The 22nd Intervarsity Choral Festival: CANBERRA , 14 May-28 May 1971

Patron: H.C. Coombs, Sir John Crawford
Chorusmaster: Ayis Ioannides
Accompanist: Ann Thompson, Chris Burrell
Camp Venue: Frensham School, Mittagong
Participating Choirs: AUCS, SCUNA, FUCS, UWAUCS, QUMS, SUMS, TUCS, MUCS, MonUCS, NUMS, UNCS

COMMITTEE

Convenor: Brian Hingerty
Secretary: Valerie Brown
Treasurer: Ian Bollen
Librarian: Annabel Wheeler
Transport: Sue Baldwin
Transport: Gary Hovey
Billeting: Julian Brown
Social Sec: Dorelle Pinch
Social Sec: Mark Hyman

CONCERT 1

22 May, Albert Hall
Conductor: David Carolane; David Macfarlane; David Boehm; Ayis Ioannides; John McCaughey; Bevan Leviston; David Carolane; Alan Fenwick; Peter Seymour
Soloists: [Missa Luba] Rodney Reynolds
Program: C.P.E. Bach Magnificat (excerpts, MUCS); Vaughan Williams In Windsor Forest(nos 3-5, QUMS); Kodály Hymn to King Stephen(AUCS); Anon. arr. Haazen Missa Luba (TUCS); Rubbra Missa in Honorem Sancti Dominici (Gloria & Credo, SCUNA); John McCaughey Bacchae Materials (MonUCS); Anon. Agincourt Song, Alle Psallite, Weston Wynd, Isaac Innsbruck (UNCS); M. Haydn Domine Deus, Mozart Zwei Kanonen, A. Scarlatti Exultate Deo (FUCS); Britten Five Flower Songs (nos 2-4, NUMS), Bach Komm, Jesu, Komm (SUMS).
Notes: “A Choral Concert”. Part of the Aquarius Festival of University Arts.
Review: W.L. Hoffmann, “Varied, rewarding choirs”, Canberra Times, 24 May 1971, p.3. “A wide variety of choral music presented at the concert … was matched by an equally wide variety of the quality of the performances. There was some singing of a very high standard; but some of performances were terribly mediocre. Nevertheless, it was an interesting evening … The University of Tasmania Choral Society provided visual variety by performing the Congalese Mass ‘Missa Luba’ … It was a performance of more than passing interest with the music’s strong rhythmic emphasis well conveyed by the singers. [FUCS was] notable for the fine contribution of the sopranos … However the finest choral work of the evening came from [SCUNA and SUMS], both of whom provided completely competent, thoroughly musical and consistently well-sung performances. The former, under Ayis Ioannides, gave a beautifully controlled and eminently satisfying presentation … This [was] a concert which, despite its variability, was always interesting and often rewarding.”

CONCERT 2

8.15pm, 26 & 27 May, Canberra Theatre
Conductor: Ayis Ioannides, Ernest Llewellyn
Soloists: James Bonnefin; Joan Carden, Eleanor Houston, John Lander, Geoffrey Brennan
Program: Gaudeamus Igitur, Haydn Alleluia Symphony, Berger Brazilian Psalm, Mozart Mass in C minor
Notes: With the Canberra Symphony Orchestra.
Review: Patricia Brown, “Memorable Mozart”, Canberra Times, 27 May 1971, p.19. “Take 200 singing university students from as far away as Perth and Brisbane, the Canberra Symphony Orchestra … and the result could only be one thing: the 22nd Intervarsity choral Festival. Last night in the Canberra Theatre the efforts of all who have worked towards this year’s festival were well rewarded … As both actor and commentator, the choirs proved responsive to its musical director, and … there were only minor ragged edges and variations of pitch. Accepting the numerical terms of the performance, it was slightly disappointing that the soprano lines of the chorus often lacked an extra degree of assurance and volume … The [Berger] was sung enthusiastically … Its mild flirtations with Latin American rhythms provided a pleasant warm-up for the singers, and added another spice of variety to a thoroughly enjoyable concert-with-a-difference.”

OTHER COMMENTS

Also a concert for the locals at Mittagong featuring the Brazilian Psalm and excerpts from the Mass. Steering committee: Ken Healey, Ayis Ioannides, Julian Brown.

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