Grahamstown’s own Pro Carmine Choir will be performing at the Bathurst Country Affair tomorrow (Saturday) at 3pm in St John’s Church.
Grahamstown’s own Pro Carmine Choir will be performing at the Bathurst Country Affair tomorrow (Saturday) at 3pm in St John’s Church.
They’re singing a varied programme, beginning with music of the 1500s by the likes of John Dowland, Hans-Leo Hassler and even Henry VIII and moving on through Mozart (Ave Verum), traditional spirituals (My Lord, what a morning) right up to George and Ira Gershwin (I got rhythm), Cole Porter (Let’s do it) and Ben E King (Stand by me).
This year is also the 70th birthday of the British composer, arranger and founder of the Cambridge Singers, John Rutter, and the choir is doing two works by him – his arrangement of the traditional Dashing away with the smoothing iron and, quite appropriately for such a food-focused event, The banquet fugue.
Pro Carmine has about 20 core members in the usual soprano, alto, tenor, bass arrangement and does all its singing a cappella. The choir was started in 1979 by Dorothy Holder (Hart as she was then), a music teacher at Victoria Girls.
It now includes people who weren’t born then but Peter Breetzke – the current choir director – was one of the founder members as was John Jackson who still sings tenor. With one break of about a year, the choir has been going strong ever since.
It performs regularly around Grahamstown as well as further afield.
For the past two years it has toured – in 2013 performing at the Hogsback and Nieu Bethesda festivals and in 2014 performing in Cradock and the Bedford Garden Festival.
This year there are plans to go as far afield as Somerset East. Entry to the concert at St John’s is free but donations for the SPCA and the church feeding scheme would be very welcome.
Drinks and snacks will be served after the performance.
The Bathurst Country Affair starts this evening (Friday) and runs over Saturday and Sunday.
As well as loads of food, markets, competitions and family fun, there is other live entertainment including Corrine Willoughby’s I am not going to rehab, I’m going to Mauritius which kicks off the programme on Friday at 5pm at Pike’s Post and Anthony Caplan’s solo show at Wiles Gallery – Caribbean, African and Brazilian influenced music on the guitar and many African instruments.
There are huge numbers of exhibitors and stalls at the The Village Green which opens at 9am tomorrow morning.
There’s also the very popular Culinary Challenge where professional and amateur chefs at various venues around Bathurst compete for top honours by trying to delight their guests more than the next chef.
There’s even a pineapple throwing competition at 11.30 on Sunday morning at The Bathurst Green – enter on the day at 11am. You’ll find a complete programme at bit.ly/GrocCountryAffair
