On Thursday 20th June, it was Churchdown Male Voice Choirs privilege to perform at Warehouse 4 in aid of the 10th Anniversary of the Hollie Gazzard Trust. Just under £1500 was raised. What an emotional and fun evening it was. The Trust was formed when Hollie was tragically murdered over 10 years ago. Nick and Mandy Gazzard (Hollies parents) wanted the concert to reflect Hollies personality of fun, bubbliness and to be full of charisma. Churchdown Male choir certainly tried to embody this, and the result was a fantastic, enjoyable, fun evening with an appreciative audience that included family and friends of Hollie. Our own pianist, James Quinn composed a piece of music "Consolation" in memory of Hollie Gazzard - for her family and friends. "The Hollie Gazzard Trust has made it a key aim to develop programmes and tools to help those experiencing domestic abuse and to promote healthy relationships, particularly providing education in schools and colleges. While Hollie’s family are still devastated by her untimely death, and unable to change the events of that fateful day, they hope that the funds raised through the Hollie Gazzard Trust will help others find a better future and reach their potential. The Trust relies on the generosity of the individuals and companies that support it and hold a number of official fundraising initiatives each year." Quote from Hollie Gazzard Trust website You can give to the Hollie Gazzard trust via the following button
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This is our contribution to the June edition of the Churchdown Magazine:
We’ve enjoyed five concerts since the last magazine a couple of months ago, with at least a dozen more to follow this year as well as our tour to North Wales. The theme throughout has been teaming up with other groups and enjoying the amazing power of song. We travelled over to Ogmore Vale in South Wales to perform alongside one of our Welsh counterparts, singing a whole range of songs from opera to musicals, and topping off the evening with a fabulous Afterglow (where we all stand together and sing in a much more relaxed fashion over a drink – often the high spot of the evening!) Our next team effort was a concert at St Patrick’s church in Brockworth with the Gresley Male Voice Choir, visiting Gloucester from Derbyshire, and again covering a vast range of songs and genres; the Afterglow at the Chase Hotel was allegedly the best Gresley have ever been to! In mid-May we sang at Croft Farm Park just outside Tewkesbury, as part of a massive fund-raising event on behalf of the RNLI which raised over £3000; our repertoire this time had a decidedly nautical theme, which definitely appealed to our audience, including another singing group dressed as pirates who joined in enthusiastically, adding “Arrrhh” frequently to the mix. And finally for this round, we joined the young people of Chosen Hill School and representatives from the Army Cadets and Imjin Barracks to celebrate the 80th anniversary of D-Day with some wartime songs – a very moving experience for everyone involved. There’s lots more to come over the next few months with this incredibly popular and versatile choir, so keep a watch out for our posters or look at our website, and if you’re interested in joining get in touch at www.churchdownmvc.org or just turn up at the CCA at 7.30PM on a Monday. We can certainly promise you variety! Barry
A bit belated this, but never mind. Our first trip away of the year saw us appear on stage in Ogmore Vale, South Wales alongside their own male voice choir. What a performance we put in, and our hosts’ own chairman said that he wondered how anyone could top it. Compliments flowed in from all sides, and we have something of which we can all be proud. The icing on the cake was the chance to join with them in the Afterglow, where we could slightly relax and sing together over a beer. Ogmore Valley MVC were tremendous hosts, and their hospitality was without peer – we owe them a huge vote of thanks, and have already agreed to sing with them again in a couple of years. Barry
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