"How is an adjudicator supposed to choose?!"

We're a third of the way through the 2019 Music Eisteddfod, and it's all been going rather swimmingly I would say! As is usual, the Sunday Sessions moved to St James Concert Hall for the sacred classes for the day. The Sunday of the Eisteddfod is always special, as those that attend or partake in those sessions will attest. Any chance to perform in St James is worth taking!

The afternoon started with Choirs; Church, Chapel, Religious, Community, featuring Alderney Voices, and Festiva. Two solid performances from each of these choirs, who presented (despite all being sacred music), slightly different approaches to programming. Alderney Voices provided a wider variety of music (from a Hymn, some Elgar, John Rutter and an upbeat gospel number), and Festiva gave us a more traditional sound throughout with a selection of hymns and classic church repertoire. A tough one to call for adjudicator Steven Roberts, but on this occasion he went with Festiva, awarding them the trophy with a Distinction mark of 87, with Alderney coming in 2nd with 86. We followed the community choirs with Sacred Choirs Class for Secondary School Age. Again, two choirs performing, in the form of Rhapsodie from the Grammar School, and The Music Centre Youth Choir. One thing we do well here in Guernsey is choral singing, and especially choral singing with young singers. This class really highlighted the excellent tuition all these singers are getting, as the standard of singing was very high, with both choirs receiving Distinctions. But, it was the Music Centre Youth Choir who were victorious this time. Well done everyone! 

Continuing the afternoons music was the Sacred Solo Under 18. Always a wonderful class, which I feel is partly because of the huge variety of sacred songs which can be performed, with everything from Christmas Carols through traditional classical songs, to gospel music. It's also worth noting, that sacred can cover all manner of religions, not just Christian music, which opens out the songs choices even further, so there really is so much that can be performed here, which is hugely exciting! Also, with the Under 18s class, this covers everyone under 18, so the age difference between the youngest and oldest performer can be quite big, as it was today. We started the class with young Isamarra Fernandes, in which I believe was her first performance ever, singing 'Once in Royal David's City'. A really promising voice here I thought, with lovely tone and clear diction. If I can offer Isamarra advice for further performances (which I hope she does), is to make sure to take a few deep breaths before she sings, as that will help her to settle and focus on her performance - well done Isamarra, come back next year! From the rest of the class, we had a little battle of classic vs contemporary, with Erin Vaudin and Elliott Hearne performing more pop and gospel styles, and Sebastian Hazzan, Imogen Haymen and Louise Madden performing music from the classical repertoire. It certainly made for a hugely varied and exciting miniature concert! All of the performers delivered their pieces with style and reverence; Erin showcased a sense of ease and maturity with the popular music techniques (freedom with a few riffs, but not too many), Sebastian showed a lovely depth of tone, Louise gave us a beautiful vocal line and effortless command of her vocal range, Imogen a sense of sincerity and a promising vocal range, and Elliott gave us a truly soulful and connected performance..... a tough one for Steven to decide on really! In the end, he decided on Erin Vaudin's performance of 'Hallelujah', awarding her the trophy with a Distinction. Well done all in this class, it was wonderful! 

After the interval came the biggest class of the afternoon, the Sacred Choirs Over 18. Much like the Mixed Voice choirs the night before, we were treated to 5 amazing performances from 5 choirs across the Channel Islands, with Les Conteurs Singers from Jersey returning to compete. It's worth noting that normally this class would be in the evening, but I like the fact it was moved in order to accommodate entries from other our neighbouring islands. Although, the Jersey choir did hilariously receive their adjudication wearing their coats and all packed up ready to leave as quickly as possible! Kicking off the class were the Guernsey Glee Singers, who gave a varied program with a nice legato line and some nice warm and confident sounds. As their conductor, I must say, I'm very proud of how they performed. I've worked hard with them to build confidence and enjoyment, and in this class I thought they delivered everything I asked of them, which is all you really want as a conductor of a choir. Thank you Glees from a very happy conductor! Next up, in a slight schedule reshuffle to give me time to breathe, were Les Conteurs Singers. As they did the night before, they performed with nice diction, a warm tone and a positive unison sound. Performing third were the choir I sing with, The Accidentals. Stephen stated that he thought we had an amazing sense of ensemble and control, and an incredible ability, with a small group of strong solo voices, to not sound like a group of strong solo voices. He also gave praise for the Tenor solo in my piece 'Voices of the Sea', performed by John Surcombe - although it was quite funny when Steven said John was "Beautiful.... I mean your voice is, not you.... I mean, well you're an attractive man!" Sometimes it's hard to choose your words when you're complimenting someone! I'd also like to mention that the programme The Accidentals performed also contained a UK premiere for my composer friend Joshua Saulle, whom I met in New York a few years ago. If you want to hear it again you can listen HERE. 
Next up, State of Harmony who once again gave a joyful sound with good diction, and I thought a lovely unison sound from the ladies in 'Irish Blessing', particularly on the high E's, which are not easy! Finishing off this class was Bel Canto; the only single voice choir (all women), they showcased their excellent vocal control, good long phrases and they sang with confidence and drive, as I always expect from them. A brilliant class all round, with amazing performances from each choir. Steven decided to award the trophy to The Accidentals, with an almost unheard of Outstanding mark of 95! Safe to say, we were pretty blown away by that!

