Manawatu/Whanganui Workshop and AGM 18 May 2017

On Saturday 13 May 2017 our region held a successful workshop attended by 45 singers from member choirs.
The focus of this workshop, facilitated by Eric Sidoti, was to develop an understanding and appreciation of Latin as our foundation language. We were treated to an interesting and informative day where Eric used a variety of musical examples to highlight the differences between ecclesiastical and classical Latin. He mentioned that composers need to be seen in the context of the time, period and country in which they lived, in order to use the version of Latin that would have been appropriate to their lives.
Music chosen included Ave Verum (Mozart), Locus Iste (Bruckner), Ave Verum (Elgar), Dies Irae (Mozart), Lamentations of Jeremiah (Stroope), along with Tantum Ergo (Schubert), which was written in soprano, alto & tenor clefs. Guy Donaldson did a superb job of accompanying all these pieces, especially the Schubert, where he played in four different clefs at once. The Regional AGM was held after the shared lunch, with a further workshop session in the afternoon. All pieces sung in the sessions were then performed at the close of the day.
Officers and Committee elected: Roy Tankersley (Regional Chair),  Joanna Love (Regional Secretary), Stanley Barnes (Regional Treasurer),  Louisa Craig, Guy Donaldson, Carrol Donoghue, Anne Marie Gray, Ian O’Brien, Pat Reu,  Faye Roberts.