G'day,

I've just got back from a brief visit to the Loaded Dog Folk Club, in Annandale, Sydney (from next month, being run by Sandra in Sydney). One of the featured acts was theSydney Women's Vocal Orchestra ... directed by Callie, (who otherwise sings with Triantan or with the Solidarity Chorus)

The Sydney Women's Vocal Orchestra sing from the repertoire of a group of women prisoners of the Japanese, during WW II: one song; a hymn (The Captive's Hymn (~?), written by a missionary who was one of the woman prisoners but, otherwise, vocal arrangements or orchestral pieces, painstakingly remembered and pieced together on hidden scraps of paper ... and taught to other women, many of whom had little or no musical training.

The group learned a small part of their arrangements for a performance marking the 60th anniversary of the Fall of Singapore ... but they have stayed together, are aiming to learn all 20 orchestral pieces and have been invited to sing in overseas festivals of women's voices.

I'm not surprised ... the two pieces I heard (the second was Bolero) came over marvelously in the live acoustics of the Loaded Dog, and the effects were really well down, considering there were only 12 singing in orchestral items.

Congratulations Callie!

Regards,

Bob Bolton