newsletter > Winter 2003 <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> CHRISTMAS MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT The last three months of every Kentwood year are busy, but always enjoyable. Building up to the November Show, the Show itself, closely followed by a variety of concerts leading up to Christmas including, of course, the ever popular Christmas Cracker. As I mentioned in my notes for the recent programme of ‘The Show’, Sheila always refers to the choir as her family and, like any normal family, Kentwood has its share of highs and lows and each member of the choir share in the triumphs as well as the sadnesses. This year, Kentwood has experienced both - many amazing concerts, far and wide, wonderful audiences and countless new friends made, particularly in Ireland as a result of our long weekend there near Waterford in June. The hospitality we all received was second to none and the amount of hard work put in by a very willing group of Irish helpers coordinated by Kerry Richens and her husband Dale, was remarkable, but it certainly paid off. The concert in the Theatre Royal at Waterford was certainly one of my highlights of 2003, but equally, the informal concert at Dunhill Leisure Centre on the previous evening was just as enjoyable clearly demonstrating what most of us already knew, that the Irish love their music and dancing just as much as Kentwood love their singing. The choir sang at around twenty other concerts during 2003 and, for me, there were really special evenings at two local churches of Ashbury and Purton as well as one at a delightful concert hall near Ross-on-Wye and another in the unusual setting of Pontin’s Holiday Camp for the Salvation Army at Brean Sands. Life is certainly never dull with the Kentwood! However, Gary Beint’s recent unexpected death has suddenly put everything into perspective. Here was a young man who lived life to the full, was passionate about his music, his sport and, of course, his family and to have his life taken away at such a young age was so tragic and will be such a sad loss to all those who knew him and to music generally in Swindon. He was, incidentally the first winner of ‘The Arthur Walters’ trophy at the Swindon Music Festival following my father’s death in 1990 and I know that he would have been so pleased for his class to have been won by such a wonderful tenor voice as Gary’s. Life is short and very precious and we must all live it to the full and treasure each and every day. A very happy Christmas and peaceful New Year to you all. Geoff Walters <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> LETTER FROM THE PRINCIPAL Christmas is nearly upon us. Can you believe it? This year has absolutely flown by. Again it has been a very busy year full of great musical highlights, great happiness and also great sadness. We must remember many people at this time of year who are very lonely, cold, hungry, ill, penniless and will not have the magical Christmas that perhaps we hope to have. This is a reason why I love to sing amongst the people like at the Designer Village for example. One lady said to me only yesterday that the choirs’ singing has ‘made’ her Christmas. Surely this is what the choir is all about. Next year will be our 40th birthday so watch this space! Can I thank everyone in Kentwood for their continued hard work, love and support and wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy, peaceful and healthy New Year. Much love. Sheila <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> A LETTER RECEIVED FROM BERYL AND KEN BEINT Dear Choir We are pleased to have the opportunity of extending our heartfelt thanks for all the messages of condolence and the many acts of kindness after the tragic death of Gary. We have been quite overwhelmed by the show of love and affection that has poured in, first and foremost from Sheila and Chris and from so many members of the choir. The overflowing church and crematorium bore witness to the high esteem in which he was held, even to the extent of the Mayor and Mayoress attending in an official capacity in recognition of his help in local charity work together with you all in the choir. This being followed by the Wyvern launching a special show in February to his memory, makes for a very humbling experience, yet also makes us so proud of him. We are biased of course, but we thought he was very good and it is gratifying to know that so many others felt the same way and have been so willing to show it. At least his music lives on through taped recordings - even back to when he first started as a singer and guitarist at thirteen years of age in their local group with his brother Paul and two friends playing in local pubs and clubs. Sadly he only reached 42 years of age, but he packed a tremendous amount into those years. Despite his awful and steadily worsening health over the last 2 years, it is so reassuring to know that everyone remembers him for his jokes, laughter and friendly nature, and for the pleasure his singing brought to so many people. He spent approximately 8 years in the choir and enjoyed every minute of it and made so many lasting friends who have become our friends also. Finally, Diabetes UK have so far received donations worth £1350 and we are awaiting the final total. We consider this an amazing and wonderful response to our Adver announcement. For our part we will continue to support the choir, and again, we thank each and everyone of you for all your support and friendship - it is greatly appreciated. God bless you all. Beryl and Ken Footnote: You will be interested to know that with the money raised from Kentwood and the Patrons we were able to purchase 4 seats at the Arts Centre in memory of Gary. We also thought it apt to purchase a seat in memory of Pauline Grant who as you know was a great stalwart of the choir and for many years Patron’s secretary. Yvonne Walker <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> KENTWOOD CHOIR DOES SWINDON PROUD AT PONTIN’S As part of The Salvation Army’s New Horizons Holiday Week at Pontin’s Brean Sands Holiday Centre, the Kentwood Choir was invited to come and share in the fellowship by performing an evening of entertainment. With having over 650 Salvationists and friends of the Salvation Army, this suited Sheila down to the ground. Making it known right from the start about Sheila’s background with the Army she soon had everyone in the venue on their feet singing and having members of the choir doing a good old “Glory March” waving flags with many more people joining them. Songs included in the evening’s programme were “Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit”, Do Not Pass Me By”, “Feel Good”, “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” and not forgetting “You’ll Never Walk Alone” which had many people in tears, including myself. Although the Choir only had 90 minutes to present this evening of music, it was enjoyed by everyone in the venue. The CDs which they brought with them sold out with plenty on order too. There is even talk of a group from Wales who book up for the Christmas Panto in Swansea, this year are wanting to come to Swindon to see Kentwood either in