Please find below the songs we’re singing and the running orders for all of this season’s remaining concerts (except “A Circle of Life”).

Wakefield end-of-season (1 hour 20 minutes, with interval)

1. Away in a manger (first verse: sopranos only)
2. When I grow up
3. School’s out/Another brick
4. She’s leaving home
5. SOLO: Wide open spaces (Sally Kirkham)
6. Nine to five
7. I’ll be there for you
8. SOLO: Marry me a little (Paul Howard)
9. MEN: Wonderful tonight
10. INTERVAL
11. Love on the rocks
12. WOMEN: I will survive
13. SOLO: No-one but you (Julie Hopkinson)
14. Money money money
15. Do you know where you’re going to?
16. SOLO: Dance with my father (Bernie Smith)
17. When a child is born
18. Cabaret

Nottingham end-of-season (1 hour 15 minutes, with interval)

1. Away in a manger (first verse soloist: Becky Simms)
2. When I grow up
3. School’s out/Another brick
4. She’s leaving home
5. Nine to five
6. I’ll be there for you
7. SOLO: No-one but you (Cat Allcock)
8. MEN: Wonderful tonight
9. INTERVAL
10. Love on the rocks
11. WOMEN: I will survive
12. Money money money
13. Do you know where you’re going to?
14. SOLO: Those were the days (Ann Hallam)
15. When a child is born
16. Cabaret

Concert for Parkinson’s UK (30 minutes)

1. Away in a manger (first verse – sopranos only)
2. Money money money
3. When a child is born
4. Nine to five
5. I’ll be there for you
6. Do you know where you’re going to?
7. Love on the rocks
8. Cabaret

The Cadland (30 minutes)

1. Money money money
2. When a child is born
3. Nine to five
4. I’ll be there for you
5. Do you know where you’re going to?
6. School’s out/Another brick
7. Cabaret

Rotherham Hospital (40 minutes)

1. Money money money
2. Do you know where you’re going to?
3. Nine to five
4. I’ll be there for you
5. SOLO: I will always love you (Clare Buckton)
6. School’s out/Another brick
7. When I grow up
8. Love on the rocks
9. When a child is born
10. Cabaret

Papplewick (3 x 20 minute sets – each singer will sing 2 of the 3 sets – allocation of singers to sets will follow nearer the time)

Set ONE

1. Money money money
2. When a child is born
3. Nine to five
4. I’ll be there for you
5. When I grow up
6. Cabaret

Set TWO

1. Love on the rocks
2. When a child is born
3. School’s out/Another brick
4. Do you know where you’re going to?
5. Money money money

Set THREE

1. Money money money
2. Do you know where you’re going to?
3. Nine to five
4. I’ll be there for you
5. When I grow up
6. Cabaret

It’s an exciting time for BeVox at the moment. Our “A Circle of Life” show on December 7th is going to be a real milestone in our journey, and all the preparations for it are coming on really well. We’ve collected over 800 photographs from our singers’ lives, which will be incorporated into a massive montage in the foyer, as well as some of them being used in videos throughout the performance, and in the souvenir programme. Rehearsals of the music are going really well, and for the first time since we started BeVox, we’ve got everything covered well in advance of the performance, giving more time than ever for final polishing and tweaks. The lighting design is done (and looks stunning in the computerised mock-ups I’ve been shown), the stage design is planned – even the after-party is booked! Ticket sales are going strongly, with over 200 sold in the first fortnight. We’re hopeful we’ll be able to sell out the evening performance – we still have plenty of seats left for the matinee at the moment.

On Saturday, a number of us are off to Harrogate to watch our fellow contemporary community choir Rock Up And Sing! performing at Harrogate’s Royal Hall. It will be great to see another choir with a similar ethos doing their thing, and I’m sure we’ll come away inspired. Once they’ve sung their lungs out, a number of their singers will be coming down to support “A Circle of Life” in return – just the beginnings of what I hope will be a very fruitful partnership.

We have our next “additional session” for “A Circle of Life” on 17th November, which should be great fun – it’s fantastic to get everyone together and see the friendships of people from different parts of the country being renewed. This rehearsal will be the first time we’ve really run the show the way it will go on the day – dealing with how all the songs flow into each other will be a new challenge for everyone, as it’s unlike the way we’ve ever performed before. This more theatrical style will add to the impact of the show – as well as allowing us to include more songs than we’ve ever done in any concert before! In total, we have over 30 songs in the show – the majority for the choir of course, but also instrumental numbers, soloists, duettists and an ensemble too. There’s such a variety!

Of course, “A Circle of Life” isn’t the only thing we’re doing. We have many other performances at the end of this season too, starting with the West Bridgford Christmas Lights switch-on on 23rd November (for which we’re completely full, with a reserve list), and going through performances at retirement homes, Sheffield’s Winter Garden, fund-raisers at two different pubs, private events for charities, singing in the reception of a major hospital, and of course our traditional end-of-season concerts in Wakefield and Nottingham. We even get to sing in the steam room of a water pumping station on the weekend before Christmas!

On top of all that, we’re also in the middle of making lots of plans for 2014. We’re putting the final touches to the plans for our big concert at the end of the Spring season, which should be at Lakeside Arts Centre in Nottingham. We’ll be building on our partnership with Rock Up and Sing! with a combined workshop in February, and possibly working with them on a combined concert later in the year. We have some fun ideas for the summer too, including a trip to the seaside, and we’re starting to make plans for our big 5th anniversary event in Summer 2015 – are you ready for “The Best of BeVox”? We can’t wait!