling.  My other half cried at Just Give Me A Reason and she's not a crier.

STEVEN COOPER
Thank you all for yet another beautiful and memorable two nights with some the most fantastic people I know. SOB is really something special and we all play our part. Someone asked me after last nights show why I smile so much when I sing; my response was ‘doing this with these people makes my soul happy’. Uber love to all of you xxxx

LISAH STUART
What a night !! Hope y"all had a great time.Our Dream team triumphed again.

RICHARD DAVIES
My friends and family said that last night was yet another improvement over the previous year. My favourite Sing Out Bristol performance ever, thank you ??

NICK GILL
A huge thank you to the choir for creating an atmosphere encouraging us to try something new irrespective of age and ability. My 20-year-old confused and closeted self couldn't have imagined that at 65 I would be donning a tutu and pirouetting on stage (although I'm the first to admit my style is more Gloria-Hunniford-does-Strictly than Dame Margot Fonteyn).

SUZANNE DOYLE
Christian you put on a fab show with all the little touches like the strawberries and biscuits in our dressing rooms (we will be expecting that every time now!)
Matthew and Christian the ribbons looked stunning! 
Loved the video clips and I loved the song choices Mr De Burca xx



CLICK EACH SONG TITLE TO STREAM OR DOWNLOAD THE RECORDING OF THE PERFORMANCE
ACT ONE
They Won't Go When I Go
Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This
The Turing Test
Just Give Me a Reason
Nothing Compares 2U (Little Sing Out)
I Close My Eyes And Count To Ten
Elton John Medley
Summertime
The Shoop Shoop Song (Tenors and Basses)
ACT TWO
Like a Prayer
Constant Craving
Rise Like a Phoenix
Fast Car
Elastic Heart (Little Sing Out)
You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman (Sopranos and Altos)
Life on Mars
Rise
Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy
ENCORES
The Show Must Go On
I Don't Feel Like Dancing


THEY WON'T GO WHEN I GO (Solo: Gena Rose)

SHOOP SHOOP SONG (Tenors and Basses)



FACEBOOK PHOTOS SLIDESHOWS PART ONE

PART TWO
 

CLICK HERE TO VIEW PHOTO GALLERIES

Fri, 31 May 2019

The first night of two consecutive concerts at St Georges, which we now hope is standard for our annual gigs.  This year's theme was LGBT Icons, where we paid tribute to our favourite singers, songwriters and human rights advocates.

Although not quite a sellout, the audience was as enthiusiastic as ever and cheered every song.  

We opened with the haunting Stevie Wonder classic, 'They Won't Go When I Go', also covered by our first Icon George Michael, with Bashema singing the solo.  With our sharpest moves to date and complex harmonies on many of the songs, this was our most challenging performance, but judging by the audience reaction, we nailed it.

Music Director & Conductor: Rónán de Búrca
Assistant Music Directors & Conductors: Lindsey Williams & Kellie Walters 
Accompanist: Amy Brewer
Concert Director: Christian Wismann




We received this wonderful email from Helen Porter, a renowned vocal coach who works with us on a regular basis. Helen attended this concert and sent Rónán her thoughts afterwards...

Dear Ronan

    I haven’t been able to sit down at my computer before now, for various reasons, but in  a way that’s good because I’ve had more time to reflect on your concert. I hardly know where to begin! Congratulations to you and all the choir on a truly fantastic performance on Friday night. I loved everything about it. To be honest, I was pretty sure I would really enjoy it, because I know you are a fantastic choir. But to see and hear you all in full glory was just amazing.

    I wish I lived nearer to Bristol, because what I’d really love to do is sit down with you over a cup of coffee and talk about it all! The programming, arrangements, visuals, choreography (so well performed by the choir as well - that’s really hard to achieve - no one stood out or looked like they didn’t want to do it!) , performance, solos, conducting, venue and even the programme booklet were all TOP quality, professional, joyful. And the singing - WOW it was wonderful. I am so glad to have this amazing programme with all your names and photographs! I can’t promise to know everyone by October, but the choir is becoming more and more familiar to me, and I feel very proud to have an association with you. 

