REVIEW
Musical Memories
BRIDPORT CHORAL SOCIETY
Bridport United Church

MAYOR Geoff Ackerman and his companion were amongst the very satisfied audience for Bridport Choral Society's concert entitled Musical Memories Under its new charismatic musical director, David Knight, the choir performed songs from well-known shows by Gilbert and Sullivan and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

The first half gave us unforgettable highlights from The Pirates of Penzance, HMS Pinafore and The Mikado, and under their new leadership, the choral society gave a lively and exciting performance.

Knight gave very informative and witty introductions to each section of the programme and was impressive as their new principal. His conducting had real gusto and one could see his direction had brought out the best from his singers.

The climax of the first half was the final song A Wandering Minstrel I where the choir gave a stirring rendition supporting the pleasant solo voice of Alan Skelton.

In addition to the other composers, the second half of the evening began with a medley from Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story, arranged by Len Thomas. This was an outstanding sequence which saw the choir in full flow.

The singing was bright, tuneful and dynamic throughout and all the performers looked as if they were thoroughly enjoying themselves.

The rest of the evening took us through a well-known selection of hits by Lloyd Webber culminating in Any Dream Will Do from Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.

This was a glorious finale to a fantastic evening and Mr Knight and his choir must feel very proud.

Other memorable highlights include two piano duets performed by David Knight and the brilliantly talented David Ilingworth who entertained us with an overture from The Mikado and a selection of pieces from the musical Cats.

Also, It was good to hear soloists from within the choir giving lively, expressive performances. These included Jean Burden, Rosa Lidington and Janet Guppy in Three Little Maids from School and, most notably, Bill Thorn who took the lead in Close Every Door to me.

The Bridport Choral Society have truly raised their game, with new leader Davide Knight at the help, and we all look forward to another programme of memorable delights in December.

FC