Music Matters…. May 2009
To say it’s been a busy time in musical terms would be an understatement. After the rush of Christmas when most sane people were trying to overcome the excesses of the festive season and take some time to rest up the Choir weren’t! After a week of intensive rehearsals we recorded tracks for a new CD entitled “A Sandhurst Christmas Collection”. Amazingly, and thanks to Ron Ferris’s amazingly swift and dedicated skills as a producer and engineer it was launched on March 14th. Just in time for Easter… well, plenty of time for Christmas anyhow. A busy Easter and then Easter Monday…. Well read on…
Royal Memorial Chapel Choir visit to New York City and State to coincide with the Sandhurst Cup at USMA West Point.
Monday 13th April 2009 – Easter Monday
Whilst most sensible folk were having a Bank-Holiday ‘lie-in’, the Royal Memorial Chapel Choir and ten ‘disciples’ assembled at the RMAS for our departure to Heathrow. No-one was late and oddly there were no hiccups there, at the airport, the flight or arrival at JFK.
Unfortunately, the hotel in Manhattan had undergone redecoration etc. and the rooms that we were to have had weren’t available for 24hours. So, some of us had a few cramped hours of fitful sleep under far from ideal conditions. I attest to how uncomfortable Z-Beds can be. We all survived though!
Tuesday 14th April
Our first musical ‘port of call’ was to give a lunchtime recital at St Mary the Virgin, Times Square, affectionately known locally as 'Smokey Marys' for obvious reasons given its bold adherence to Anglo-Catholicism. This amazing building, with it superb acoustic and wonderful organ, was ideal to sing a cappella music in. The Russian pieces sounded magnificent and the high-octane pieces with organ were electrifying...
We had a very warm welcome from James Kennerley, the newly appointed Director of Music. He's a Brit.. so we had lots to chat about..
Following the recital, a few of our party trekked over to St Thomas 5th Ave, where John Scott (formerly of St Paul’s Cathedral, London) very kindly gave us a music tour of the history and traditions of the music there. He also demonstrated the organs and invited the organists amongst us to have a play. We were very grateful for John generously giving of his time and talent... we all agreed that this had been a super visit. We then got soaked walking back to the Hotel. We managed to dry out and, with the others who’d been to Staten Island, shared some welcome food and drink.
Wednesday 15th April
The Church of The Heavenly Rest is a warm and friendly place and both the Director of
Music, Mollie Nichols and her Associate, Steve Lawson made us very welcome..... complete with cookies and coffee. The service of Holy Communion was lovely and we were privileged to be part of it. Simon enjoyed being let loose on a 5-manual organ...
Afterwards, some of us walked a few blocks downtown to S.Ignatius Loyola to hear Olivier Latry (Organist at Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris) play a superb programme on the now not-so-new Mander (British) organ. This was a great conclusion to a wonderful day.
Thursday 16th April
The Cathedral Church of St John the Divine... it was an early start to get there to rehearse at 0930hrs. But the weather had much improved and it turned out to be a lovely day...
The choir soon adapted admirably to the colossal size of this building - This is the largest cathedral in the world - complete with 11 seconds reverberation. We ‘pasted’ the sound pretty close to the west end (600 foot away and probably has a different zipcode!)... and by return Simon Dinsdale gave us a blast on the State Trumpet (reputedly the loudest organ stop in Christendom) on 50" wind... all very impressive. Both Bruce Neswick and Tim Brumfield were wonderful hosts and it was great to meet up with the cathedral school staff, especially the School Chaplain, Rev’d Canon Patti Welch and children. We were very pleased to be part of their Easter Service. Before the service, lunchtime was spent lolling around at the Hungarian Pastry shop and Morningside Park... in the sunshine.
The afternoon service over, the fit(ish) amongst us took the vertical tour of the cathedral... It was a superb way to understand the cathedral architecture and its construction. This is highly recommended. We headed home for a rest... and then we partied... a super dinner arranged by Mary Treen and the gang. The Heartland Brewery (underneath the Empire State Building) didn’t know what had hit it.