    It’s been invaluable to listen and watch you all in full swing, and puts me in a much better position to work on with you in October. There are (of course!) things I think the choir could work on, and it would be good to talk over some ideas with you before October. I made a few sneaky notes in my programme, to remind me..!

    I know that long emails are a bit of a bore, so I will stop now, but please tell the choir I LOVED LOVED LOVED the concert! The audience went wild at the end, didn’t they? We didn’t want anyone to leave the stage! You are very modest, as well, so it was inspired to have that fabulous Freddie Mercury quote at the end!! Whose idea was that?! 

    With love, and huge thanks for such a wonderful, joyful performance that you and SING OUT gave to us all,

    Helen XX???????



ACT ONE
They Won't Go When I Go
Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This
The Turing Test
Just Give Me a Reason
Nothing Compares 2U (Little Sing Out)
I Close My Eyes And Count To Ten
Elton John Medley
Summertime
The Shoop Shoop Song (Tenors and Basses)
ACT TWO
Like a Prayer
Constant Craving
Rise Like a Phoenix
Fast Car
Elastic Heart (Little Sing Out)
You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman (Sopranos and Altos)
Life on Mars
Rise
Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy
ENCORES
The Show Must Go On
I Don't Feel Like Dancing



FACEBOOK PHOTOS SLIDESHOW

 

Sat, 1 Dec 2018

This year was the 30th anniversary of the first World AIDS Day and this was the first of two performances for us on the same day.  Last year we took part in the National AIDS Trust World AIDS Day fundraising campaign by performing at Temple Meads Railway Station (along with many other choirs who did the same at their local railway station).

This year we suggested moving the event to Cabot Circus to take advantage of the larger footfall there.  This strategy seemed to work as we increased the amount raised last year considerably, collecting just under £200 in our buckets.  This contributed to the national total which just under £100,000.

Thanks to everyone who came to support us and to the photographers who contributed to our gallery.  Here's to next year's event.

Music Director & Conductor: Rónán de Búrca
Gig Coordinator: Nigel Wilkins


Africa

Colour My World
Elton John Medley
One Day Like This
Rise

River Deep Mountain High
Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This
This Is Me
We Are Family


Thanks to everyone who shared photos taken on the day, inluding choir and audience members:

Sat, 1 Dec 2018

We were once again delighted to be invited to support Brigstowe's annual World AIDS Day event by performing at the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the first World AIDS Day, held at The Watershed on Bristol's Harbourside.

We performed 3 songs for an appreciative audience. 

Music Director & Conductor: Rónán de Búrca
Gig Coordinator: Nigel Wilkins


Rise
Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)
Elton John Medley


Thanks to Dawei Qi, wo made these video clips of  our performance:
Elton John Medley (Crocodile Rock)
 
Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This
 
Elton John Medley (Your Song)
 
Rise (Excerpt)
 

Sat, 14 Jul 2018

Our 9th Bristol Pride performance, and one of our best, it has to be said.

Due to the sheer numbers attending the parade and subsequently, the arena, our show time was delayed by over half an hour and cut short by 5 minutes, meaning that we sacrificed 'Africa'.

This performance was memorabe for two reasons; one being the debut of a new song (for us), This Is Me, which was a definite crowdpleaser; and secondly, for the bouncing stage, which oscillated in time with our movements.

The weather was glorious (as it always seems to be for Pride) and we also had a successful day at our Pride stall, selling quite a few copies of our new DVD 'X - 10 Years Of Sing Out Bristol', as well as gaining some potential new members.


Here's a slideshow video of our day, as captured by choir members and others, set to 'This Is Me'.  Thanks go to all the Facebook photographers, and Abigail Smith and Bhagesh Sachania for their 'proper' photos.

 


(Africa)
Colour My World
This Is Me
Disco Fever (new)
River Deep Mountain High


 

Sun, 24 Jun 2018

Our first ever premiere, in a cinema.  To celebrate the release of our DVD, 'X - 10 Years Of Sing Out Bristol - The Video', we previewed the concert film to choir members and guests at The Veryman Cinema, in Whiteladies Road.


 

Tue, 19 Jun 2018

For the second year running, we performed at Southmead Hospital's Great Brunel Buskathon, to help raise funds for their prostate cancer charity.  This gave us a chance to 'test' the planned repertoire for the forthcoming Bristol Pride performance. It was the first time we performed 'This Is Me' outside our rehearsal venue.


