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Phew! Well, it was alright on the night after all. I arrived at the church at about 6:30pm so I had a couple of hours to wait and hope that we would have a good turn out. The fact that the risers for the choir to stand on were being hastily hammered together around the back of the church at 7pm added an extra element of tension but I had pretty much decided by then to just chill and enjoy the singing.

At 7:30pm people began to arrive and we had a steady stream until 8pm. By the time everyone was in and the concert started I could breathe a sigh of relief. We didn’t pack the house, but it felt full enough to be respectable. I never managed to do an exact headcount but I reckon we had about eighty to ninety people. We had closed off the balcony so everyone would fill up the main part of the church and with the wind whipping up outside the atmosphere inside was just right. As for the concert itself…it was amazing. They started off with some classic hymns and southern spirituals that raised the hair on the back of my head. I think a lot of people had come just to support Barretstown…they didn’t really know what this choir was going to sound like but they figured it was for a good cause. I got the impression that people were a little bit stunned because they were so good. Good enough for a venue far grander than a little church in Dalkey. But the choir sang as if they were in the National Concert Hall, it didn’t seem to matter to them where they were or how small our numbers were, the singing and passion was just the same.

After a short interval they sang some more secular songs; folksongs and classics from around the world including a few numbers from Ireland. I don’t usually like Danny Boy, but their rendtion of it, complete with voices reproducing the droning of pipes, was beautiful. One of the favourites of the evening was Flight of the Bumblebee which raised a laugh because of some clever bee-swatting choreography. Their last piece was quite an emotional one; their conductor explained that this was the last concert of their tour and they would be returning to Arkansas the next day. Since many of the members would be graduating and leaving Harding that meant that this song would be the last one they would perform together as this particular group. So, there were a few tearful faces in the choir as they sang The Lord Bless You And Keep You. It was impossible not to be sucked in by it all.

So, I think it was a successful evening. Those who came had a wonderful night and I heard many comments along the lines of “If I’d known they were going to be this good, I would have invited more people…”
As well as that we raised over €1000 for Barretstown which is the most important thing.

It started with a suggestion. Our church had received news that a choir from Arkansas was touring Europe and would be in Dublin for one day during which time they would perform a concert. We could donate the proceeds to whatever charity we wanted, they would charge nothing, we just needed to organise the venue and sell the tickets. I have a soft spot for Barretstown so I piped up that they might be a good charity to benefit from this event. I agreed to help out with the organisation…I mean, what could be so difficult about finding a venue and selling a few seats? Ha! How naive was I?

Five months down the line, with just hours to go before the concert, I’m swearing I will never do this again. I’m just not cut out for the stress. If it wasn’t for family and friends jumping in and helping me I would have succumbed to a heart attack by now. It’s not just the organisation…we found a lovely church in Dalkey that is willing to let us stage the concert there. My father made up some brilliant posters and my mother and I blitzed the area with them a few weeks ago. On top of that 500 fliers were posted through people’s doors in the Dalkey area. Advertisements have appeared in both the Church of Ireland and the Catholic parish bulletins. All those things went to plan. It’s more the one thing I can’t control that’s keeping me awake at night: is anyone going to actually show up? I’ve been having those dreams like the ones I had before I got married…you know the ones where you arrive at the church and you’re wearing only a giant pair of granny knickers and a boob tube and you can’t find the door and then you realise that all your exes are in the audience…hmm, ok….that was only me then? Nevermind.

The church will hold two hundred and fifty people…in my optimistic moments I’m hoping that we’ll have a hundred which would be respectable. At least that was what I was telling myself until I heard that they sang to an audience of nine hundred people in Aberdeen the night before last! I just have no way of knowing and it’s killing me. At times like this I realise just what a control freak I really am.

The thing is I know this choir is going to be amazing. I’ve listened to some of their songs on their website and having spent some time in the church in Dalkey I can tell that it’s going to sound beautiful in there. Forty five people singing old southern spirituals and classical pieces on Midsummer’s Eve. I just hope there are plenty of people there to hear it.

Of course if there’s anyone reading this who is interested in coming along please do! Admission is €15 and it starts at 8pm. Map.

Wow, I swear I could hear the squeak of rust as I opened this page! I have been so neglectful I hang my head in shame. So what’s been keeping me from posting? Well:

1. Work! Long hours, no breaks at the weekend, endless stream of animations. Good for my bank balance but not great for my life balance.
2. Moving house. Yes, we are leaving County Dublin as rent has finally moved beyond us for the size of house we need and we’re becoming Wicklowites…Wicklowers…Wicklownians. Hmm, I suppose I’d better find out the correct term.
3. The Harding Choir. I’ve been busy organising a concert for June 21st (ahhh! that’s two weeks time!) in aid of Barretstown…and I’m new to this event organisation stuff so it’s somewhat scary to me. Sure I have posters, a beautiful venue in St Patrick’s Church in Dalkey, a 50-strong choir who will be performing spirituals and classics…now all I need is an audience. The thought of an empty church is enough to wake me at night in a cold sweat.
4. Add to all that a showreel/portfolio that must be worked on and a toddler who has discovered the phrase “Stop it!” and can deliver it red-faced, fists clenched and at a decibel that weakens the knees.

Ah, well. The sun is shining, there’s a soft summer breeze blowing through my window. I’m taking a break in the packing while Matt goes to get some Pad Thai from the Thai House in Dalkey. Oh, and my sister is minding Eve until tomorrow evening. Bliss.