Our first Spring Concerts with our new MD - Willie Campbell with Robert Gardner accompanying us. A formidable team!!! Sadly we were short of two of our sopranos due to personal circumstances, but we managed but we missed them!!! Our new repertoire for this season was well received by both audiences . On Thursday 23rd we were delighted to share a lovely Chilcott song with the choir from a local Primary School - Touch . The song was "Like a Singing Bird" and the children were amazing - completely unphased by our choir joining in half way through with a completely different song (My Love is Like a Red Red Rose). They were so good we asked them to do it twice. They also sang a lovely song called "Fire" with great enthusiasm. It was a privilege to have them share the concert with us. Unfortunately they were not able to join with us on the Friday but we still seemed to please our audience. Our programme was a mix of lots of different styles of song and we had solos from Susan, Elaine, Ian, Linda, Elaine and Janie and a quartet (Janie, Elaine, Ian and WIllie). Lots of chat with our audience during the interval refreshments. Of course, Friday was followed by our choir party - we even had some entertainment from Caitlin, the daughter of Heather, one of our altos - maybe a future Kingdom Singer??
We had a lovely time in Denny tonight - a lovely welcoming audience who happily joined in when asked to! We were delighted to have Janet Barbour play for us at this concert. Considering we only had one rehearsal with her - she was amazing and coped with all our little blips! We had solos from Susan, Ian, Janette, Elizabeth and Elaine and took the opportunity to try some of our 2019 repertoire before our annual Spring Concerts. We were provided with a lovely tea after the concert. Thanks to the Guild ladies for a lovely evening.
One of our favourite places to have a concert. We have visited Townhill Church many times over the years and it is always a pleasure to return. A familiar, welcoming audience and we thoroughly enjoyed singing our recent repertoire for them. We had solos from Janie, Janette, Elizabeth, Elaine and Linda and we had a very welcome supper in the Church Hall afterwards. Overall, a very happy evening for all of us!
Christmas Concert - Gillespie Church, Dunfermline - 13th December 2018
A full house tonight in Gillespie Church - well, downstairs was full with an overspill into the balcony! A wonderful evening of Christmas music - lots of community singing and choral pieces. Our new tenor, David gave a lovely recitation and we had a few solos. The atmosphere in the Church was lovely - just perfect in the run up to Christmas.
St Ninian's Church, Dunfermline 15th March, 2017
Two successful concerts in St Margaret's Church. We were unable to book our usual venue - the Music Institute - this year, but we were happy to be back in Touch. This was a poignant set of concerts as we missed Alan terribly but we feel he would have been very proud of us. The first half of the concert comprised songs Alan liked to sing, and our newer songs were sung in the second half. We had solos from Ann, Ian, Susan, Marion, Janie, Elizabeth and Elaine. Thanks to all who came along to these concerts - our Saturday audience was a little smaller than we hoped, but we still enjoyed it (and hopefully so did the audiences!). We had a little after-show party which was a good chance to catch up with each other socially. We now start to plan our repertoire for next year and are looking forward to a wee rest then back to the grind!
Inverkeithing Parish Church 14th April 2016P
Another great evening at Inverkeithing Parish Church singing at a fund raising event. Our new soprano Fiona did really well, managing a few of our songs, despite having only joined the choir a few weeks ago. Solos from Marion and Elizabeth who incidentally were married there in 1978 (although to Dave and Keith not each other)! Our quartet - Elaine, Susan, Ian and Peter sang 'Can you feel the love tonight' and the whole evening was rounded off with a most welcome cup of tea and cakes. Thank you ladies for asking us.
A wonderful evening singing at one of our favourite venues, Townhill Church. Such a warm welcome back with an amazing tea after the concert. Lovely solos from Ian, who is an elder there and Janette. Missing Elaine who was just back from her holiday down under. The choir managed a few 'hot off the press' songs, which we have literally just learned and which seemed to go down really well. Thank you Townhill, both for the lovely tea and for making us so welcome.. We look forward to the next time we are with you.....
