BIRMINGHAM Hospice Singers held their most successful concert in several years with a triumphant summer event at Selly Oak Methodist Church.
The presence of pianist and BBC Young Musician of 2018, Lauren Zhang, and her younger brother Aidan, who plays piano, cello and violin, helped to swell audience numbers in June.
The concert raised £1,020, which surpassed the amount from their Christmas Concert in 2023 and has been donated to Birmingham Hospice.
“It was a good concert,” said choir secretary Marion Biddlestone (pictured). “We had about 20 or 30 people more than at our Christmas concert and that was mainly because we had two very talented young musicians and they attracted more people, including some of their teachers.
“Lauren is a former BBC musician of the year pianist and is absolutely brilliant while her brother played cello and is also very talented. They performed for 10 minutes on each half.”
The choir performed songs from many famous musicals including Oklahoma!, the King and I, and Oliver!
They also performed classic spiritual songs and regaled the audience with garden themed American works such as ‘If I Planted a Garden’ and ‘Weave Me a Poem’.
But the highlight was a rousing rendition of Arthur Sullivan’s ‘The Lost Chord’ at the end.
Marion added: “It’s quite an imposing piece talking about playing the organ and hitting a perfect chord and not being able to repeat it and maybe only finding it again in heaven. It’s slightly sombre but very rousing and we all loved it.”
Since starting in 2013, the choir has raised £25,000 for the hospice, helping to pay for high quality palliative care for people with terminal illness.
Birmingham Hospice Singers meet every Friday from 7pm to 9pm in our Selly Park Living Well Centre during term time.
They are currently planning their Christmas Concert on Saturday, December 142024 (3pm start), which will be held at Selly Oak Methodist Church, and are on the lookout for sopranos and altos to bolster their numbers.