Africa
We Are Family
This Is Me
Disco Fever
Colour My World
River Deep Mountain High
Encore:
Africa
We Are Family


The hospital charity coordinator broadcast the opening performance of Africa live on social media
 

Sat, 12 May 2018

Our second and final performance of the Various Voices 2018 festival, took place in the open air venue at Odeonsplatz, in the city centre of Munich. 


A large enthusiastic crowd quickly gathered, giving us one of the best reactions we have ever seen from an audience.  The decision was taken to drop the moves to 'One', as we had already decided not to wear the trademark hats, integral to the moves.  The audience were having none of it, however, and some had obviously seen our performance at The Gasteig, the previous day, as they performed the moves for us, in an extraordinary show of support.


These comments, from choir members who attended, refer to the whole 5 days of the festival, when asked for their highlights of the week.

Nigel Wilkins (Tenor):
Best: singing on Saturday at 6pm, mericfully without bells, with a great audience which included a choir that were mimicking us. What a compliment!
A close second was singing Carmina Burana after a single rehearsal, with plenty of support given so freely by fellow Tenor 1s.
It felt like singing at the last night of the proms
Third and finally: Shamelessly drinking ???? and eating currywurst, in the sun for lunch on Saturday, while listening to Manchester L&G Chorus, followed by ????, with My Man.
A big thank you to you all for working hard to make my choir look and sound soooooo good. The audience reaction was FAB and I am very proud to be part of of a great choir. ♥?

Leanne Curtis (Alto):
My top moments were... Dancing until I nearly dropped with the samba band! Partying until we were the last ones standing. Being in the front row and experiencing the outdoor stage and audience vibe on Saturday. So much love.

Dean Buck (Bass):
Top moment was the open top performance (in the Odeonsplatz)

Ross Slade (Bass):
What a week in Munich it's been. Despite a case of food poisoning, injuring my foot and then getting stuck in a lift at the Holiday Inn, it's been an amazing time. Seen so many great LGBT choirs from all over the world and learned a lot from seeing such talented groups of people. Highlight was definitely performing at Odeonsplatz in the open air. What a great crowd doing all our moves! Roll on Bologna 2022!

Alfie Green (Bass):
Conchita :) loved the gala concert, being in a space where i could be myself and hanging out with my second family.


Africa
One Day Like This
Let the River Run
Skyfall
One
We Are Family

Fri, 11 May 2018

The first of two performances at Various Voices 2018, in Munich, Germany.

This performance took place in the prestigious Philharmonie, the largest of the four concert halls at the impressive Gasteig, which served as the hub for the 5 days of the festival.


These comments are from choir members who attended and refer to the whole five day long festival, when asked for their personal highlights of the week.

Jess Horder (Soprano):
My highlights: no different to many others; performing at Philamonie was special, but I think topped by Odeonsplatz,and the genuine warmth which surrounded us whilst we sang and danced, I have goosebumps thinking about it! I loved listening to Carmina Burana, the atmosphere it created, and loved seeing so many people enjoying it, LGBTI, straight, and whatever, sharing a special time together in harmony. Oh and that the sun shone so brightly for us that day!!! Munich rocked!

LiSah Stuart (Soprano):
Highlights..performing at the phenominal Philharmonie......on stage at Odeonsplatz playing to a great crowd in the sun, real fun....the buzz in the air after the Carmina, Wow....and partying with my super Singout family...???? ???????? X

Georgia Spooner (Alto):
My highlights : front row cherry pop, dancing to samba band, chats with people I don't chat to much, lots and lots of laughter, being part of a big bubble xxx

Michael Reynolds (Tenor):
Highlights.. many, but singing on stage in philharmonic was amazing. But the crowd at the outdoor venue. Most of all the best thing was being with the amazing Sing Out Bristol xx

Jude English (Alto): .
singing in the Gasteig, what an amazing venue. The Atlanta choir and Edinburgh Out and Loud . Percusion number One and the premiere piece at the finale.

Rhi O'Gorman (Alto):
Dancing our socks off to Samba, hair wars with Jo, bear hugs with the boys, audience participation on Saturday.

