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Country Pops
The Choir’s July 2010 production at the Gold Coast Arts Centre
The Gold Coast City Choir has entertained the Gold Coast community for over 40 years. Its performances of choral classics, such as the Mozart Requiem, Handel’s Messiah and numerous wonderful choruses by composers such as Verdi, Barber, Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky and many others, has been applauded at venues throughout the Gold Coast. In 2009 the Choir added something new to its repertoire and recorded a CD titled Heritage Songs of Queensland. The CD’s popularity exceeded all expectations. ABC Radio was particularly taken by the rendition of the Waltzing Matilda track and played it a number of times with glowing comments from Spencer Howsen.
Heritage Songs of Queensland has been so successful that the Choir has determined to further broaden its repertoire by including choral arrangements of much loved country and folk music. This new direction for the Choir has members very excited. The Choir will soon be rehearsing songs such as: Ghost Riders in the Sky, Love is like a butterfly, If I said you had a beautiful body would you hold it against me, Bridge over Troubled Water, Wedding Bell Blues, and other country hits made famous by stars like Slim Dusty, Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell, Dolly Parton, Redgum and John Denver.
The Choir will showcase its new direction at a dinner-show at the Paradise Showroom, Gold Coast Arts Centre on 31st July 2010, starting at 6:30 pm. Bookings are now open on (07) 5588 4000.
The show will feature as guest artists the dynamic duo P.J. and Melanie Creamer who have toured extensively over the last ten years performing at festivals throughout Europe and North America. Their music covers a wide range from folk to country and to rock. Audiences will be entranced by their renditions (backed by the Choir) of Diamantina Drover, Brown Eyed Girl, Desperado, Take it Easy, Take Me Home Country Road, Rhinestone Cowboy, Thank God I’m a Country Boy and others. Our other guest artist is the well known Gold Coast singer Jordan Jansen who at age eleven has established an incredible following and is much in demand for civic and corporate events. His solo in Queensland’s Waltzing Matilda on the Choir’s CD has been widely applauded.
The Choir’s talented soloists, Lorelle Brown and Miriam Minarova will delight audiences with songs such as Perhaps Love, and the Whitney Houston classic I will always love you. Included in the program will be a number of Australian bush ballads such as Women of the West, Brisbane ladies and Queensland’s Waltzing Matilda which have been specially arranged for choir by our director Ruth Gurner.
The arrangements transform these sometimes simply written melodies into memorable emotionally-charged musical experiences.
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