A spectacular joint concert with Rosyth Concert Band in The United Reform Church where a wonderful evening was had by all. The band and the choir had two sets each then performed three Christmas numbers together to round off the concert. Hamish did us all proud by not only conducting us, but also the whole band for one of our joint songs. The church was packed and the whole evening was performed by candlelight - luckily Susan managed to get us battery lights so we could read our music!! We really missed Gillian who couldn't manage due to the Forth Road Bridge closure.
Many thanks to Rosyth Concert band for asking us to be part of this special evening and for United Reform church for not only having us, but for providing a lovely spread during the interval. Hopefully it may be repeated next year?
A fun evening for our Associate Members in Baldridgeburn Institute on Thursday evening. The night consisted of a couple of our 'favourite' songs, two of the new songs we are learning then a varied selection of Christmas songs. Solos were performed by Marion, Elaine, Alan, Ian, Elizabeth and Janette with Susan, Elaine, Ian and Peter singing their lovely quartet again. Missing Janie who unfortunately couldn't manage. The evening was rounded off with soft drinks, shortbread and mince pies and the chance to socialise with our Associate Members. Thanks to all Also, a big welcome to our three new Associate Members who joined on Thursday night! We look forward to seeing you at all our future events.
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A great afternoon at Henderson House in Dalgety Bay where our small group entertained residents and guests. This was for the final celebration of Dalgety Bay’s 50th Anniversary.
The group consisted of Ann, Catriona, Connie, Elaine, Elizabeth, Janie, Marion, Alan, Derek and Ian with Margaret and Morris on piano. The soloists all did two songs each and though small in number, we even managed quite a few of the more difficult choir pieces. Morris played a medley of Elvis songs which went down well with the audience and both he and Margaret coped brilliantly with what was quite a long programme.
Thank you Henderson House for asking us and for providing the most welcome refreshments during the interval.
A wonderful evening singing in Elizabeth's church, St Margaret's, where the amazing sum of £722 was raised for The Barnabus Fund. Lots of familiar, friendly faces in the packed church which looked spectacular as their flower festival was in full swing. Missing Janette and Susan who unfortunately couldn't manage due to illness. Solos from Janie and Elizabeth with Ann and Alan singing one of their duets. A huge thank you to everyone who came along and gave so generously and to St Margaret's Church for asking us...
Next concert for the full choir is on November 19th for our Associate members with the small group performing in Henderson House, Dalgety Bay on Saturday 7th November.
Wonderful afternoon singing in Dalgety Bay Church for a celebration of 50 years of The Bay. Fantastic audience with a wonderful afternoon tea. Solos from Marion, Elaine, Elizabeth and a duet from Ann and Alan. Missing Gillian as she was unwell. Thank you Dalgety Bay for hosting such a great afternoon.
Our second year at the Fringe tonight. Thanks to all who came along and supported us. We had a ball! Sorry we didn't have Gillian and Janie - we missed you !
Two great evenings of concerts. We have uploaded some of our songs to YouTube for those of our friends who couldn't manage to come along. There are links to them on our website through our Hear our Music page.. This will be updated as the uploads are added.
Fantastic afternoon singing in Oakley Church at their Spring Tea. No Hamish and only six singers - Elaine, Janette, Janie, Elizabeth, Alan and Peter with Margaret accompanying, but we managed to get through a good few choir pieces and a solo each. A wonderful audience of around 100 and a delicious afternoon tea to round things off. Thank you Oakley..
Wonderful evening on Friday, singing in the Queens Hall, Charlestown at a fundraising event which raised £500 for the hall renovations. Missing Gillian, also Janie who is still on holiday and Susan and Douglas who were treading the boards in Edinburgh performing 'Pirates of Penzance'. Good though to welcome back Peter after his travels. Solos from Marion, Janette and Elizabeth all rounded off with a most welcome glass of wine and delicious shortbread. Fantastic audience and all round very successful evening.. Thank you Charlestown for inviting us back!
