St George

St George's Day Concert - Saturday 22nd April 2006

A spectacular start to the St George’s Day Concert at the Parr Hall got the audience buzzing, when the Corps of Drums of the North West Infantry (Territorial Army) (King’s) Band presented a dazzling show of precision military drumming.

The concert audience were then given the opportunity to impress with their own vocal talents, by joining in the singing of Jerusalem, before settling down to listen to the choir under the direction of Russell Paterson, and accompanied by Anthony Whittaker.

The Band, under the direction of Capt. Patrick Smith, performed popular English traditional and modern music, ranging from folk song suites to the Beatles, to an appreciative audience.

The concert took a completely different, and enjoyable direction, with the introduction of Michael Turner. Michael, of the George Formby Society, performed a number of well known, and much loved Formby classics, to the delight of the audience.

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Steve Grant, WMVC Press Officer writes .......

Turned Out Nice Again!

George Formby returned to the Parr Hall last weekend as the guest of Warrington Male Voice Choir, at their Annual St. George’s Day Concert.

Mike Turner, of the “George Formby Appreciation Society”, newly turned-professional, and before his largest audience to date, wowed his sell-out crowd, as he took them back down Memory Lane.

“We’ve always believed in encouraging North West talent to accept guest bookings at our concerts, hoping that the ever increasing media coverage of the Choir, will rub-off and showcase their performances. Traditional northern culture is still very much alive and kicking” said a choir spokesman.

The show started with an unprogrammed item by the Corps of Drums: North West Infantry (T.A) (King’s), who performed in “black theatre” much to the delight and surprise of the audience. They were later joined by their full regimental band in a programme that ranged from Starlight Express to Vaughan Williams’s Folk Song Suite.

The Choir, under the direction of the irrepressible Russell Paterson, started the show with the traditional “Jerusalem”, and sang a wide ranging repertoire which included “West Side Story” and Sibelius’s “Finlandia.

Now it's down to some serious rehearsing, with two separately themed concerts for “The Proms”, and a return charity week-end with Wingates Band in the Isle of Man, during September.