In April, 2009, all three choirs in Choral Productions Tasmania Inc presented an Anzac Day Concert in the CityWide Convention Centre in Mornington, on Hobart’s eastern shore, to a capacity audience of 500 and standing ovations. Tears and laughter were the order of the day, with cries of ‘more, more’ after the finalé and demands for this to be an annual event.

Items depicted courage, bravery, hope, joy, love, loss, tragedy, triumph, waiting, homecoming, etc. in war-time situations.

In December last year the three choirs combined again for John Peterson’s ‘The Wonder of Christmas’ again to a delighted audience. This time we added in some audience participation with Christmas carols to begin, and were reminded of how audiences love to sing! It was great.

This year our season began with a busy schedule of rehearsals for the second biennial Anzac Concert for Easter Monday, 2011, in the CityWide Convention Centre, Mornington, and repeated the following Saturday, April 30, at 2pm in Launceston at the Door of Hope auditorium in the old Coats Patons Mill Complex. As before, songs were chosen from musical dramas like Les Miserables (the French Revolution) and Miss Saigon (the Vietnam war) plus some well-known items like The White Cliffs of Dover (sung in 5 parts by a 100-voice ensemble - wow!) and He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother, again from the Vietnam war.

Our guest group in Hobart was the Glenorchy City Concert Brass, who played their own set of songs at the end of Act 1, and accompanied the 100 voices in the finalé. The roof just stayed intact! Other guests were Joy Clements on bagpipes and Anna Elliston on violin, accompanying the singers.

In Launceston on Saturday, April 30, at 2pm we had as guests ‘Sing Elon International Children’s Choir’ and St. Andrews Caledonian Pipe Band, with Pipe Major John Ralph also joining the 100-voices in John Farnham’s ‘You’re The Voice’. It was really grand! This was the first time we had presented our Anzac Concert in Launceston and it was very warmly received by the hundreds in the audience. We hope to continue taking this performance to Launceston every second year.

Our two accompanists, and the 100 voices across the three choirs, combine to give this organisation an enviable ability to produce grand events, and we are taking advantage of it.

In 2012, the three choirs will present their own concerts mid-year, then combine for a 100-voice Christmas Concert, hopefully in the new Farrall Centre at Friends’ School at the end of November. Watch for further details of what promises to be a spectacular performance. We might evern present Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus from ‘Messiah’ and you could sing with us!!