Lucy Pederson (Alto):
My highlight was hanging out with these guys and singing Carmena Burana with thousands of others

Nick Gill (Bass):
Highlight 1: Reconnecting with old friend not seen for 40 years when neither of us were out and who doesn't do social media and is now part of Brighton Rainbow Chorus.
Highlight 2: Warm-up to Carmena Burana in Odeonsplatz when straight couple wandered into Bass 2 area and got caught up in group massages and waltzes. Husband seemed to enter into the spirit!


 

River Deep Mountain High Angel Dúlamán Skyfall The Long Day Closes One

No official videos were made during the trip, however, below is a 'tongue-in-cheek' look at the week's highlights.
 

Sat, 14 Apr 2018

VISIT OUR ONLINE SHOP TO PURCHASE THE OFFICIAL PROFESSIONALLY PRODUCED VIDEO OF THE PERFORMANCE, ON DVD OR HD DOWNLOAD
The second, and final, night of our 10th Anniversary concerts (with guest choir South Wales Gay Mens Chorus, from Cardiff).


From one of our new members, Ollie Lewis (Bass) on Facebook:
"I just wanted to pass on that all my friends and family were completely amazed by the performance last night. They were impressed by the brilliant organisation of the concert, the choice of songs and the professionalism by all!

A lot has been said already but I am sat here on a high from last night and I just had to write something!

Obviously I understand the efforts that went into this weekends concert and I just wanted to thank you all for making my first ever concert an amazing experience. I can’t tell you how nervous I felt waiting on those stairs to go on stage Friday night. Amazingly as soon as we started the moves for Adiemus I got well into it. Doing Friday's show put me totally at ease with Saturday’s show and I enjoyed every second being on stage Saturday. Dave - thanks for organising the after party at the Queenshilling as such short notice - it was the perfect way to end the night!

I just wanted to thank you Sing Out not only to an amazing performance weekend but for making me feel so welcome since joining in September. I have made some amazing friends for life already and it’s great to gradually get to know more and more people. I can honestly say it’s the best thing I have done for years joining you guys. You make me feel incredibly proud!

Special thanks to Rónán, Dan, Dawai, Steve, Dave, Lindsey and Kellie for just being awesome! Also to Carlos and Tomek you guys have become such awesome best friends! There are also so many more who have become friends and have made my time with the choir brilliant - you know who you are! Huge thank you to Neil Forsyth for making me feel so comfortable in my early few weeks and beyond. At times where I just couldn’t get the songs you always give me sound advice!"

From Fergal Doyle (Tenor) on Facebook:
My parents literally haven’t stopped raving about the concert since Saturday night. Tears all round. It was the first time in about 10 years that’s I’ve sang in public (drunk karaoke doesn’t really count), and the first time in my life that I’ve broken down the barriers in my ever so compartmentalised life; The real me, the family me, the home me, the performer me. (It was also my parents first time ever in a gay bar and they were up dancing till 2am!)  It wouldn’t have happened without the choir. Thank you all for being wonderful humans and even more wonderful singers, conductors, choreographers, musicians,organisers etc etc. Xx

From Richard Davies (Tenor) on Facebook:
"My family and friends were bowled over by our performance last night. They told me that we were fantastic, a beautiful blend of voices and very professional! I'm so proud to be a member of Sing Out Bristol! Thank you to everyone who made our 10 Year Anniversary concerts possible and so memorable - what a team! X"

From Rhi O'Gorman (Alto) on Facebook:
"Thank you Sing Out family for the best performances yet. I had a blast. My mum is still trying to get over her first drag king experience, my partner's parents/step parents have been inspired to join a choir and EVERYONE loved the shows. Scarborough Fair and Dulaman were the favourites. Big Question: what am I going to listen to on the way to work now?!"


"Five stars ! I loved the controlled singing, the choice of songs,the Gailic one [Dúlamán] at the end of the first half made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up .I thought the visiting choir Vibe,was also outstanding and joyous. Loved the little Downs Syndrome girl . So good to see inclusion not rejection. The signer was mesmeric! . Three conductors,all so inspirational. A wonderful evening ,thank you!"

"Superb!"

"Excellent show, so many happy faces."

"Excellent performance and a truly wonderful evening."

