Night Into Day- Saturday 5th April 2025 - St Joseph’s College Chapel, Ipswich
| Type of post: | Choir news item |
| Sub-type: | No sub-type |
| Posted By: | Tilly Farrands |
| Status: | Current |
| Date Posted: | Tue, 22 Apr 2025 |
As twilight descended over Ipswich, Suffolk Singers stepped forward to perform their latest concert, Night Into Day, in the impressive and atmospheric chapel of St Joseph’s College. The chapel provided a splendid setting for the concert, the first time that Suffolk Singers had performed there.
Led superbly as always by Suffolk Singers’ musical director, Claire Weston, the choir was in good voice in front of an appreciative audience. Suffolk Singers were delighted to welcome once again The West Tones, a group of talented young singers from Woodbridge School where Claire is Head of Singing, who also performed several pieces. Both choirs were ably accompanied on the piano by Christine Whiffen.
The varied programme took the audience on a journey from night into day and then back into night again. The concert opened with pieces celebrating the coming of the new day, including “O Radiant Dawn” by James MacMillan, a favourite of Suffolk Singers’, first performed by the choir at the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium in 2017. The theme continued with several pieces contemplating the onset of day which included another Suffolk Singers favourite, Gerald Finzi’s “My Spirit Sang All Day” and the uplifting gospel song, “Unclouded Day”, arranged by Shawn Kirchner.
The concert’s second half unfolded with three pieces reflecting on day turning to evening including “Second Eve”, a piece written in eight parts by Norwegian composer, Ola Gjeilo with complex harmonies and frequent key changes. Finally, the concert theme returned to night from whence it came with the choir performing another Suffolk Singers favourite, “Sure On This Shining Night”, written by American composer Morten Lauridsen.
Our special guests for the evening, The West Tones, beautifully performed four pieces to the delight of the audience. The first was Eva Cassidy’s version of “Over The Rainbow”, followed by an arrangement of “Autumn Leaves”, and “You Raise Me Up”, most notably recorded by Irish group Westlife. Finally, The West Tones showed their versatility with a lovely rendition of George Frideric Handel’s aria, “Ombra Mai Fu” from the opera Serse.
For the final piece of the concert, Suffolk Singers were joined on stage by The West Tones to sing “Dream A Little Dream of Me”. A lovely end to a wonderful concert, beautifully performed by Suffolk Singers and The West Tones and expertly directed by Claire Weston.
Led superbly as always by Suffolk Singers’ musical director, Claire Weston, the choir was in good voice in front of an appreciative audience. Suffolk Singers were delighted to welcome once again The West Tones, a group of talented young singers from Woodbridge School where Claire is Head of Singing, who also performed several pieces. Both choirs were ably accompanied on the piano by Christine Whiffen.
The varied programme took the audience on a journey from night into day and then back into night again. The concert opened with pieces celebrating the coming of the new day, including “O Radiant Dawn” by James MacMillan, a favourite of Suffolk Singers’, first performed by the choir at the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium in 2017. The theme continued with several pieces contemplating the onset of day which included another Suffolk Singers favourite, Gerald Finzi’s “My Spirit Sang All Day” and the uplifting gospel song, “Unclouded Day”, arranged by Shawn Kirchner.
The concert’s second half unfolded with three pieces reflecting on day turning to evening including “Second Eve”, a piece written in eight parts by Norwegian composer, Ola Gjeilo with complex harmonies and frequent key changes. Finally, the concert theme returned to night from whence it came with the choir performing another Suffolk Singers favourite, “Sure On This Shining Night”, written by American composer Morten Lauridsen.
Our special guests for the evening, The West Tones, beautifully performed four pieces to the delight of the audience. The first was Eva Cassidy’s version of “Over The Rainbow”, followed by an arrangement of “Autumn Leaves”, and “You Raise Me Up”, most notably recorded by Irish group Westlife. Finally, The West Tones showed their versatility with a lovely rendition of George Frideric Handel’s aria, “Ombra Mai Fu” from the opera Serse.
For the final piece of the concert, Suffolk Singers were joined on stage by The West Tones to sing “Dream A Little Dream of Me”. A lovely end to a wonderful concert, beautifully performed by Suffolk Singers and The West Tones and expertly directed by Claire Weston.