Our Associate Members' Social took place on 16th February in Baldriidgeburn Institute. A great evening which started with a short rehearsal followed by a spot of audience participation. The music for two of the new songs we are learning was handed out to everyone and we carried on with the rehearsal, but this time with everyone joining in. It all sounded really good - maybe we should be thinking about some new recruits to the choir?!? A much welcome cup of tea was followed by a music quiz which Derek, our chairman, had put together. Hamish's team won hands down, winning the prestigious prize of a box of Maltesers! A big thank you to all our Associate Members who came along and made the whole evening such a success!
Our second trip to Edinburgh Zoo for a day of rehearsing. This is a super venue with a lovely big room with a wonderful view and, for the second year, we have had beautiful sunshine. We covered a lot of work today and finished up quite exhausted. A big thank you to Hamish, Margaret and Morris for all their hard work and of course to Gillian for organising the day for us. She arranged a visit to the Koalas with a very informative talk to boot. Lovely lunch and a lot of catching up with each other. A great day and already looking forward to next year!!!!!!
Christmas concert last night in St Andrews Erskine Church. Lovely to see so many of our Associate Members there. Great audience participation! We had a lovely solo from Elizabeth (Let it Snow). Some wine and shortbread shared at the end so a good chance to catch up with everyone. Christmas party next week at Pitfirrane Golf Club then a well earned Christmas break.
Super concert tonight in Leslie. Lovely church to sing in. A good mix of older and new songs with solos from Alan and Elaine and a duet from Elizabeth and Susan. We were missing Janie and Peter tonight but of course we are sure they were with us in spirit!!! Looking forward to our next concert in two weeks' time.
A new venture for us this year. We booked a slot a the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in St Cuthbert's Church. We had our concerns as there are so many options for people and we were not sure how good an audience we would attract. However - it was wonderful! Hamish came from a family wedding (thanks Hamish!!!) and was dressed in full kilt which coincidentally matched our colour scheme - he might have started a trend! We had good audiences for both performances and excellent feedback. Some people came into the church in response to the advertising and some came having seen it on Facebook. Of course, we had a few of our loyal associate members there too. A few foreign tourists joined the audience and their feedback was very positive. It was a long stand for us - two one hour performances with no break and no seats and as a result we were exhausted, but elated as well! Thanks to all who came along and supported us.
Another great evening on Monday in
Solos from Peter who sang his lovely Irish song very appropriate as it was St Patricks Day and
There was a huge spread (as always) after the concert with lots of home baking which was very much appreciated!
Just one more concert to go now before our Springtime Serenade Concerts in May
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We had a great concert in the Benachie Music Institute at the Carnegie Hall tonight. We changed the format a bit this year - mainly due to the amount of food waste we had when we set out tables with food. We reverted to the format from the May concerts with a Christmas twist and we had wine, shortbread, mince pies, chocolate biscuits, savoury cheese nibbles in a buffet form and this seemed to be a success. It gave us more of an opportunity to chat to our associate members which is always good. We didnt have Janette tonight a she isn't well and we had Susan back in the fold just in time! The concert was good fun. We had a duet from Susan and Elizabeth - Christmas Chopsticks and there has to be a mention to Margaret for the speed which which she played the second time round!! A good mix of older and new songs - some words not quite as well learned as we hoped but a great opportunity to sing them to our understanding friends. During a performance of O Holy Night Elaine and Peter sang a verse each and it was a lovely performance of this beautiful song. Hamish entertained us with a couple of little Christmas stories and gave us a lot of information about our songs - it is good to hear the history of the muic we sing. We had a good turnout of our associate members and a lot of extra people, some of whom became associate members on the night. Next year is our twenty year anniversary and it was good to have Arthur Sutton, our founder, in the audience. He and Pam support us at most of our public concerts and we cant believe we have been going for twenty years now. We have to applaud Ann and Susan's longevity and tenacity at sticking with the choir!
