Notes and Pictures from the Choir Tour of Victoria October 11th to 22nd 2018

The tour was arranged to accommodate concerts at four venues. The first a town south of Geelong, the second at Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula , and the last two in Melbourne. 
Between concerts the choir and accompanying family and  friends went out and about on sightseeing excursions.  The text and photos below show some of the locations visited and concert performances. They are in chronological order.

(The picture on the right shows the choir with the Melbourne Welsh Male Voice Choir and the Australian Youth band. )

 

Day 1 – Midday, in travel uniform waiting to board our flight to Avalon Airport (Geelong)

Day 2 – A trip along the Great Ocean Road. 

Our driver Justin with the mascot on board for good luck.
Note Viv and David posing in front of the new sculpture to the “diggers” who built the road. 
Click on image to see fullsize.

Day 3 – The Drysdale Concert.

Organised by the Lions Club of Leopold, and held at a local high school. It featured three choirs the SWC, the Geelong Ladies Choir plus the Coryule Chorus and attracted a sell out crowd.  The profits from the event went to local charities supported by the Lions Club of Leopold. The pictures below show the organising committee and the Lions club president plus presentations to the other choirs from the  SWC. 
After the show the choir posed on the steps into the auditorium for a publicity shot.

Our host Maurice introducing
the three choirs

Philip Island Days 4 and 5
We stayed at Cowes and set off to see the dusk parade of penguins. No cameras allowed. Flash photography could cause them to lose the food in their gullet. We arrived during mating season so the activity around the burrows was hectic and noisy. Lovely creatures. Good to hear that there are now over 4000 and the menace from red foxes  has been fixed.

The next day on our travels to Sorrento we stopped at “Pannys” to have a hot chocolate.  We didn’t sample any chocolate bars – honest!

Day 6– The Sorrento Concert.  

A concert organised by the church committee with proceeds going towards building renovations. A small but beautiful church as can be seen in photos of the interior and exterior.

Shown also is a shot of a happy couple cutting a cake to celebrate their wedding anniversary after the concert.  

Day Trips to
Ballarat and the Dandenong Ranges  (Days 7 and 8)

Includes a stagecoach, muskets, a dancing train guard, excited men (boys) in a steam train and some Italian opera songs at a restaurant (Italian obviously) delivered by our bus driver.Justin, who by then was an honorary member of the choir. Click on photo to enlarge 

Sovereign Hill

Lunch time performance at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne Day 9

In the year marking the centenary of the end of WW1 the choir requested permission to sing at the Shrine to mark the occasion. We were pleased to be asked to give a one hour performance. It was a bright , blustery and unseasonably warm day. However it did not prevent the choir from providing a moving performance suitable for the occasion. After the concert we were given a short tour of the exhibition area which is excellent. If you are in south Melbourne make sure you find time to visit the Shrine.

Dau 9 Shrine concert
Day 9 Shrine poster
Day 9 Welsh lady
Day 9 Shrine
Day 9 Di
Day 9 David and Lyn

Day 11 – Concert with the Melbourne Welsh Male Voice Choir and the Australia Youth Band,
Kingston Hall, Moorabin. 

A fitting grand finale to the tour. Each group performed individually but the highlight of the concert was the massed choirs and band. Combining a Welsh all male choir with a mixed choir requires some finesse to produce the “right” sound. The reports from the concert audience  indicate that the performance by the massed choirs was an amazing experience. 

After the show many throats were treated to cold drinks. Just as well as the singing by members of both choirs continued in the bar. Eventually we moved on to a dinner venue. After dinner the tour was completed with an impromptu performance by our faithful driver/companion/fellow singer Justin.  So ended another chapter in the  long and colorful history of the Sydney Welsh Choir.

The End