"Amazing night!! Bring back the Welsh!!."

"Well presented. The last half hour of the show was particularly spectacular and sent the audience away eager to return."

"It was brilliant."

"I had a side seat but it did not stop me enjoying the show.!"

"All good."



Click on each track to stream/download the audio recording of the performance:
ACT ONE
Adiemus
Skyfall
Viva La Vida
Let The River Run
Africa
Here Comes The Sun (SSAA)
Come What May (LSO)
River Deep Mountain High
Bread and Roses
Cantique de Jean Racine
Dúlamán
ACT TWO
One Day Like This
Angel
Scarborough Fair/Sound of Silence
The Long Day Closes
Gold (LSO)
The Long and Winding Road
Abba Medley (Jetse Bremer)
One (Singular Sensation)
ENCORE
Disco Fever (New)
We Are Family


SLIDESHOW: THE MAKING OF 'X - 10 YEARS OF SING OUT BRISTOL'

DVD TRAILER

TIMELINE SLIDESHOW PART ONE

TIMELINE SLIDESHOW PART TWO


FACEBOOK PHOTOS SLIDESHOW
 

OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHER:

Fri, 13 Apr 2018

VISIT OUR ONLINE SHOP TO PURCHASE THE OFFICIAL PROFESSIONALLY PRODUCED VIDEO OF THE PERFORMANCE, ON DVD OR HD DOWNLOAD

The first of two shows to celebrate our 10th Anniversary (with guest choir, 'Vibe' from Portishead (MD Wendy Sergeant).

From Iain Elkington (Tenor) on Facebook:
"I'm still on a high from the concert, a fantastic couple of nights! My dad said that the concert was such fun, and he and the rest of my guests enjoyed it so much.

Thank you, SOB, for another fabulous concert!"

From Tomek Pawlicki (Tenor) on Facebook:
"All I felt that weekend was love, support, warmth and happiness. 
Everyone in Sing Out Bristol 
U don’t know what u do to people and how much u give  

After this concert I felt so close to all of u and felt like I belong here."

From Leanne Curtis (Alto) on Facebook:
"Thank you all for making my first concert experience an amazing one!! One I will never forget. I felt like I've been part of your choir for years and from day one you've all made me feel so welcome and have quickly become an invaluable part of my life. My choir family. I honestly couldn't imagine life without it/you all now. You rock!!!! Well done all!! We did it!! Here's to Munich and Pride!! Xx"

From Suzanne Doyle (Soprano) on Facebook:
Is anyone else too buzzing to sleep! What a fab night. Thank you all for a great concert and for being my friends and gay sing out family. So excited we get to do it again tomorrow :-) xxxxx

From Darren Flaxstone (Tenor) on Facebook:
"Was chatting to our fab Icon Films camera crew at work today and they were hugely impressed by our weekend performances. Jahlani, our main camera guy was moved to tears by Viva La Vida. He thinks its better than the original !! :-)"


"Five stars ! I loved the controlled singing, the choice of songs,the Gailic one [Dúlamán] at the end of the first half made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up .I thought the visiting choir Vibe,was also outstanding and joyous. Loved the little Downs Syndrome girl . So good to see inclusion not rejection. The signer was mesmeric! . Three conductors,all so inspirational. A wonderful evening ,thank you!"

"Brilliant!"

"The show was fantastic - upbeat and inspirational."

"Fantastic show, really enjoyed the evening."

"Joyous, life-affirming and celebratory, this was a polished performance: in turn, slick, sassy and soulful, with a range of music to suit all tastes, from contemporary classical, to Broadway, to pop. A night of sheer fun for everyone."

"Wonderful event."

"Thrilling and entertaining!"

"Fun, fun, fun!"

"Absolutely amazing harmonies. Positive vibes and simple but brilliant choreography. I loved it!"

"This was the best thing I have ever seen - the choir sang so beautifully and enthralled the audience with their musical diversity"

 "Fabulous. Truly amazing!"