Three more successful concerts at the Music Institute, Carnegie Hall Dunfermline on 24th, 25th and 26th May. A mix of choral pieces and a few solos and a duet. A poignant set of concerts as Margaret O has now left the Kingdom Singers to move on to enjoy singing away from conducting. The choir performed a little song based on a familiar Abba tune for Margaret at the after show party - letting her know how much we will miss her! We also sadly had to say goodbye to Roy, a founder member and long time chairman, who has also moved on to new singing challenges. We wish them both well in their new musical ventures.
A new musical director has been found - Hamish Baillie - and we will start rehearsing with him in August.
A new venue for us - helping to raise funds for a brain tumour charity. Unfortunately Margaret O could not be with us so no conductor tonight! This happened once before, but was compounded by the keyboard failing as well, so this was not quite such a challenge! Accompanists helped with timing and we made it through with a happy audience and fairly satisfied choir! We missed Margaret, though! Solos from Trudi, Marc, Peter and Marion. We were offered lovely refreshments at half time and some even managed a glass of wine - sailed through the second half!!!! As this was a fundraiser, it would have been nice for the organisation to have had a bigger audience, but a fair sum of money was raised and a good evening had by all.
The evening started with a 3 course meal which Margaret Orr and Elizabeth enjoyed very much (they are both members of St Margaret's so were the only choir members there for the whole evening). The concert which followed was a bit late in starting due to a problem with the roast potatoes!, but it was a really wonderful evening which everyone seemed to enjoy. We have been so busy rehearsing new songs for the concerts in May, that it was a joy singing some of our older comfier songs again.
It is a real home from home singing in St Margarets as it is our rehearsal venue every Monday night and it was lovely to see so many of our friends in the audience. Full steam ahead now for May .:)
A short stint at the Glen Gates this afternoon singing some Christmas songs before the formal entertainment for the switching on of the Christmas Lights. Not all choir members managed to attend, but we managed! Not much of an audience unfortunately - and we were in competition with some muscial teacups! Interesting afternoon............!!!
A great evening in the Carnegie Hall. We were sharing the evening with two other groups - a Czech gospel choir called Keep Smiling and a choir from Linburn Primary School in Dunfermline. They were so cute!! Although perhaps we should have consulted each other about our programme - we both sang "Over the Rainbow" but in different styles. We sang two sets of songs and were invited to join with Keep Smiling in a rendition of "O Happy Day" - interesting!!! A super evening with a real mixed bag of singing.
Three successful concerts this year - we oversold on Thursday and Friday night, with slightly fewer on Saturday night. Great to sing our new repertoire and it was well received by our audiences. For the first time, we served cold drinks instead of teas and coffees at half time and this seemed very popular with the audiences (particularly the wine!!!!). It was easier on the associate members who help with the refreshments, so success all round there! Unfortunately we lost Tricia on Friday and Saturday as she developed a very sore throat. Ann came back from Florida in time for Friday's concert so the numbers were even on each night. Thanks to all our audiences.
Slightly depleted numbers tonight, but probably just as well as there was not a lot of room for us to spread out! Partly due to the big audience, but it didn't matter - it was a bit of a change singing in two rows instead of three! A good mixed programme again and an appreciative audience. Margaret O managed all the introductions very well - made it all very personal- got a bit hot under the collar thinking of Johnny Depp but ......!!!! Marc has now taken all the fun out of Maggie!!!!!!!! No surprises now! Audience seemed to like the selection and joined in with Abba and a few others. The ladies provided a lovely selection of cakes and scones to finish off our evening. Susan even managed to catch up with an "old" work colleague, so all in all a very successful evening!
