Musical Medley: Concerts and what's on in the Doncaster music scene this July

Harmonix presents Summer Harmony

Harmonix is an upper voice a capella choir based in Doncaster. Specialising in close harmony singing, Harmonix offers a wide selection of songs, many in unique arrangements written especially for them.

As an a cappella choir, the singing is completely unaccompanied which gives them their unique sound and style.

Their choir repertoire consists of everything from classical to 60s pop, through Disney and Eurovision - there really is something for everyone. They mix choir standards like You’ll Never Walk Alone and Danny Boy with unique arrangements of classical pieces by Purcell, Handel and Saint Saens, throwing in some sea shanties, spirituals and nursery rhymes for good measure!

It certainly indicates a wonderful evening treat for all who attend.

All monies raised to be split equally between the church and The Eve Merton Dreams Trust.

Saturday 1 July, 7pm

Our Lady of Perpetual Help RC Church, Bentley, DN5 0AT

Tickets available from the choir: 07581 013809 or [email protected]

Some availability on the door - £7

Harmonix also invite you to a Come and Sing A Capella Workshop

Ever fancied singing in a choir and never tried it?

Are you regular singer but never tackled a cappella?

Do you just fancy a fun day of singing with new like-minded people?

Then this event is for you!

A fun day exploring a capella singing supported by members of the choir. The musical director will guide you through vocal exercises, tips and tricks, guiding everyone together to sing a variety of music in glorious harmony. All voices welcome!

Saturday 29 July, 9.30am – 2pm

Woodfield Park Community Hall, DN4 8QN

Fee £4 – profits to The Eve Merton Dreams Trust

For more details contact: 07581 013809 or [email protected]

Boyce Chamber Orchestra Summer Concert

Come along and join the orchestra for their exciting summer concert consisting of:

Rossini – Overture: The Barber of Seville

Haydn – Symphony No. 93

Beethoven – Symphony No. 3 ‘Eroica’

Leader – Yvonne Barron

Guest Director Matteo Dal Maso

Matteo Dal Maso is an Italian conductor and clarinettist who graduated with the highest honours from the G.Verdi Conservatory of Turin. As an orchestral player, he has collaborated with many Italian orchestras including the Teatro Regio of Turin. As a conductor, he has appeared on the podium of the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, Athens Philharmonia Orchestra, Beogradski Simfoničari, Romanian Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, and Dallas Winds.

Before starting his conducting studies at RNCM, he was the musical director of the Filarmonica San Marco from 2018 to 2022

Sunday 2 July, 3pm

St. Aidan’s Chruch, Wheatley Hills, DN2 5PE

Admission £10/Students £5 by programme at the door

The Doncaster Minster Choirs

Present an evening in celebration of choral singing

The concert will showcase both the Minster Choir, along with the newest young chorister recruits and the Minster Community Choir in this collaborative event to share the joy of choral traditions.

Music including John Rutter’s For the Beauty of the Earth, anthems by Stanford and many more popular favourites and classics.

Thursday 6 July 2023

7pm

Entry £5 at the door - Proceeds to choir funds.

Doncaster Minster, DN1 1RD

For more information about the Minster Choirs (always happy to welcome new members) please contact: Musical Director Darren Williams on 07921 868366 or via email: [email protected]

Also at the Minster this month we are in for a treat with two more organ recitals!

Doncaster is fortunate to have such a fine instrument in the ‘mighty Schultze organ’ and everyone is welcome to come along and enjoy these lunchtime recitals by gifted musicians.

A truly wonderful way to pass an hour in the beautiful setting of Doncaster Minster. This month the recitalists are:

Friday 7 July – Oliver Waterer, Selby

The Director of Music at Selby Abbey, Oliver Waterer, shall be the visiting organist for this recital. He was Organist and Master of the Choristers at St Davids Cathedral in Wales, Artistic Director of St Davids Cathedral Festival, and Conductor and Music Director of Côr Dyfed Choir. Prior to this, Oliver was Assistant Director of Music at Chelmsford Cathedral, Sub-Organist of Her Majesty’s Chapels Royal and held organist-posts at Hampstead Parish Church, Peterborough Cathedral, Guildford Cathedral, and at Birmingham’s catholic and anglican cathedrals.

