Who could resist such a smile?

A lovely portrait of the lady, thanks to Michael Eagleton.

She Touched Us

Oh yes, she surely did!

It's a cliché in the business world to aspire to "exceed expectations", but that is what the great Lillian Boutté did on Tuesday.  What a wonderful performance from her and her band, and what a brilliant night we all had as we whooped it up with her!

As announced, the programme consisted mainly, although not exclusively, of gospel music.  From “Joshua fit the battle of Jericho” to Curtis Mayfield's "People get ready" and Bill Gaither’s “He touched me”, the songs certainly touched an enthusiastic audience.  And during “What a wonderful world” the singer literally touched us all, making her way around the audience exchanging handshakes and hugs with the whole crowd!

The chapel setting of course lent itself to this gospel repertoire.  Lillian alluded to her faith more than she talked about it, but a song like Thomas Dorsey's "If we ever needed the Lord before, we sho' do need him now" speaks for itself.  And she poured everything into this as into all her material.

Among the audience were 8 members of the Borlase school gospel choir who were pulled onstage to perform with Lillian and the band.  Their efforts brought the audience to its feet and won them the biggest cheer of the night, which is saying something. Hopefully we can get them back to Christ Church in 2013 to sing again!

The terrific band was led by Denny Ilet jnr on guitar, with Dan Moore (piano), Andy Crowdy (bass) and Daisy Palmer (drums).  I rather doubt that anyone has ever played our Bechstein grand the way that Dan did (that's a compliment, by the way!). When you see the musicians grinning at each other you know that something special is going on - and Daisy spent most of the gig with a grin on her face.  Matched only, of course, by an enthusiastic capacity audience.

So thanks to performers and audience alike for rockin' the church, and especially to Michael Eagleton of the Marlow Jazz club without whom this would most definitely not have happened.  Come again, all of you!

(More photos on the second tab, above)

Sold Out!

Sorry to anyone who was still hoping to get tickets, but two weeks before the concert we are completely SOLD OUT for the Lillian Boutté gig.  Thanks to Michael Eagleton for promoting this so well through the jazz club.  Please do not come on the night "just in case" because there will be NO TICKETS ON THE DOOR.  Sorry!

We're looking forward to what promises to be a great, great, night.

Looking forward to Lillian!

Our next concert is going to be REALLY special.  We have Lillian Boutté coming from New Orleans on November 20th with a four-piece band to sing a programme of gospel music.

Lillian is one of those performers who simply exude charisma and - wow can she sing!  She has the rare distinction of having been named a musical ambassador for New Orleans (the only other jazz musician similarly honoured was Louis Armstrong).  

We're promoting this gig jointly with the Marlow Jazz Club and tickets will be in great demand.  Priority is currently being given to church members and jazz club regulars, but if you email the address shown on this blog you will go to the front of the queue once we release tickets for public sale!

Meanwhile, click on the link for a taste of Lillian singing a slow gospel ballad:

Lillian Boutté: He touched me

An autumn serenade

Had a fun time this afternoon at a very informal concert for friends and family, with Jean Ashford at the piano, Heather Ashford singing and the Saxidentally Quartet blowing its horns like crazy!  Thanks to the Hunt family too for organising tea and cakes.  See also the second tab for more pictures.

Absolute mastery!

We billed this concert as "Violin Masterworks" and so it proved.  Three wonderful concerti, played with consummate skill by Carlina Carr and Warren Zielinski.  It was a full programme (made even more so by the encore) and how very generous it was of these musicians to come and perform for what, sadly, was a tiny audience.  We hope that one day we can persuade them to come back to Marlow - but only if we can encourage more people to support artistry of this kind.  


Meanwhile, here are a few pictures of the evening - click on the second tab ("Photos of previous events"), above, for more.  With huge thanks to the artists!

Two brilliant musicians ... All we need is an audience!

We have a great concert lined up for tomorrow, Warren Zielinski and Carlina Carr playing violin/piano sonatas by Mozart, Beethoven and Prokoviev (see earlier post for details).  But ticket sales are very slow...  If you see this, do please come and hear these two brilliant musicians in what is sure to be a perfect evening of music!


Start the Jubilee weekend in great style, tomorrow at 7.30 pm at Christ Church Marlow.

Another piano afternoon coming up

Calling all young pianists!  Another chance coming up to try out your "grade" pieces, or just play something for fun to a small audience, on a good piano in a friendly and non-competitive atmosphere.  