Another super evening with our Associate Members. We were given the big hall in the Institute tonight and this was much better than the usual room. Acoustics great and lots of room for everyone. We had a couple of little guess the tune competitions - one with little known verses for well known songs sung by Susan and Alan helped by the choir and one as a duet from Margaret O and Heather. (3:1 to the choir here!!!) and one listening to the song building from the bass line up. Good to hear the audience joining in the singing with us. We tried out a couple of our new songs and they seemed to work - under our belt now for May. Nice cup of tea and biscuits provided by Connie - a good sociable end to the evening.
An evening with the Guilds from Oakley and Carnock tonight in the church in Oakley. Good friendly audience and almost a full turnout of the choir. Slight last minute change to the programme (apologies from Susan)! A great concert for us - Margaret K on her own as accompanist tonight and she coped admirably. Alan a bit faster with the ring tonight, Marion - nagging must have worked! A good mixed programme with a couple of our new songs thrown in for good measure - it was good to perform them and we felt we sang them well. As usual, a lovely tea from the ladies in Oakley which sent us on our way home with a good warm feeling after a lovely evening.
Another very enjoyable evening for the Kingdom Singers. We have visited Townhill Church on a few occasions now, sometimes in the hall, sometimes in the church and always feel we are with friends. Tonight we were in the church and it was lovely to sing there in front of a great audience. We had a few solos tonight - poor Marc was suitably embarrassed by the choir - forced to the front to sing Maggie and then congratulated on getting his words right!!!!!! Well done Marc! Alan proved his romantic streak is not as strong as we thought! He was fashionably late with the ring for Marion, but she got her diamonds in the end. We were a little flummoxed by a request for an encore! Unaccompanied songs are so useful for just such a request so we were able to oblige. A lovely tea (as usual) prepared by the ladies sent us off feeling refreshed and full. A lovely evening all round.
Perfomed tonight in the Carnegie Hall - singing nine choral pieces tonight. This was part of a concert to raise funds for Parkinson's Disease. The evening started with the boys and girls having separate dressing rooms - unusual for us as we are only a small choir!!!! However the ladies tracked the men down and we felt better! We were to perform immediately after the Rosyth Concert Band. What a lovely sound they made - we listened in the wings. We then squeezed on to the piece of stage in front of the curtain (poor men were a bit squashed behind the ladies) and Roy introduced our programme in blocks of three. It was very hot but we felt we sang well and all of us enjoyed the performance. We found our feet were "stuck to the floor" after standing for such a long time, but we did manage to get off the stage - only after Elizabeth managed to guide Susan away from trying to exit through the wood panelling rather than the curtain! Dont think many people noticed though! We led into the interval then some of us left to go home, some visited the Bar then back to watch the second half when the band performed again after a lovely performance by two young dancers from St Columba's School (and their lovely assistant). One little blip in the vote of thanks - we were referred to as the Kingdom Dancers - could be a whole new approach to the choral pieces, Margaret!!!!!! Looking forward to Townhill on Monday night now.
Well Friday Night certainly was Music Night. The Concert was held to celebrate the fact that the magnificent organ in the Abbey was 100 years old and the Kingdom Singers were so pleased to be invited to sing and have the opportunity to hear the other performers, four soloists, a pianist and a flautist.
What a lovely start we had, as we walked into the Abbey to the sound of Morris playing The Sound of Music. Never before had our entrance sounded so grand and uplifting and really put us in the mood to sing our best. Although we were a few Members down, we did ourselves proud with the help of the great acoustics in the building. We started off with The Way you Look Tonight and Scots Wha Hae, the latter song rising into the rafters at the end.
It was good to see familiar faces in the good-sized audience and to have Arthur Sutton introducing the other acts
Then came a great treat for the choir, as we sat back and enjoyed listening to the guest soloists - a wonderful evening ahead of us!
Just before the interval, we gave our rendition of Come Unto Me All Ye that Labour and by this time we were all feeling quite cold as we had been sitting in our choir dress for more than half an hour. While we were having a most welcome cup of tea, some clever individual (not sure who) suggested that, in the second half while the soloists perform, we should sit in the body of the Abbey where there was heating under the seats. Oh, what bliss, it was like going to bed with your electric blanket already warmed up. We could really relax and enjoy the show before our two numbers at the end, A Certain Smile and You Raise Me Up.