Friday 21 July – Charles Wooler, Newcastle

Charles Wooler studied for a Masters Degree in Chemistry and a Postgraduate Certificate of Education at Durham University. From 1999 to 2003, Charles was organ scholar at St. Oswald’s Durham continued his organ studies with Keith Wright. In 2003, he was appointed Assistant Director of Music at Gosforth Parish Church of St Nicholas. There followed a time as Director of Music at St John’s, Grainger Street in Newcastle.

Doncaster Minster, DN1 1RD

1.10pm, free entry with retiring collection

Philip Scowcroft Concert

A collaborative birthday celebration of music and song with Hallgate Chamber Orchestra and Doncaster Choral Society marking the 90th birthday of Mr. Philip L Scowcroft!

This event will be a joint one with the Hallgate Chamber Orchestra, Doncaster Choral Society and numerous other soloists to present a concert of English Light Music (including some Elgar) as a 90th birthday tribute to Mr Philip L Scowcroft.

Mr. Scowcroft was born in Sheffield on 8 June 1933 and educated at King Edward VII School, Sheffield and Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He has long been in demand to lecture and write about his many interests and has many publications on a wide variety of subjects but this event is concentrated on those that are musical.

Mr. Scowcroft has contributed to over seventy periodical publications on both sides of the Atlantic (most notably the British Music Society newsletter and journal, The Light Music Society’s newsletter, Journal into Melody, and the Elgar Society journal to name but a few) and to several major works of reference including The New Grove (2001 edition) and has been associated in responsible positions with various charitable bodies.

He is also the long standing President of Doncaster Choral Society.

Since 1964 Mr Scowcroft has served on the committee of Doncaster Arts and Museum Society (chairman since 1968), in which capacity he organised major arts festivals in 1966 and 1970 and several other small festivals locally. Always enthusiastic for live music to be heard he set up a long- running and on-going series of lunchtime concerts.

Here he strives to encourage even the most inexperienced performers and many music students have often begun solo careers by performing at the lunchtime concerts. He is an asset to the musical life of Doncaster! Happy birthday, Mr. S!

Sunday 9 July 2023, 3pm

Doncaster Baptist Church, Chequer Road, DN1 2AL

Admission – suggested £10 or whatever you can afford

STAGE INVASION!

An initiative of Higher Rhythm in partnership with Doncaster Music Education Hub.

Stage Invasion is the largest annual young peoples’ live event in Doncaster! The initiative provides free opportunities for young people across Doncaster to enjoy inspirational, real-world experiences in the live music industry. It is open to schools and young people aged 14-19 and runs over a full academic year each year. Young songwriters/music artists access learning to develop original music that they have created and to perform this live, to a high standard.

Opportunities are then offered to perform at a professionally-produced live event where the audience votes, the winner gets to record their music in the pro studio at Higher Rhythm.

Almost 400 people turned up to watch the 15 young music acts who entered Stage Invasion 2022, play at the live finale event, at the Dome, in Doncaster in July 2022 so let’s make this event even bigger!

Thursday 13 July, doors open 6.45pm

The Dome, Doncaster, DN4 7PD

Free admission – tickets available in advance from:

https://www.dclt.co.uk/booking/?EventInstanceId=349002

Doncaster Voices Presents SING!

Join Doncaster’s newest choir: Doncaster Voices and a massed children’s choir from Doncaster Schools, as they sing Alexander L’Estrange’s Zimbe! alongside an incredible jazz quintet in the fabulous backdrop of Doncaster Minster.

Zimbe! is a sequence of choral arrangements of traditional songs from all over Africa in a jazz style.

This is a work which forges links between adult choirs and massed children’s choirs, placing singing at the heart of the community as it always has been in Africa. And, since jazz grew out of blues which itself sprang from the mouths of African people, what better accompaniment for these songs than a jazz quintet? Zimbe! is at times touching and moving, at other times funky and grooving and all of the time incredibly uplifting both for performers and audiences alike.

