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In
January 2007 members of Billingshurst
Choral Society and The Angmering
Chorale, under the leadership of their joint Musical Director George Jones, travelled to New York to take part
in a performance of The Armed Man: A
Mass for Peace by Karl Jenkins OBE at Carnegie Hall. This was a wonderful
experience for all who went, both musically and socially.
Approximately
80 members each of the Billingshurst Choral Society and The Angmering
Chorale, accompanied by friends and family, travelled to New York. Several days of concentrated
rehearsals under the conductor Dr. Jonathan Griffith provided hard work, but
a great learning experience - and some time for sight-seeing, and mixing with
the other singers and partners.
The
concert was organised by MidAmerica Productions, and was held on 15 January
to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day. The chorus was formed of
members from five choirs, also including the Dublin County Choir, the Lincoln Memorial
University (Tennessee)
Choir and the Tri-State (Tennessee)
Community Chorus. An audience of over 2,500 people heard the performance and
gave a standing ovation, after an emotional reaction to the moving music.
Also in the audience was the composer Karl Jenkins (Patron of The Angmering
Chorale) who travelled over for the concert. Both he and the conductor
Jonathan Griffith greeted each singer as they left the stage. One member of
the audience commented that they came now only to premieres of works at
Carnegie Hall, and they considered this one of the best.
Organising
such a trip on this scale is no mean feat and took a lot of hard work by
members of both choirs: it was an honour to be invited to introduce this
powerful work to new audiences, and to represent British choirs across the
water - a memorable trip for all!
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