A lot of hard work, by Morris and many others, had obviously gone into arranging this concert and I believe they had a different concert each night of the week, so well done to everyone involved, we had such a lovely time.
A wonderful evening. First time in Denny for us and it was a lovely church with great acoustics. A maze of corridors - much bigger than it looked! Poor Marc only lasted one song then was called out. Shortest concert he has ever had!! Roy bravely took on Maggie in Marc's absence. How Great Thou Art had a verse missing, but the quartet verse turned out to be a very good ladies' duet - well done Hilary and Gillian!!!! A great mix of songs and the congregation seemed to enjoy the evening - joining in the Elvis singalong with great gusto. Break in the middle for sandwiches, scones and biscuits served by our hosts - very welcome and set us up well for the second half.
First concert of our new season. Fairly depleted numbers - poor Marc is ill and others couldn't make it. Well done Ian for holding the bass line alone! And Margaret for playing for the whole concert! Large audience tonight - we believe the hall holds 100 and it certainly looked full. This was the Kennoway Rural and they had visitors from other local Rurals. They were very cheery and seemed to have a good time - we certainly did. And of course, in the true spirit of the Rural - a wonderful tea to follow - just ask Alan!!!!!!!
An interesting evening indeed! Unfortunately, due to lack of sopranos, Margaret felt she had to call off the concert tonight as we were in fact down to last soprano standing! However, the Guild had sold over 80 tickets and it was felt we could not leave them without any entertainment. So a hastily cobbled together concert party took the stage - with the welcome addition of Jack Leask, accordionist. Morris bravely played all accompaniments which were thrown at him , as well as accompanying Jack and a successful evening ensued. The audience was a very warm, welcoming one and the church was a delight to sing in. We had a lovely tea fterwards and we even managed to sell over 80 quiz sheets as well! We have been assured we will be invited back as a full choir during the next session, so we look forward to that.
A lovely little Church and a pleasure to perform in. This was a fundraiser for the Guild and they had some invited guests in the audience. Despite not having the words to hand, the audience managed to join in the Elvis Singlaong very convincingly! This was our first concert singing with Heather, our new accompanist - it was lovely to be able to sing with her at a concert rather than a rehearsal. It was also the first concert for our latest addition to the alto section - Lorna. Good to note that she enjoyed herself and is planning to come back on Monday! On a sad note, this was the first concert since the loss of Shirley and was a bit emotional, but we managed to keep a professional attitude and not let the feelings show. The ladies of the Guild provided us with lovely home baking and we even managed to sell them some of our Quiz Sheets for our own fundraising. Thanks Ladies!
After an easy route to Freuchie, most of us encountered a little difficulty finding the church, however, once we were there, we found a lovely church with great acoustics. A pleasure to sing in.. We sang a mixed bunch of songs tonight and the audience, although not as large as the organisers had hoped, seemed appreciative and joined in the Elvis singalong with great gusto. "Maurice" played a lovely piano solo despite some problems organising the pedals - it took three men and a conductor to sort that out! We were treated to a lovely cup of tea with cakes and biscuits - very welcome.. We were missing one or two members, but we coped admirably!!!!! Thanks to all at Freuchie for the invitation to visit their church.
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A local venue this time - Margaret O and Elizabeth's own church - so, no pressure! A bit of a change around in our seating arrangement which made us bob up and down a lot more than usual, but interesting ....!!! We were down by one or two members, but we still managed to produce a concert which left us feeling good. We even gained one new Associate member - Elizabeth never likes to miss an opportunity to recruit! We believe around £500 was raised for CHAS which is wonderful news. The concert was followed by a very well organised tea - almost military precision here! A lovely spread and our tea and coffee continually refilled. Thanks to all the ladies of the church for that!