Spotlight on the TPO and Show Choirs ‘biggest concert’ at Warwick
As The People’s Orchestra(TPO) and Show Choirs grow so do the size of their concerts. Organising the biggest in its history was no mean feat as over 400 people came together to perform at Warwick Arts Centre – and here’s a look back at how it unfolded.
Warwick Arts Centre’s Butterworth Hall was chosen as the special venue to hold a 364-member strong massed choir and around 50 musicians in the orchestra in April.
The prestigious hall had previously hosted performances by music greats from Yehudi Menuhin to Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, so was a fitting and impressive location for this huge ‘Once Upon A Time’ concert.
For some members, it was the first time they had ever performed on stage and what a stage it was as friends and family poured into seats to watch.
Yet well ahead of the event, careful planning took place at TPO headquarters in West Bromwich. It was all hands on deck from the conductors of Ula Weber and Saphran Ali to choir leader Chris Weber and TPO management team including Amy Marshall.
While musicians and singers started rehearsing for the big night three months in advance, learning the songs and music. Each of them one piece of a larger entity that would create a crescendo at Butterworth Hall.
The concert set list ranged from Phantom of the Opera to I See The Light from Tangled in a repertoire filled with songs from films and TV shows.
“This concert was our biggest so far with lots of moving parts from the orchestra and choir to staff and conducting sides,” recalls Amy.
Choral Development Manager Ula Weber was heavily involved with creating the concert and travelled almost 500 miles from Scotland to Warwick with a member of the Black Isle Show Choir that she conducts. She recalled the excitement of getting it off the ground.
“It’s quite a trek but worth it,” said Ula. “The choirs all learned the same repertoire to be performed with the orchestra in advance.
“I enjoy bringing together the artistic side of the choral programme and developing the choirs. I love working with a mixed bag of people and the challenge of putting together a programme.
“It’s all about the people and giving them as good an experience as possible.”
Although now living in Scotland, Ula, aged 48, grew up in Doncaster and went to Hull University before living in Birmingham for over 20 years. The former conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra’s (CBSO) So Vocal Choir was in the Midlands when she first joined TPO a few weeks before lockdown in March 2020.
“I’ve been conducting choirs since I was 15 years old and was asked if I could help out with the choirs,” said Ula. “I didn’t think it would be for that long, but then ended up working one day a week at the TPO.”
“As we are growing in numbers, we’ve had to find larger venues and this one was at Butterworth Hall,” added Ula. “It does mean we’re using more prestigious venues, like Birmingham Town Hall for Christmas.
“But we are starting to build a presence online and getting more support from the community.”
Other staff helping out at the concert to ensure everything ran smoothly were also Matthew Whitehouse from the TPO Library, Jamie Parker from the Social Media team and Matt Wood, who most members will have come across as he videos action across the TPO and Show Choirs.
Their efforts all made a difference as the biggest concert at Warwick left members who took part saying they felt it was “invigorating”, “pretty extraordinary” and “full of laughter”.