Click on each track to stream/download the audio recording of the performance:
ACT ONE
Adiemus
Skyfall
Viva La Vida
Let The River Run
Africa
Here Comes The Sun (SSAA)
Come What May (LSO)
River Deep Mountain High
Bread and Roses
Cantique de Jean Racine
Dúlamán
ACT TWO
Fix You
Angel
Scarborough Fair/Sound of Silence
The Long Day Closes
Gold (LSO)
The Long and Winding Road
Abba Medley (Jetse Bremer)
One (Singular Sensation)
ENCORE
Disco Fever (New)
We Are Family


SLIDESHOW: THE MAKING OF 'X - 10 YEARS OF SING OUT BRISTOL'

DVD TRAILER

TIMELINE SLIDESHOW PART ONE

TIMELINE SLIDESHOW PART TWO


FACEBOOK PHOTOS SLIDESHOW
 

OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHER:

Fri, 18 Aug 2017 to Sun, 20 Aug 2017

Hand in Hand is a festival for UK based LGBT choirs, held every two years.



Previous festivals have taken place in London (2013) and Brighton (2015).  Manchester was our second Hand In Hand, with over 60 of us travelling north for the weekend in mid August 2017.

The festival is a mixture of performances (each choir performs once for around 25 minutes) to an audience made up of other choirs and the general public), workshops (a full programme of workshops takes place covering,  amongst other subjects, choralography, singing techniques, MD and co-chair discussions) and social events. The weekend closed with a march from the People's Museum of Manchester to the Town Hall.

Our perfomance took place at 7pm on the Saturday (19th) in the Royal Northern College of Music Theatre.



Music Director & Conductor: Rónán de Búrca
Assistant Music Director & Conductor: Kellie Walters
Accompanist: Amy Brewer
Hand In Hand Coordinators: Dan Cragg & Suzanne Doyle

Official Performance Video:

 

Sat, 22 Apr 2017

Widely acknowledged to be our best performance to date, 50 Shades Of Gay was our hommage to the vibrancy, diversity and colour of Bristol.  We used the huge St Georges screen above us to showcase the choir and Bristol.






Each of the songs in our repertoire that night, linked to a colour and a series of images showing Bristol landmarks in that colour, accompanied our performance.  We also, showed interviews with some of our members talking about their favourite colours and why they love Bristol, as well as a video review of our past 12 months.

Each section also made a short colourful video to introduce themselves to the audience. Here's a compilation of all four videos

"WOW! What a night! Thank you to Suzanne and Ali, for all your hard work, creativity and passion that made Saturday night such a spectacular success.   Thank you to our section reps, choralographers, film makers, photographers, lighting and sound technicians, sewing stars and co-chairs for their outstanding support and for making it all happen on the night. A few stand-out moments that I will never forget:
- Getting teary and choked after Nights in White Satin and again after True Colours!
- The infectious joy in the happy, smiling faces of Kellie, Lindsey and Ronan when we nailed our songs! 
- Laughing so much at Rónán's Angels that I forgot my words AND my moves!
- Seeing the elated faces of our audience during the Colour My World Encore. They were waving their glow stocks, singing their hearts out AND copying Dawei's dance moves!" - Richard Davies

"It was a fantastic night. Choir organisation has always amazed me and it all seemed to go very smoothly. I’d like to say thank you for all the extra time you’ve put into making the concert accessible for me," - Otter Baker

"Stunning performance! Hats off to all involved!" - Bima Clarke

"GREAT concert everyone. I loved every minute" - Wendy Sargeant

"Thoroughly enjoyed last night. Terrific buzz as soon as I entered the grounds - drinks on the terrace set the scene nicely. Noise and anticipation inside the hall before you all came in. Excellent choice of music, words, pictures, videos. All very moving in so many ways. Yes, you brought tears as well. Had never seen song-signing before. A new art form. Impressed with the choral signing as well. Apart from enjoying a great night I learned some performance skills as well - looking forward to working on them." - Jeremy Badcock

"Seriously blown away. Year after year, the choir and the musical direction team stretch themselves that little bit further to produce fabulous entertainment. Apart from the unique and innovative selection of song material which has become the hallmark of Sing Out Bristol (and what separates them from many other LGBT or or other community choirs) the work that delivered a tight, clipped, beautifully harmonious confident sound is the assay Mark of one other colour - Pure Gold! Take a well-deserved bow for delivering a brilliant evening of entertainment." - Eddie O'Sullivan