The piano afternoon for young musicians takes place on Sunday May 27th at 3.30 pm.  Just turn up on the day or call 01628 486227 and speak to Jean in advance.  Audience are also welcome.  There is no charge but donations may be made to the piano fund.  

Taplow Youth Choir delights a capacity audience

Christ Church was filled to capacity on Sunday for the Taplow Youth Choir.  An audience of over 100 people was treated to a fine programme not just of choral music but also works for soloists and small ensembles, organ and even solo cello.


As is usual with Taplow, the repertoire ranged from the traditional and serious (canticles by Thomas Attwood Walmsley) through the modern and challenging (Britten's "Rejoice in the Lamb") to some pieces at the lighter end of the range.   For Eric Whitacre's "This Marriage" the choir dispersed itself around the gangways so that the audience was treated to a very close-up performance.  And "Hamba Lulu" (a traditional African wedding song) had the boys in the choir beating their chests rhythmically like a band of waistcoated gorillas.  For your reviewer, the highlight of the evening was perhaps the beautiful trio version of the Welsh "Watching the wheat", sung meltingly by Freya and Lauren Cox with Berenice Cunningham-Walker.  


If you missed this event, but can catch any of the Taplow choirs on a future occasion, jump at the chance!  See http://www.taplowchoirs.org.uk/ for more information.

Huge thanks to the choir, organist Robert Jones and most of all to Gillian Dibden who trains and inspires these young musicians to such a high standard.


The concert was primarily in aid of Christian Aid and successfully raised almost £700 for the charity, as well as making a contribution to the choir itself.  


As well as the pictures here, click on the second tab above ("Photos of previous events") to see more of the choir and soloists.

What's better than a concert? TWO concerts!

It's almost May and that means we're counting down the days to the concert by the Taplow Youth Choir on Sunday 13th May.  BOOK YOUR TICKETS (£8) NOW BY CALLING 01628 486227.  Not only will the music (which includes works by Eric Whitacre, Benjamin Britten, Moses Hogan and de Pearsall) be wonderful but it's in a good cause too : all profits are for Christian Aid. 

Then, hard on the heels of what is bound to be a wonderful choral evening, we have a dazzling programme of three sonatas for violin and piano, by Beethoven, Mozart and Prokofiev, played by Canadian-born Warren Zielinski and Carlina Carr.  That's on Friday 1st June.  This will be professional playing of the highest standard : expect a real treat for Marlow!


Both concerts start at 7.30 pm and both feature in the Wycombe Arts Festival brochure.  See link on the right for the Festival homepage.

Coming next : Taplow Youth Choir

Our next event will be the amazing Taplow Youth Choir, on Sunday 13th May at 7.30 pm.  The choir, under its director Gillian Dibden MBE, is one of the top youth choirs in the country and this concert forms part of the Wycombe Arts Festival.  More details to follow: tickets (£8) will be available after Easter.

Something wonderful!

What a wonderful evening we had last night, entertained with much vim and verve by the combined talents of Louise Herrington and James Church.  Louise worked her way from classic opera to contemporary cabaret, the versatility of her voice being put to fine use.  At the piano, James did much more than simply accompany the songs, giving us several Earl Wild solo arrangements of huge technical complexity.  His bravura interpretation of Wild's reworkings of Gershwin songs earned him one of the biggest rounds of applause of the night.  But it was left to Louise to round off the evening with a hilarious rendition of the "Alto's Lament" and to send us all home humming "You'll never walk alone".  Huge thanks to them both for a terrific evening.


There are more pictures on the "Photos of previous events" tab above.

There's spring in the arias!

On Friday 16th March, 2012 at 7.30 pm at Christ Church, Oxford Road, Marlow.


"Listen to my Heart"
Songs from opera and the shows, performed by Louise Herrington (soprano) and James Church (piano)


A wonderful programme, celebrating the great music of Puccini, Bizet, Saint-Saens, Gershwin, Rodgers and Sondheim, to name but six!

Tickets £8 to include a glass of wine, from 01628 486227.

Young Pianists event

On Sunday 26th February, 3.30 to 5.00 pm at Christ Church URC, Oxford Road, Marlow


A chance for young pianists to play their favourite pieces or try out their "grade" exam pieces in a relaxed and informal setting.  Learning to perform in front of others is a skill that has to be acquired...  So why not come and try out our beautiful Bechstein grand, even if your piece is still "work in progress"?  Entry free!

Welcome to Music in Marlow from Christ Church URC!

This is the new blog for Music in Marlow, bringing quality music to Christ Church URC, Oxford Road, Marlow.  Keep an eye on this blog for details of forthcoming concerts.