the November Show or the Christmas Cracker at the Wyvern instead. Just before I bring this to an end, I would just like to say a very big “Thank You” to Sheila and to everyone in Kentwood for accepting the booking for Pontin’s. It has been said that this year will not be the first or last time of being invited. Life for me over the past 5 months has been very hard and just having the chance to listen to the Choir on CD or “live” helps in many different ways. “Thank You Sheila, Thank You Kentwood”. The motto for Kentwood “Music is a Fair and Glorious Gift from God” is very real. Richard Legg (Patron) <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> A FAMILY AFFAIR Sheila first suggested the Beans should put on our own show as a passing comment: we all laughed, thinking it was a joke. But a couple of months later the date of 4th October had been booked for our show at the Arts Centre and we were choosing songs to practise. We were already beginning to get quite excited, although Mummy Bean wasn’t quite as enthusiastic as the rest of the family! Daddy Bean was the most organised, writing down any songs we had always loved and wanted to sing (including a certain song about an onion…..which thankfully was NOT short listed!). About a month later we had prepared a list of hopeful songs and took the music and CDs to ask Sheila which songs she thought would be suitable. It was fun to talk about them and imagine being able to sing all the group songs as a family - but we hadn’t started seriously rehearsing yet. We had decided loosely on the programme and now it was down to all of us individually to start learning our parts. The first practises were just to get used to the music, and the parts to the group songs were run through separately. I personally was having fun and knew my solos, but on the group songs there was always a weak link….OK, it was usually me! The rehearsal went quite smoothly, until we began practising without Sheila, in our house. It was probably because we were so comfortable in our living room and conservatory that we just couldn’t take the practising seriously. My duet with Mum (Panis Angelicus) was a bit of a problem: I loved the song but it just wasn’t working! Dan helped us, and when we sang it with no mistakes it was so fantastic. Finally I knew all of my parts after realising just how close the show was (only a few weeks away) and I took great satisfaction in finding Dan wasn’t sure of a few songs either. The lovely Terri agreed to set the show and do mine and Mum’s hair, and we have to thank her and Paul for putting up with us: they spent so many hours helping us and advising us on what looked good. Also, we had heard a really inspiring song on a Brian Kennedy album called ‘You Raise Me Up’ which our friend Andrew Merryweather arranged for us and it sounded fantastic. It was our encore, so when he came to see the show he must have thought we weren’t bothering to use it. The show was so amazing and everyone was so kind. We have so many memories (mostly good) from those first rehearsals when it seemed the show would be impossible, to that feeling of achievement when the last note had been sung. Oh yes, Daniel serenading my friend in the front row whilst attempting to be Elvis! Thanks you Sheila for giving us the opportunity to do our own show and all her help during the rehearsals and the show. Abby Bean <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> REVIEW OF ‘KENTWOOD - THE SHOW’ FROM THE EVENING ADVERTISER Show is simply perfect I feel very humble as I sit down to write this review. I have just witnessed something on the Wyvern stage that left me uplifted, thoughtful, euphoric and above all stunned by the sheer talent that grace the stage, and I’ve seen them many times before. It would be very easy for Sheila Harrod and her Kentwood Show Choir to become complacent after 39 years in the spotlight. No chance! This show was quite simply perfection, and I don’t use that word very often, if ever. The professionalism and diversity of music, in my opinion, surpassed all previous years, including the full scale musical “The Sound of Music”, which the choir staged a couple of years ago. It showed just what they are so capable of. To single anyone out would be a crime. You can’t get perfection unless every note, word, costume, the lighting, compere, staging and all those other things that go with the word perfection are put together with the obvious expertise that Sheila and her team, including Geoff Walters, has. Every member of the audience must have had their favourite bit. I just wallowed in the brilliance and delight of it all from start to finish. It was wonderful to see the guest appearance of some of Swindon’s stalwart theatre thespians, from the musical world. Enid Hogden, Beryl Jones, Mike Chivers and Keith Tyler joined the choir for a finale which was a world away from the norm for Kentwood. No glitz or dance moves, just passion and a sound to raise the roof in a remembrance section which was poignant and glorious to listen to. The class which this choir has is recognised in many different places around the world and in our own country. If this is what they can offer year after year then there is no doubt that they will continue as one of the premier show choirs in this country and beyond. My congratulations go to all those who have been involved in this mammoth task and especially to the singers of all ages who delighted the audience. Sheila’s motto is “Music is a Fair and Glorious Gift from God”. I can’t argue with that. Ros Hollands <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> THE CHRISTMAS CRACKER Our annual Christmas Cracker took place at the Wyvern Theatre on Sunday 7th December. Again this proved to be very popular with two performances completely sold out. Sheila has an extremely difficult task each year to come up with something different and this year’s theme was ‘What we do and see at Christmas’. A quick breeze through some of the most loved Pantomimes (fully costumed) set to music started off the concert well, followed by a very appropriate new Christmas song ‘Bring a little Jingle’, with audience participation! The Ugly Sisters (alias Graham and Carolyn) performed the comedy duet ‘The Stepsisters Lament’ and Class Bambi entertained us with ‘Jingle Bells’ - their first ever public performance. We even watched a video of one of the most famous Morecambe and Wise comedy sketches ‘Singing in the Rain’. ‘The Snowman’ was beautifully danced by Gemma Short and Sandy Martin and colleagues from BBC Radio Swindon dropped in to give us a taste of their own brand of entertainment for Christmas. To bring up the interval, during which mince pies and mulled wine were served, the Juniors brought alive ‘The Sound of Music’. A change of costume for the second half of our Cracker brought a more traditional feel of Christmas with some of the Choir’s favourite Christmas music interdispersed with the singing of traditional Christmas Carols. We had a thoroughly enjoyable evening and we hope you did too. Sheila has already got her ideas for next year’s Cracker so be sure to book your tickets early! Yvonne Walker <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>