Friday 17th April.
There were a few obstacles that got in the way on our journey to the Church of St Mary in the Highlands, Cold Spring via USMA West Point, but with a concerted effort and good humour we coped with them all. There were difficulties getting the coach in and out of the accommodation car park and around West Point generally – and a few hiccups over accommodation were ironed out, again with sensible and mature good humour.
As a result we were late getting to Cold Spring, so rehearsal time was limited. There was also the allure of a very fine spread in the church hall which the good people of Cold Spring had provided. The concert was a great success and our presence there greatly appreciated by the Rector, Fr Shane Scott-Hamblen and his parishioners.
The music was, as ever, superbly sung and Simon shone in the Elgar Organ Sonata until the organ decided to stop dead… before Messrs Elgar and Dinsdale had finished... a rather dodgy on/off switch was the problem.. All was sorted out and the piece concluded to warm and rapturous applause.
Saturday 18th April.
The accommodation at West Point was more conducive for a lie-in, but this was Sandhurst Cup day. So, off up to the courses to support the RMAS Cadets and then, in the late afternoon, to the Cadet Chapel for rehearsal with my opposite number Craig Williams. Also, it gave Simon Dinsdale a chance to become acquainted with the monster that is the Cadet Chapel Organ… reputedly the largest church organ in the world, though as it got struck by lightening earlier in the year, some of the organ was inoperative. Then came the prize giving for the Competition. The Canadians came first (much to the thinly disguised pique of our American hosts), USA second and RMAS in 3rd place.
We got back to our lodgings and a couple of parties ensued on Saturday night, mostly involving food...
Sunday 19th April.
It was quite an early start and down to the Cadet Chapel to meet up with Craig Williams and the Cadet Choir. A quick concerted rehearsal... and all was fine. Then coffee and donuts!!! Yes, I jest not. Wow, I thought… ‘I wish we could get that at RMAS’. Then came a few moments to compose ourselves and then headlong into the service with our prelude of choral items. All immaculately sung (and listened to, I might add) - a very fitting conclusion to the tour. It also gave us a chance to touch base again with the Commandant RMAS. All was set for our return to the UK via South Street Sea Port where we stopped for a late lunch and a little retail therapy.
After a 30 minute delay at JFK we took off and had a good journey back... safely, with everyone on board and their luggage too... astounding! And so it was that a bleary and exhausted group poured out of the coach back at RMAS a week later, welcomed home by a beautiful sunny day.
A real success story all down to teamwork! Musically, the choir were superb throughout the trip and ensembled brilliantly and equally important, working together solidly for a week the musical and intellectual strengths became acutely cohesive. The social aspects cemented friendships which were previously untested at RMC because of the limitations of cursory chats between rehearsals and services on Sunday mornings.
And big thanks are due to Choir members Ron Ferris (Travel Co-ordinator), Richard Shirley (Finance), Jackie Keay (Choir Administrator and Chief ‘Head-Counter’), Mary Treen (Press, Social and General Enquiries), Pete Franklin (Music Librarian) and Mary Jones (Music). Thanks also to our photographers, David Keay and Malcolm Treen for capturing so much for posterity!
In the USA our thanks to Dr Max Thévenot, for stacks of invaluable advice about Manhattan and its music, and places to eat; to Pat Maimone, for her suggestions about venues and contacts; Capt Shaun Chandler (Sandhurst Cup) RMAS Liaison Officer at USMA for his help and advice about accommodation at West Point; and to all our host musicians, clergy and communities.
Very special thanks are due to Simon Dinsdale (the Organ-Slayer!) who worked his socks off, normally with only an extra hour of rehearsal on some of the largest and most comprehensive instruments in the world. He played brilliantly throughout.
Lastly, but by no means least to Assistant Chaplain, Rev’d Duncan Macpherson whose reassuring presence and inimitable wit helped us through a few tricky situations. He’s rather a useful bass too. What a gem!
