Sunday 20th September was the day of the joint concert with the Odawara Doctors’  Choir from Japan.  I think it is fair to say that everyone involved, choirs and audience alike, thoroughly enjoyed themselves.  There was a brief rehearsal in which we got to know each other and ran through the items we were singing together, and then we were straight into the concert.

The choir from Japan were delightful, both to listen to and to watch.  The ladies’ cream long sleeveless dresses and peach evening gowns (a mere male’s description) will no doubt give MW Choir’ s costume department food for thought!

The songs they sang were most enjoyable, especially a harmonised version of ” Doh, ray, mi”  from ” The Sound of Music” .  Their tone was pure and clear, their singing precise and with feeling.

Our own contributions were very well received.  Maybe we enjoyed singing all the more as we knew the music so well that we could afford more than just an occasional glimpse towards Carlos, which Carlos himself seemed to appreciate.

The joint items worked well.  The ” Cantique de Jean Racine”  was conducted by our own Carlos Alvarado and ” Sakura” by Hiroko Yamada – the latter started and finished together despite the MWC scores seeming to miss out a few extra beats which the Odawara Choir had in their versions.

There was time for a number of speeches and presentations, and a long interval for refreshments.

Odawara is one of Manly’s sister cities.  This afternoon brothers and sisters joined together do something special – to make music.  Once again, no scientific study is needed to prove the beneficial effects of making and listening to music – it was just self-evident.

Many thanks to Mark Renton for the photographs on this page.  Click here to see some of the pictures taken by Manly Council’s photographer.