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Newsletter — August 2009
After several months with no newsletter at all on the Chaplaincy website, I hope that this may actually be the first and last one for some time! This is not because we have nothing to say but because from September we are planning to start an online magazine — an Ezine — for the Chaplaincy. However, we will be able start this — and keep it going — only if people write for it!!! We are aiming for the Ezine to be published monthly. It will appear on this website and be sent by email to all St George’s Chaplaincy electoral roll members and other members of the congregations for whom we have email addresses. The deadline for contributions for the September edition is 26 August. They should be sent to ezine@stgeorgemalaga.org. And if you have an idea for the name of the new online magazine do send that in by 23 August. We are offering a prize for the chosen name!
In the meantime, a brief note of what has been going on over the past few weeks and what we can look forward to in September.
On 19 June we broke new ground in putting on a Jazz evening in the English Cemetery. “Jazz at St George’s” featured the multi-national jazz quintet “Simply Swing”, led by one of our own members saxophonist Gren Horabin. The band played from the church porch with the audience seated at tables down the central avenue of the cemetery, leaving room at the front for people to dance — which they did in the second half of the concert. The programme of pieces from the Duke Ellington days of the Cotton Club through the swing era to the Latin jazz of the bossa nova included music by Henry Mancini, George Gershwin, Johnny Mercer, Billy Joel and many others. We had no idea how well the concert would be supported, and were amazed at how many people came — including many young Spaniards. We included a light supper in the ticket price so had to limit the number of tickets sold. Nevertheless with ticket sales and bar takings the event raised over €1000 for Chaplaincy funds.
It was such a successful evening that “Simply Swing” are coming to do another concert for us on Friday September 11th. It will again begin at 8 pm. For tickets (€10) please contact Rosella on 95 240 0006 or email events@stgeorgemalaga.org. Nearer the time they will also be available in the Cemetery Gatehouse.
A very different musical event took place in the church on 24 July. The Gloucester Cathedral Youth Choir — over 30 young singers from all over the county of Gloucestershire — accepted our invitation to perform at St George’s as part of a week-long tour of southern Spain and Gibraltar. They had already given concerts in Almuneca and Nerja, and after Malaga went on to Gibraltar where they gave a concert on the Saturday evening in the Anglican cathedral and sang the services there on the Sunday. We were privileged to enjoy a vary varied concert of an extremely high standard, including sacred music from Mendelssohn to John Rutter, some English folk songs and American spirituals. The choir sang ‘Thou, O God, art praised in Sion’ by Malcolm Boyle for the first time on their tour — because we had the only organ of the three Spanish venues capable of accompanying it! The choir was conducted by Ashley Grote, Assistant Director of Music at Gloucester Cathedral, and accompanied by Ralf Blasi, Organ Scholar.
As well as the second “Jazz at St. George’s” on 11th, there are two other September events that should be mentioned (but for which your editor has no details):
Otherwise our Saturday/Sunday services in the Chaplaincy continue as usual:
St George’s Church, Sunday 11.00 am
Competa Parish Church, Sunday 5.30 pm
Puente don Manuel, Saturday 6.00 pm
Villanueva de Tapia Church, second and fourth Saturdays 11.00 am
DJH
08.08.09
PS For readers who were not present at the jazz evening, here are some pictures.
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Jazz at St. George’s
19 June 2009
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