Pretty pleased with that result I must say! 

After the interval, we went on to the Oratorio Solo Over 18, which was won by Stephen Keenan with a Highly Commended. This is the first time Stephen's won this class, so I'm really pleased for him, well done! We then went on to finish off the afternoon with another choir class; Choirs (Hymn, Carol, Anthem or Sacred) for Junior School Age, featuring Melrose Junior Choir. It's always a treat to hear the young voices from Melrose sing, and they always seem to bring joy and a lovely unison sound to their performances. Unsurprisingly, this choir were awarded a Distinction, and the trophy.


Starting off the evening session we had the Gospel Choirs Under 18, featuring the Guernsey Girls. Another strong performance from the Music Centre, lead by conductor Rachel Wright, and they won the class with a Distinction. Before we continued with the schedule programming, there was a short chamber ensemble piece, performed by the Fortuna Trio (consisting of Jo Marsh, Samantha Nichols, and Marilyn Pugh). Due to work commitments, they are unable to perform at the scheduled time (Wednesday afternoon), so they were allowed to perform the piece in this session, and the adjudication will happen along with the other performers at the Wednesday Class.... so read Wednesday's blog to find out who wins! Back to the intended performances, we continued the session with the Operatic Solo Over 18. A decision was made at some-point to move the Operatic class (which is not Sacred) to the Sunday Sessions at St James, and I'm so glad that decision was made, because it just enables the vocalists to really sell the operatic sound in a acoustic that is designed to enhance it. In this class, we had the three J's; Jane, Jo and Joan.... not confusing in the slightest! Three fine operatic performances here indeed. In my opinion, I thought Jo Marsh's performance of 'There is a Garden' by Bernstein was wonderful. This piece is not what you would immediately think of as 'operatic', which was a great choice on Jo's part, as it perhaps gave the audience a chance to re-evaluate what they consider opera to be, and possibly change a few minds as to whether they like it or not! High standards of performance here, with Jane receiving a Highly Commended mark of 85, Jo a Distinction mark of 87, and Joan winning the class with a Distinction Mark of 88. Well done ladies!

Next up, we had the Sacred Singing Groups Over 18. This class can cover any group singing from 2-10 performers (any larger is considered a choir), so there's scope for a lot of variety here. And variety we got! Two completely different performances from the quartet 'Dollypop' delivering Richard Smallwood's 'Total Praise' with sass and soul, and Joan Le Flem & Jane Martine giving us a classical duet in 'The Lord is my Strength'. Once again,  Steven was tested with a decision about how he was going to 'vote'. In the end he went with Dollypop, who won the class with a Highly Commended mark of 86. The last class before the interval was the Gospel Choirs Over 18, which sadly had only one competitor, The Accidentals. This has been the case for a few years now. This used to be a really popular class at one point, but for some reason choirs aren't entering it at the moment - so, choirs out there, challenge yourself with a different style and give it a go! I guarantee you, gospel music feels as good to perform as it sounds to listen to! The Accidentals performed, 'We shall walk through the Valley in Peace' by Moses Hogan, and 'Joy (Joy to the World)' by Kirk Franklin, receiving a Distinction mark of 87, and the Pretty in Pink trophy.

Finishing off the evening, the Sacred Solo Over 18. A hugely popular class, fielding 12 performers this year, and as with the youngsters earlier in the day, a huge variety of sacred songs were presented, which Steven said was giving him a real headache; "How is an adjudicator meant to decide between all these different sacred styles?" There were several highlights in this class. Ashleigh De Jersey-Moore gave us a short backstory to her chosen piece; she was due to perform it last year, but sadly pulled out of the class due to a family bereavement. She came back this year to perform the piece in memory of her great-aunt, also in the knowledge that it was her favourite piece. A truly heartfelt and brave performance I thought, and I'm so pleased she finally got to perform this song. Bravo Ashleigh! Another highlight I thought was Jo Marsh's gloriously effortless high notes in her rendition of Wayfaring Stranger (I may have closed my eyes to just take it all in, rather indulgently!). From a personal performance point of view, I thoroughly enjoyed the opening of my piece, 'Wade in the Water'. I started unaccompanied, and after singing the first few notes, I could heard my voice coming back at me in the fabulous St James acoustic. Safe to say, I milked that acoustic as much as I could! After a tough decision, Steven said he decided to go with the performance which made him sit back, listen and enjoy the most. Jo Marsh came in 3rd, I came in 2nd, and the win went to Lindsey Veillard, with an Distinction mark of 88. This is the first time Lindsey has won this class, and I am so pleased for her. I know that singing in this class means a great deal to her, and I think this year her passion and sincerity really shone through in her singing. Well done Lindsey! About time eh?

A truly soulful and wonderful day at the Sacred Sessions in St James. I think what is most apparent from these classes is the huge variety that can be presented in the sacred classes. Perhaps a little eye (and ear) opening as to just how vast every genre of music can be.