‘Awesome’ choir performance will aid church repair 

The weekend’s Spring concert by Sage Gateshead Chamber Choir at St Edmund’s Church, Sedgefield, was summed up in a single word by one member of the audience who was attending his first ever choral evening – “awesome”.  

It was a view with which few, if any, of the 130 plus people present would disagree and there were immediate calls from several members of the audience, church members and visitors, for a return performance

The concert, which featured works by Bach, Rutter, Parry, Haydn, Whitacre, Esenvalds and Arlen, raised at least £840 to help with repairs to the church roof and internal redecoration of the north transept after two raids by lead thieves in 2017. The cost of replacing the lead with stainless steel lookalike material is estimated at around£30,000.

“We are extremely grateful to musical director Denise Stout and the choir for giving their services free of charge,” said Parish warden Brian Mutch. “It was a wonderful concert. Everyone was very complimentary.” 

Church member Ron Eyley welcomed the choir and later thanked them for an ‘outstanding evening’s entertainment’. He also paid tribute to the organising team at St Edmund’s headed by Brian Mutch which included Alison Hodgson, Anne Eyley, Christine Mutch, Dorothy Ringer and Chris and Julia Rowsby.

 

Article courtesy of Ron Eyley

 

Page added 1st April 2019