October 2011 - Ireland, IABS, and RTE

Cambridge win Irish trophies and appear on Radio and TV


 
Cambridge Chord Company has just returned from a highly successful trip to IABS in Galway where they enthralled listeners during a two-hour national radio broadcast as well as coming second in the International Chorus Competition, winning the Best Entertainer trophy in the Friday evening concert and being filmed for a TV show.
 
Two quartets made up of Cambridge Chord Company (CCC) members past and present competed in the International Quartet Competition. Congratulations to Vocaleze for fourth and Footlights for fifth place - and to Ireland Unlimited who came first in the International Chorus Competition, beating CCC by just two points.
 
For CCC, the highlight of the trip to Galway on the misty west coast of Eire was their broadcast on the popular 'Lunchtime Classics' slot on Radio Teilifis Eireannís (RTE) Lyric FM. Their host, the ever-popular classical music broadcaster, Liz Nolan, has been playing Cambridge Chord Company CD tracks for several years in response to a growing following in Ireland.
 

 

The 'Teddy Bear's Picnic' has long been a favourite request on RTE for children and adults alike, so Liz was delighted to have it performed for her in the Galway studio as it went out all over the country. 'I wish the radio listeners could see what I've seen - all those naughty teddy bears,' she said, 'What a terrific piece of theatre!'
 
The two-hour programme focused on barbershop songs and interviews with, among others, Cambridge Chord Company's Musical Director, Bob Croft. 'We had a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate the depth and breadth of the barbershop experience to a mainstream classical radio audience,' said Bob and they obviously enjoyed the broadcast: 'The listeners are going crazy,' said Liz as she was handed a pile of emails and texts to the station, 'We are getting a tremendous response.'
 
While the chorus was performing for the radio audience they were also filmed for a TV programme on RTE ONE covering the IABS Convention. Almost all of the 25-minute programme was devoted to an exciting and informative coverage of the event.
 
As well as songs sung by Cambridge Chord Company, there were performances by Footlights, Vocaleze, Cambridge Blues, 4 Again from Holland, Own a Chord from Sligo - just before they jumped into a taxi to rush off and compete in their national competition - and a finale from Sweden's aBSOLUT.
 
CCC would like to thank IABS in particular and the population of Galway and Ireland in general for their hospitality. Anyone who owns shares in hangover remedies should look forward to a bonus year!

To see more images of the events select RTE or Competition
 

To find out more about Cambridge Chord Company please click here