86 Masons , families and friends enjoyed a very special treat on Saturday 17th September when the Worcestershire Mark Charity Committee staged a Variety Night in aid of the Festival 2015 appeal.
Seated in parties of up to 12 the room was full to near capacity and the atmosphere was fantastic.
The room layout was different to anything most of us have seen before thanks to careful planning by Mel Broadhurst. Lodge groups were seated together on tables of up to 12 people. Great to be able to say that with a few guests, St Egwin, stretched to TWO tables. A great response from the lodge, thank you for such wonderful support.
Jeff Whiteley, our Provincial Director of Ceremonies, volunteered his professional services, a sound system and a stage which he erected for the evening, a welcome touch of professionalism to the whole proceedings.
After a drinks reception we were all welcomed by George Simpson who detailed the proceedings for the evening saying he thought we were in for a treat.
Following straight after the meal the entertainment got under way when Mark Watson 1st Violin, Jacqui Hill 2nd Violin, Fiona Swadling Viola and Jenny Pearson on Cello, collectively know as “The Bellini Strings” played the first half of their programme for the evening.
Recognising the obvious quality of the performers, the audiences attention was grabbed right from the start and every piece played was applauded with great enthussaism.
The first half of their programme included music by Vivaldi and Elgar and their rendition of the Glenn Miller classic “Moonlight Serenade” had the whole room imagining they were gliding around on the floor of a splendid ball room. The completion of the first half of their performance came all too quickly and was greeted with vocal encouragement and sustained applause.
“Follow that” was on everyone’s mind when George stood to introduced his grand daughter Georgia.
Georgia has a beautiful voice and performed two numbers. Her performance matched the magic that had gone before as she held the audience spell bound with her rendition of “Make You Feel My Love” followed by “Jar of Hearts “. A real treat especially for those who were experiencing her talents for the first time.
George then introduced his other grand daughter Rhiannon whose instrumental musical talents are being well developed. On this occasion she played the violin showing every sign of matching her sisters flare and talent. She was accompanied by Fiona Swadling, in a string duet during the first number. Fiona moving to the keyboard for Rhiannon’s second number.
Sending the girls around the tables promoting the raffle between the two half’s of the concert was a master stroke. It allowed everyone to compliment them both and helped swell the total amount raised by the raffle.
On their return to the stage, Mark Watson introduced the quartet saying it was formed in 1994 by graduates of the Birmingham conservatoire and the Royal Northern College of Music.
The second half of the programme included a selection of modern classics including ” That’s Amore” , “Can’t take my Eyes off of You” , ” She” , ” Lets face the Music and Dance” and the Abba hit “Mamma Mia” ending the concert with “Viva La Vida” an ideal piece to round off a magnificent concert.
The completion of the programme was greeted with a standing ovation lasting some time.
Every one agreed that the whole evening had been staged in a most professional manner. From the temporary stage, a first class sound system which complimented the performance of every artist, to the fantastic backing tapes which had been professionally produced for Georgia’s performance. I’ve already mentioned that this was in the main part down to the efforts of Jeff Whiteley. His low key profile on the evening says everything about the man whose input into everything Mark in our Province, is nothing short of magnificent.
After the raffle had taken place George thanked all those who had helped make the night special.
He thanked the kitchen, Mel Broadhurst and John Icke for everything leading up to the evening.
He thanked the Sponsors for raffle prizes, Trevor Sleigh for the gallon of Whiskey he had auctioned and Jeff for the use of the equipment that had made the night a tremendus success.
He paid special thanks to everyone present for their support which he could now say had raised the magnificent sum of £1,117
Jeff then called for a well earned round of applause for George and Jenny Simpson for their wonderful enthusiasm and energy in making the whole evening happen.