“A profoundly moving work… The combination of swing, gospel and a cappella has an immediate impact.”

Conductor: Matt Beckingham

Saxophone: Alex Clarke – “One of the UK’s finest young jazz talents” – The Jazz Rag.

“As a finalist in the BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year 2020, winner of the Rising Star category in the 2019 British Jazz Awards and nominee in the Parliamentary Jazz Awards 2021 & 2022, Alex is known to be one of the most in-demand and versatile young saxophonists to have emerged on the British jazz scene.”

Piano: Richard Wetherall – “one of the finest piano players on the Northern scene and has played with some of the best Jazz musicians in the country.”

Bass: Richard Hammond – Richard Hammond is a prominent British double and electric bassist. He has performed with artists such as Gary Barlow, Josh Groban, Sister Sledge, Leo Sayer, Tony Hadley, Mica Paris, Omar, Alexander O’Neil, ’The Sessions Live’, JP Cooper, Imelda May, Jane McDonald and many more.

Kit: Dave Walsh – Dave has played with many national and international jazz artist including Stan Sulzmann, Conrad Herwig, Don Weller, Ben Castle, Alan Barnes, and many more

Percussion: Lea Mullin – “Lea has played/toured with George Michael, Vanessa Mae, Alan Leach, Paul Ryders ‘Big Arm’, ‘Rebel MC’, ‘Rachael McFarlane’ and many others”

Saturday 15 July, 6pm

Doncaster Minster, DN1 1RD

Tickets available from https://doncastervoices.co.uk/

Sprotbrough Music Society

Ryan Corbett – classical accordion

This is a first for Sprotbrough! Ryan began playing accordion aged eleven and after learning with Djordje Gajic from the age of fourteen won first prize and Gold Medal at the Royal Over-seas League Music Competition and subsequently international competitions in Italy, Germany and China.

He is the first accordionist to be part of the prestigious BBC Radio 3 New Generation Art Scheme. As a result of this he will be appearing with BBC Orchestras at major festivals.

For this concert the programme will consist of original compositions for the instrument plus arrangements of works by Bach, Rameau and Tchaikovsky.

Thursday 20 July, 7pm

St. Mary’s Church Hall, Sprotbrough, DN5 7RH

Tickets available on the door - £15

The Friends of Doncaster Minster hosted a very successful fundraising event, Coffee and Company on Friday 2 June. Musical entertainment was presented by the Minster Community Choir, some forty voices strong, consisting of a range of popular songs which provided atmosphere at this enjoyable event.

The choir, conducted by Mr. Darren Williams, sang confidently and were able to project joy across the wonderful space inside the building. Attendance was very encouraging and the whole event was much to be enjoyed, raising almost £500 for the Minster funds and certainly meeting the aim of bringing together those who love the Minster.

You too could make a difference by becoming a member of The Friends of Doncaster Minster!

The Friends of Doncaster Minster was founded in 1972 and provide funds for the enhancement and developemnt of the Minster building, its contents and environment. The costs of caring for such a magnificent building and delivering its central ministry are considerable.

Many people do not realise that the Minster does not receive any direct state funding, and so is reliant on the generosity of our supporters, the congregation, visitors and fund raising activities by the wider Minster community, to help raise the necessary funding to maintain the fabric of the Minster.

Every gift from our supporters helps to ensure that the Minster can continue to offer moments of peace, reflection and prayer to all who seek it for generations to come. You could help to make a difference through donation or becoming a Friend of Doncaster Minster.

In recent years the Friends have provided financial support for many projects including:

Installation of new floodlighting (£12,495), Contribution to alarm system (£3,000), Contribution to

roof repairs (£1,551.85), contribution to toilets and tea point (£20,000).

Membership includes:

• An annual dinner with guest speaker

• Visits to places of interest

• Outings and events

• Newsletters and Annual Reports

• Friends AGM, service and recital coinciding with the Patronal Festival

For more information and an application form please contact: The Secretary, The Friends of Doncaster Minster, St George House, Church Street, Doncaster DN1 1RD

email: [email protected]