Choir to herald the Spring with a heady mix of Flowers and Music

Lyme Bay Chorale’s 2008 Spring Concert
( 7.30 p.m.- Saturday 10th May) titled
“ Let Thy Hand Be Strengthened” is designed to lift the spirits and herald in the Summer. Named after one of Handel’s joyful Coronation Anthems the concert will form part of the “Sing it with Flowers” Flower Festival in St Michael’s Church Lyme Regis and should prove to be a sensual and atmospheric experience, surrounded as it will be by flowers and wonderful music!

“As well as Handel the choir will perform Pergolesi’s perfectly crafted, melodic Magnificat and we are lucky enough to be accompanied through out by two professional musicians Caroline Szram on cello, and Aleksander Szram on piano, whose biographies are so bursting with accolades and awards its hard to know where to start” says choir-coordinator Hilary Highet” but here goes”:

Since graduating from Trinity College of Music ,London in 1970 Caroline has performed at the Wigmore Hall, and with the Britten Pears Orchestra and the Eluvium Ensemble, which specialises in contemporary music. With the Lycydas Piano Trio Caroline has appeared nationwide, including London, Fairfield Halls Croydon, the Cheltenham Festival, and also in Holland where the trio was awarded an Honorary Award for Excellence

Winner of the 2004 Vlado Perlemuter Award, Aleksander enjoys a varied schedule of solo piano, concerto and chamber music performances across the world, having played in more than twenty countries over four continents . He was awarded the Wilner Scholarship to study at Trinity under Anthony Green and Douglas Finch, where he won prizes for piano, chamber music, vocal accompaniment and composition, including first place in the John Halford and John Longmire Piano Competitions, the John Ireland Chamber Music Prize and the Leonard Smith Duo Prize for Strings and Piano.

These two outstanding musician’s will perform Mozart and Beethoven and will be joined to accompany the Choir by local musicians : Rachel Burrough, Holly Chapman and former Woodroffe student Emily Penn on oboe. The Choir’s Musical Director Alex Davies, himself a fellow of Trinity says ” We also have a little musical surprise up our sleeves at the end of the concert which should bring a smile to the face - should be a good all round evening’s entertainment ! “

The Choir is delighted to make a donation of £400.00 towards the Lyme Regis Organ Appeal which are proceeds from it’s Christmas Concert (Dec 2007).This concert,“Let thy Hand Be Strengthened” will be in aid of the Church and Headway, a charity for the rehabilitation of brain damage sufferers. Tickets will be £8.00 ( to include a tasty finger buffet and a glass of wine) from Hilary Highet, 35 Broad Street, Lyme Regis 01297 443824 ,Bridport TIC and on the door.