West Road Story - choral concert, Cambridge
Sunday, 18th April, 6:30pm, West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge
West Road Storyby Tim Lihoreau
I never met 'Old Man Cooper' who built the cavernous triple garage in his back garden, to house his prize Merc. He was, by all accounts, a larger than life chap who desired a suitable home for his pride and joy, back in the early 70s.
Today, it still stands albeit in modified form, behind the perennially deceptive Cottenham High Street, where, each week, it houses our pride and joy : a trio of community choirs which go by the names TongueTwisters, VoxPop and BigMouth. Of late, I think it's fair to say, their meetings have taken on an added urgency, bringing with them that largely indefinable frisson that accompanies the preparation for a big gig. Their biggest gig ever, in fact : West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge.
On Sunday the 18th of April, the renowned auditorium, previously host to the great orchestras from around the world, will reverberate with sound of full-force, enthusiastic, 7-part harmony as all three choirs come together. "West Road Story" as the posters proclaim, will be essentially a celebration of great musicals, and a lot more besides. The 40 strong, melting faces of TongueTwisters (where members start from 4 years old) will merge with the teenage choir VoxPop (aged 11-16) and the adults BigMouth (aged: "we'd rather not say"). Had you told us, a few years ago when the first rehearsals began, that we would one day have booked West Road, home of the Academy of Ancient Music, well…I would have told you the rain would sooner fall red.
A favour...
Show's you what I know. On that Sunday night (and do feel free to drop into Sean's Newsagent and bag yourself a ticket or two) all three choirs will have, no doubt, a feeling of pride at how far they have come - and so they should. The delightful children, veterans and one-time Finalists of three Music for Youth Festivals, will have their adorable smiles; the teenagers, a group of talented Britons, will have, in my view, more X-Factor than an entire series of Saturday nights; and the grown-ups…well, they will have first-hand knowledge of the true meaning of the phrase "butterflies in my stomach".
What they won't have, however, is a collective name. 40 or so TongueTwisters, 20 or so VoxPops, and between 40 and 50 BigMouths. What do you call that 100+ strong wall of sound? Please give us your suggestions, and we'll unveil the name at West Road, on the 18th, amidst music by Bernstein, Loesser, Lloyd-Webber, Sondheim, Rutter, Chilcott, et al. There's a bottle of bubby in it if you come up with the winning name. Cheers.
TongueTwisters childrens choir, Vox Pop and Big Mouth will be performing at West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge, on Sunday 18th April at 6.30. For tickets, email [email protected] or simply buy from Sean's Newsagents.
A PDF version of the West Road Story poster is available for printing and sharing.
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