The Pearl Beach Singers will present a singalong variety concert, The ‘70s and Beyond, later this month.
Originally a Glee Club, the group was formed in the 1950s to raise funds to complete the building of the Pearl Beach Memorial Hall putting on a number of grand concerts.
In the days before television and when sound recordings consisted of large unwieldy 78rpm discs that played only for a few minutes on a wind-up gramophone, people created their own entertainment at home and for more general consumption.
Pearl Beach in 1950 was a small community with about 90 houses and a permanent population of around 130, proud of its recently opened Memorial Hall.
But then, as now, the hall required a steady flow of funds to pay for rates, electricity and other essential services.
It was decided to give a concert during the holiday weekend in June 1950 to raise money for the hall.
That first concert comprised of songs, comedy sketches, a recitation and a solo guitar performance.
The Glee Club concerts provided opportunity for a group of local music lovers to re-form in 2010 as the Pearl Beach Singers to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the original Glee Club, continuing the tradition of entertaining enthusiastic audiences.
Inviting amateur and professional guest musicians and providing performance opportunities for young music students, the Pearl Beach Singers have continued to produce exciting and innovative concerts.
This year special guests will be local Michaele Archer and Tim Page.
Archer brings a wealth of experience, having studied voice and breathing with leading teachers in New York and Switzerland.
She has sung with Opera Australia and in concert in the USA and is co-head of the Vocal Department at Central Coast Conservatorium and Artistic Director for Pearl Beach Opera in the Arboretum.
Tim Page is a veteran of Australian TV, appearing in the Young Doctors series.
He has performed extensively in musical theatre in Australia and on London’s West End.
He has sung with Opera Australia, is a tutor at Central Coast Conservatorium and MC for Pearl Beach Opera in the Arboretum.
Together they will perform You’ll Never Walk Alone and duets from the golden age of musical theatre.
Also performing will be Sue McCathy and Marian Jones, long time members of Central Coast Philharmonia Choir, and Grace Mitchell, vocal student at the Central Coast Conservatorium, who is currently studying a Bachelor of Music majoring in Vocal at AIM.
The winner of the Ray Allen scholarship, she has performed as soloist with Central Coast Philharmonia Choir.
The ‘70s and Beyond will be presented at 7.30pm on Friday, August 25, and 2.30pm on Saturday, August 26, at the Pearl Beach Memorial Hall.
Bookings are recommended by emailing pearlbeachsingers@gmail.com
Source:
Peal Beach Progress Association