Here is the third in a series of videos to lift our spirits in challenging times. Stithians Ladies are joined by their friends from Mabe Ladies Choir, soloist Simone Hellier, accompanist Rico Gerber, ‘cellist Becky McGlade and the Saxy Maids.
Let There Be Peace on Earth, written by S and J J Miller and arranged for SSA by Craig Courtney. Recorded on March 8th 2020 at our musical celebration for International Women’s Day.
✨✨✨
Join us for a fabulous evening celebrating inspiring women who have founded charities.
✨
ORIEL BENNETT & SUE WHITMORE
These intrepid travellers are our narrators for our forthcoming event.
Oriel (right), a dance and fitness instructor, has been an actor, director and producer in many theatrical productions and is known throughout the County for her dynamic approach to dance, drama, music and comedy.
Sue (left), a musician who loves singing and choral music has also featured in many productions, specialising in forthright old ladies who play the piano.
They have been friends for many years and enjoy travelling to far- flung places and taking on new challenges. Their latest challenge has been to devise a script about various women who have founded charities, for that is the theme of our International Women’s Day celebration this year. They will tell us about such inspiring women as Morella Kayman, (Alzheimer’s Society) Octavia Hill, (National Trust) and Judy Fryd, (Mencap) culminating in the story of our very own Mary Berryman, the founder of the Flicka Foundation animal sanctuary in Mabe.
Why not join Oriel, Sue, some incredible musicians and a host of like-minded women at our celebration for International Women’s Day?
SUNDAY 8th MARCH 7.30 at FALMOUTH METHODIST CHURCH
SEE YOU THERE!
✨
SIMONE HELLIER
After a resounding success last year, Simone joins us once again to help celebrate International Women’s Day. She will be singing a couple of solos, accompanied by the fabulous Rico Gerber, and joining the massed choirs to sing the solo part in Let There Be Peace On Earth for our finale.
Simone Hellier trained in classical singing at the Conservatoire in Basel, Switzerland. She has performed in La Traviata at the Hall for Cornwall and in The Marriage of Figaro and Madam Butterfly at the Minack Theatre – sharing the part of Suzuki with Jenny Oldfield, and played Carmen for Duchy Opera, which toured all over Cornwall. She also had the opportunity to tour internationally with the Cornish cirque troupe Incandescence.
Simone has collaborated with Jenny Oldfield and Kyla Goodey on a Trifle Gathering project in the Gyllyngdune Gardens at Falmouth Pavilions. She sang alongside baritone Mike Dewis and other wonderful singers, in UNICEF`s Concert for Nepal in London, to raise money for earthquake victims. In August 2017 she gave a classical recital at St Mary`s Church in Penzance and also took part in a show called If you go down tothe woods today performed in Trebah Garden with the Vertical Dance Company Yskynna singing the Lakme Flower Duet and the wonderful Aria from the 5th Element Il dolce suono Lucia di Lammermoor.
In April 2018 Simone performed Strauss’s Four Last Songs at St Mary`s Church, Penzance under the baton of Nigel Wicken and a lovely video of the performance can be found >>here on YouTube.
Simone’s broad reaching repertoire and engaging personality have ensured numerous performance opportunities with many more to come and we are honoured that she is joining us for our celebration.
💜COME AND JOIN US and don’t forget to wear something purple!💜
SUNDAY MARCH 8th 7.30 FALMOUTH METHODIST CHURCH
SEE YOU THERE!
✨
💜 The lovely ladies from the Flicka Foundation 💜
Well, they won’t actually be at our International Women’s Day Celebration, but we will be learning about the founder of this wonderful charity, situated just up the road from us.
The theme of our celebration this year is “ Women who have founded charities” … and there have been many. So why not come along on SUNDAY MARCH 8th at 7.30 to Falmouth Methodist Church. Share some beautiful music with us and our guests Mabe Ladies Choir, Simone Hellier, Becky McGlade and the Saxy Maids.
