Croydon boys sing "magnificent" Verdi

OCTOBER 26: A  strong contingent from CMVC took part in a thrilling concert on Saturday, when the Croydon Philharmonic Choir staged the Verdi Requiem at Fairfield Halls.

The Croydon Verdi team in the Fairfield green room before the concert 

The CMVC singers helped swell the choir to 150 for a performance which won lavish praise from critics and audience.  Inside Croydon said the singing was “magnificent” and a leading classical critic compared it his best-ever performance of the Requiem in Rome in 1970, when Luciano Pavarotti took part.

The concert marked the return of the Croydon Philharmonic to the Fairfield Halls after its three-year refurbishment.  Also taking part were the London Mozart Players and four star soloists.

Several of the CMVC singers had sung with the Croydon Philharmonic at its last appearance at the Fairfield Halls, when it staged Handel’s Messiah shortly before the closure.

The photo shows ten CMVC singers (left to right): Roger Lee, Tony Keel, Phil Willis, Steve Lloyd, Martin Perkins, Dick Jones, Barry O’Gorman, Phil Blewett, Roger Parkinson and Peter Gillman. Also taking part, but missing from the photo, was senior choir member Ted Mouat.

Critic Jack Buckley also praised the choir for singing from memory – i.e. without a vocal score.  One CMVC member commented, however: “That’s nothing.  We do it all the time.”