Songsters and Band at Town Hall for BBC Big Band Concert
February 21, 2009 by Rob Westwood-Payne
Filed under News
BBC Radio 2
Late last year, the Songsters and Band decided to set aside time for bi-monthly social evenings, as a way of growing closer together as a group of Christian musicians, and to involve members of our families and friends who are not in the Band or Songsters.
In November last year, our first social event was a meal at the Toby Carvery in Quinton. 40 of us joined together for good fellowship and food.
Town Hall Stage set for the BBC Big Band
Tonight, members of the Songsters and Band visited Birmingham Town Hall for a concert called Radio Days by the BBC Big Band. The concert was recorded for BBC Radio 2’s Big Band Special and will be heard next month. The Town Hall has recently undergone a massive renovation and really is a wonderful concert hall. The BBC Big Band is widely regarded as the UK’s leading Big Band and they certainly showed it tonight.
The band was joined by presenter and jazz singer, Clare Teal. Clare clearly has a love for big band music and enthusiastically led the audience through the programme, singing a number of songs in the second half. Clare provided the inadvertently funniest moment of the evening when she failed to negotiate a tricky key change in the song Amapola. Fortunately, it was not broadcast live! She got it on her third attempt, but only after a four octave “A” from the pianist to help her!
Clare Teal
Despite that, the Band and Songsters enjoyed a great evening of music.
If you’re interested in seeing the BBC Big Band in Birmingham, then as an Associate Artist of the Town Hall, they are back again in the next couple of months. See details of the concerts here:
Friday 3 April 2009 at 7.30pm : Frank and Ella – A Tribute
Friday 22 May 2009 at 7.30pm : Jazz Goes to the Movies, with special guest Michelle McManus
We may see you there!
BBC Big Band
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Rob Westwood-Payne grew up in The Salvation Army at Norwich Citadel. He left Norwich to study at the University of Warwick and became fully involved in the music centre there culminating in his conducting Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue to a full house in Symphony Hall in Birmingham. He also transferred to The Salvation Army at Coventry City, where he became Songster Leader at the age of 21. He was made Songster Leader at Cradley Heath in April 1998 shortly before marrying Gail in the following October. He is a former leader of the West Midlands Divisional Youth Chorus and is currently Programme Director at the West Midlands Divisional Summer School for The Salvation Army. He is an Associate Solicitor in the Licensing Team of a national practice based in the south west.