Be like these three little ladies and wear something purple …. the colour of International Women’s Day
FIFTY SHADES OF PURPLE – well, more like 100!
March 8th is International Women’s Day and this year, for the first time, the Ladies hosted a musical celebration to mark the event. They were joined by Mevagissey Ladies Choir who were invited following our visit to them last year in the beautiful St Goran church.
They were also joined by the wonderful ladies barbershop chorus Celtic Chords – their current MD, Isabel Austin, sings with our choir. The Kenwyn Quartet also came along to play in the finale. The soloists were soprano Simone Hellier and ‘cellist Becky McGlade, both talented and engaging musicians and all the performers received a warm response from the capacity audience.
The Ladies were joined by Sarah Newton MP
The purpose of the concert was to celebrate the lives of inspiring Cornish women and during the evening narrators Sue Whitmore and Oriel Bennett kept us enlightened and entertained with facts and stories about Mary Kelynak, Emily Hobhouse, Rowena Cade, Suzanna Hext, Esme Page and Anne Glanville. These are all remarkable women, setting us all an example through their achievements, determination and sheer ability to get things done.
Jeannette Preston spoke about the charity Pants Cancers and a very useful amount was raised in the collection.
The colour adopted by International Women’s Day, and worn throughout the world, is purple and Falmouth Methodist Church was beautifully decorated, awash with varying hues worn by performers and audience. This added to the lovely celebratory mood of the evening which was warm, relaxed and buzzing with bonhomie. Sharing a common purpose always brings a genuine feeling of togetherness and, following a grand finale where almost a hundred performers joined to sing “ Let There Be Peace On Earth,” we spilled out to partake of a huge feast and enjoy each other’s company.
This was a memorable event and the Ladies pulled out all the stops, enlisting their menfolk to help, cheerfully undertaking the host of jobs involved, looking resplendent in their purple, singing like angels and proving once again that Stithians Ladies Choir is a force to be reckoned with.
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY CELEBRATION
A few people have asked if this is a women only event. The answer is: nearly all the participants are women but please bring a man ( or half the tenors in a male voice choir ) if you want to. They are very welcome to celebrate with us!
Simone joins us for the first time to help us celebrate International Women’s Day. She will be singing a couple of solos, accompanied by the fabulous Rico Gerber, and joining the massed choirs to sing the solo part in Let There Be Peace On Earth for our finale.
Simone Hellier trained in classical singing at the Conservatoire in Basel, Switzerland. She has performed in La Traviata at the Hall for Cornwall and in The Marriage of Figaro and Madam Butterfly at the Minack Theatre – sharing the part of Suzuki with Jenny Oldfield, and played Carmen for Duchy Opera, which toured all over Cornwall. She also had the opportunity to tour internationally with the Cornish cirque troupe Incandescence.
Simone has collaborated with Jenny Oldfield and Kyla Goodey on a Trifle Gathering project in the Gyllyngdune Gardens at Falmouth Pavilions. She sang alongside baritone Mike Dewis and other wonderful singers, in UNICEF`s Concert for Nepal in London, to raise money for earthquake victims. In August 2017 she gave a classical recital at St Mary`s Church in Penzance and also took part in a show called If you go down to the woods today performed in Trebah Garden with the Vertical Dance Company Yskynna singing the Lakme Flower Duet and the wonderful Aria from the 5th Element Il dolce suono Lucia di Lammermoor.
In April 2018 Simone performed Strauss’s Four Last Songs at St Mary`s Church, Penzance under the baton of Nigel Wicken and a lovely video of the performance can be found >>here on YouTube.
Simone’s broad reaching repertoire and engaging personality have ensured numerous performance opportunities with many more to come and we are honoured that she is joining us for our celebration.
💜COME AND JOIN US and don’t forget to wear something purple!💜
STITHIANS LADIES CHOIR 