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in Autumn 2009 we had just completed a successful Macmillan Cancer
Support fundraising Singing Workshop, in association with Barbershop Awareness Week, and the committee began to plan for the Christmas song repertoire in readiness for our seasonal sing-outs. Then, in late October, we heard about the BBC Performing Arts Fund:Choral Ambition. The deadline for application was only a couple of weeks away, however we thought we would like to put in an application form. We decided we wanted the funds for chorus coaching, MD training and to create working partnerships with other local singing groups. If we were successful we would put on a free event showcasing "Mersey Harmony and Friends". In December we received confirmation that we were successful, winning an amount of £2,300 and from January the PR work on the project began, including organising coaching sessions with various organisations and individuals. The weeks were flying by and we needed to sort out the venue for our "Mersey Harmony and Friends" showcase event. The prestigious city centre venue the Bluecoat Chambers was chosen for early September. Publicity was sorted out: Mersey Harmony roll up banners, flyers, postcards and a photographer was hired to take some publicity shots of the chorus. By now Helen Jones, BBC Radio Merseyside presenter and PR had come on board to take on the BBC publicity for the Merseyside winners of Choral Ambition: Cantata, Hope Street Harmonies and us. She told us about the event at the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral Crypt she was organising in the September. It was to be the crowning glory, showcasing what all the choruses had achieved through funding. The MC was to be Roger Phillips and the audience would consist of local dignitaries and invited guests from far and wide. The run up to the main event involved all three choruses partnering up with three Radio Merseyside presenters in a fun way, introducing them to the world of harmony singing and making them sing along! Mersey Harmony was partnered with Billy Butler and seven members were featured on his show one afternoon, singing scale tunes, one of our repertoire songs and finally a 'Billy Butler jingle' composed by our MD the night before (!) Click icon to listen to us on Radio Merseyside  Our performance at the Bluecoat Courtyard at the beginning of September went well. We were accompanied by separate performances from Mostly Madrigals and Hope Street Harmonies. Now it was full steam ahead for the Crypt performance in a week's time and our song program was carefully selected. Mersey Harmony were second to perform: we dazzled in our glamorous costumes, glittered in our sparkly earrings and sang from our hearts. The acoustics were wonderful and our voices seemed to resound around the hall and remain for several moments within the Crypt walls. These past twelve months have flown by but we believe the chorus has achieved many positive experiences from the Choral Ambition opportunity and we can now move forward towards ventures new with renewed confidence and a surety. 
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 click on the thumbnails below for larger viewing:
for the photos at the Crypt |
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