Music
10+1 for Enthusiasm and Entertainment Value!
By Jack East
8th June 2003 - 08:40 pm

10+1 GALS Concert.
Sat 7 June 2003
Musical Director: Stephen Bowness

Buffy & Bimbo, Tim & Bryce celebrate at the post concert party

10+1 for enthusiasm and entertainment value! This concert celebrated 11 years of successful growth with real diversity. From the entry of the choir in small groups showing the variety of costume they have sported over the years, to the wide range of musical styles they performed, the audience was treated to a fantastic retrospective.

Where else could you witness a feast of music from stage and screen performed with confidence and humour, a madrigal from the 16th century with its tricky rhythms so well-handled, and a traditional folk-song like Scarborough Fair so lovingly sung?

Where else could you hear our traditional Pokarekare ana, plus a captivating piece called Shanti by Jeni Little evoking the colour of the gamelan, and a specially commissioned piece from internationally acclaimed NZ composer David Hamilton with its haunting "haere" motif, fitting so comfortably together in a single programme? "Rogers and Hammerstein were well represented, as well as Gershwin in the timeless "Summertime" with Robert Wiremu as soloist."

And what made this (and other GALS concerts) even more unique? Musically, their textural surge from unison singing to four-part harmony is certainly magical. But even more, the distinctive humour conveyed to the audience of gay/lesbian and straight supporters is what continues to ensure packed houses. Humour around the gender-modified lyrics of items like the Dusty Springfield medley, or the humour of the gender-divided chorus interacting with Margaret Robertson and Tim Bray in the show-stopping number Summer Lovin' from Grease.

What is very evident is that we enjoy GALS most when they are enjoying themselves most. And what more poignant moment could you have asked for than the public acknowledgement of love for his gay son Tim, from father Ken Bray? - and the public reciprocation.


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