For a fifth year we were delighted to host Come and Sing under the guidance and direction of Sir John Rutter. The event sold out in record time, with 850 singers taking part, and over 100 observers.
We were very privileged that Sir John chose our event to unveil a new choral composition he had completed on Christmas Day called “I’ll make me a world”. It will receive its official concert premiere in St Paul’s Cathedral on 5th of November this year at an event celebrating Sir John’s 80th birthday. However attendees at the event were treated to a pre-release workshop, followed by a 20-minute sing-through of the work. To gain this insight into how a piece of music develops was a real thrill.
We also had two wonderful professional soloists; Melanie Marshall, making a welcome return to Nottingham and Jonathan Brown, who had been given special leave of absence for the day from the choir of Westminster Abbey. Neil Taylor was the accompanist on piano and organ, as in previous years.
The day started with a long queue of people waiting to collect their scores when the doors opened at 10am. It was amazing to see so many people buzzing with excitement, anticipation and joy. One of the first groups to collect their scores had come from a choir in Germany, a couple from California and others from the USA. Incidentally, Sir John’s office has told us that he really enjoys coming to Nottingham for what we understand is the largest Come and Sing that he does anywhere in the world!
Before the second half began, Mahboobeh, a client of Nottingham Refugee Forum, spoke from the stage about why she fled her homeland and how the Refugee Forum, and other local organisations, had helped her since coming to Nottingham.
We’d had the idea of doing a special thank you to Sir John at the end, with the audience singing Thank You For The Music. It sounded fantastic from where we stood at the side of the stage and Sir John appeared to be quite touched by it. The audience certainly gave it their all.
Proceeds from the event will be distributed to asylum seeker and refugee charities across Nottingham, including Nottingham Refugee Forum.