"I really enjoyed Saturday - its the highlight of the year. Everyone did a fantastic job." - Tom Steuart-Feilding 

"Amazing concert. Sing Out Bristol are fantastic! They always put on a great show but this one was the best yet! The use of the lighting when singing about certain colours, the use of the videos and slideshows was brilliant and moving. The speakers were great and the song choices and dance moves were excellent. I can't fault it. All the little touches including the amazing 3 dancers at the end in drag were brilliant." - Audience member via St Georges

"Really pleased with it – I think it went well. Your best concert yet! So professional and slick. The sound and quality is fantastic and you all sounded like one voice singing" - Paul King, Sound & Light Engineer

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE AUDIENCE REACTION FROM THE EVENING



The entire concert audio is available to buy and download from our online shop.

Concert Directors: Suzanne Doyle & Ali Blake (Sopranos)
Music Director & Conductor: Rónán de Búrca
Assistant Conductor: Kellie Walters
Accompanist: Amy Brewer


ACT ONE
Colour MyWorld
Nights In White Satin
After The Goldrush
Kiss From A Rose
My Love Is Like A Red Red Rose
You've Got Time (Sopranos & Altos)
Big Yellow Taxi
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Fields Of Gold
White Winter Hymnal
ACT TWO
The Rainbow Connection
Billy Brown
Gold
Black Is The Colour Of My True Love's Hair
Greensleeves
Briefcase Full Of Blues
Purple Rain
True Colours (Tenors & Basses)
Somewhere Over The Rainbow
Colours Of The Wind
ENCORE
Briefcase Full Of Blues
Colour My World (Rónán's Angels)

Fri, 13 Jun 2014 to Mon, 16 Jun 2014

In June 2014, Sing Out Bristol joined 75 other LGBT choirs from across Europe at the 13th Various Voices festival, in Dublin, Ireland.

Our performance at this, our 2nd Various Voices, took place on the Friday afternoon at 5pm and was streamed live over the internet, with many friends and family watching at home.

The whole weekend was made even more special by being hosted with in the grounds of the DCU (Dublin College University). The Helix Arts Centre was used as the main venue for performances and workshops.

A huge marquee was erected and used for after parties, which went on very late!! On the Saturday evening, the entire festival relocated to Dublin's city centre for the festival's gala evening concert.




Tsmindao Gmerto
Oh Danny Boy
Cantique de Jean Racine
One Day Like This
Disco Fever



The official festival YouTube site has all choir performances and many more videos available.
This is the video of our 30 minute performance (minus Tsmindao Gmerto):



CLICK IMAGE BELOW TO VIEW ALL PHOTOS


 

Sat, 12 Apr 2014

The theme for this concert was 'the elements'.  A series of posters were produced to publicise the event, each one depicting a different element (Fire, Water, Earth, Air), with a strapline of 'The Power Of Song'.



This was our last concert at The Victoria Rooms.


These quotes are taken from members' feedback following the concert.
"Loved the feeling of walking towards that amazing-looking building; inspired me to do well"
"Loved the simple but effective moves for this concert"
Re Les Miserables Medley - "The movements gave real power to what we were singing"
"I was so proud that on stage that, during Les Mis, I had to stop singing and re-compose myself"
"The flags were amazing – it’s great to demonstrate pride in who we are!"
"Loved The Cantique de Jean Racine, it was it was difficult to learn but so beautiful and rewarding when we got it"
"Lots of feedback from audience members that our a cappella songs really stood out and the harmonies sounded beautiful"
 
    &  
Click on the blue song titles to view the video of the performance on YouTube
ACT ONE
Rainstorm
Africa
Bridge Over Troubled Water 
California Dreamin'
She Moved Thru' The Fair
Ave Maria
Send In The Clowns
Shout
Set Fire To The Rain
Les Miserables Medley
ACT TWO
Totus Tuus
Tender
Cantique de Jean Racine
Oh Danny Boy
Beautiful
You Raise Me Up (Tenors & Basses)
Here Comes The Sun (Altos & Sopranos)
One Day Like This
Jai Ho
ENCORE
The Storm Is Passing Over
Disco Fever Medley

REHEARSAL VIDEO
A unique glimpse behind the scenes at an early rehearsal for the Les Miserables Medley.