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Here is a diary & REVIEWS of our events
PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Review of Rowan Pierce matinee 15th April.

On the 15th April 2010, at Zetland Park Methodist Church Redcar, our audience was delighted with the performance given by the very versatile and talented Saltburn's Rowan Pierce. Rowan was accompanied by her father Andrew at the piano as she led us through a beautiful programme which included works by Haydn, Boyce Mozart and Bach. In addition Rowan played Schumann's Traumerei on the flute and "I'm in the Mood for Love" on the piano. Andrew Pierce played a piano interlude during the programme. This is just one of the many positive comments we received afterwards.

"Just to let you know my sister, friends and I all thoroughly enjoyed Rowan Pearce.
What a wonderful talent."

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11 March 2010 Matinee

Our latest matinee concert proved to be a real winner.

The Pavilion Palm Court Trio from Thirsk entertained a large audience on 11th March and delighted all who were there. The programme was full and varied and included Elgar's "Salut D'amour", "Jealousy", "A Nightingale sang in Berkeley Square", "These Foolish Things" and "The Swan" from the Carnival of the Animals.

The skilled playing and the beautiful sounds of the combination of piano, cello and violin transported you with "Csardas" to the fireside of gypsy camps and then on to the shores of desert islands with "By the Sleepy Lagoon" all delightfully held together by Jean Hotton's introductions and commentary.

This certainly was an hour's concert that will stay in our minds for a long time to come.
 

 

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10th December Matinee

We were delighted to welcome back David Bainbridge, the international baritone to our matinee at Zetland Park Methodist Church especially as he brought along the very talented young soprano Andrea Tweedale from Sheffield. They were accompanied by another favourite of ours Frank James at the piano. Frank delighted us with his piano interlude where he played some of his favourite pieces by Chopin and Scott Joplin finishing off with a short seasonal medley which ended with Chestnuts Roasting on an open Fire.

The concert included pieces from Carmen, The Rhinoceros Song, Abide with Me which was sung and played beautifully by David and Frank. Andrea sang a wonderful version of The girl in 14G which told the experiences of a young lady in her flat having to contend with the singing and music of people in the flat above and below. A medley from My Fair Lady concluded the concert. The audience then enjoyed tea, coffee and mince pies afterwards

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Tees Hot Club entertained us well at the Redcar Cricket Club on the 28th November 2009.   This was the third time they played for us over the last couple of years and on all three occasions pulled a sell out audience.

The night was made up of jazz music with a blues interlude.   The band on this occasion consisted of ten skilled musicians including Danny Allen who was guesting with them.  Danny played sax and fitted in perfectly with the rest of the band.   For the first time they sported their TEES HOT CLUB T shirts.

There was a mix of instrumental numbers and  great vocals from Gus Smith, Al Harrington and Duncan Lister, including Take the A Train, Nature Boy (which featured a wonderful solo on the sax by Danny),  Big Boss Man, How Insensitive, Georgia and Sweet Georgia Brown.  Pete Papprill as always played beautifully on trumpet and flugal and the band was led by the great guitarist Ian Bosworth.   With Gerry Hughes on bass, Ron Hampton on rhythm guitar, Tim Lamb on percussion and the versatile Keith Wilson on guitar the whole group gelled together to make a night to remember.

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FRANK JAMES -  CONCERT PIANIST
Thursday 10th September 2009 

Frank James was the soloist performer at our matinee on 10th September 2009.  Frank who had previously accompanied Ione Cumming delighted a most appreciative audience as he took us through the centuries of piano playing beginning with Handel's Variations on "The Harmonious Blacksmith", leading on to Schubert, Chopin, Debussy to the wonderful Prelude in C sh.mi by Rachmaninov.  Following a short improvisation by Frank where he involved the audience he finished the concert with some Scott Joplin and Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.    The whole hour was packed with beautiful music and enlightening anecdotes.  

We look forward to seeing Frank back with us on the 10th December when he will accompany our baritone David Bainbridge and soprano Andrea Tweedale.

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VINCENT BILLINGTON
International Concert Pianist

Thursday 23rd July at 1.30

International Concert Pianist Vincent Billington returned to entertain us again at our first matinee in a series of four on Thursday 23rd July.   He played a varied programme made up of requests from the audience along with some of his own favourite pieces.   He punctuated his playing with delightful humour and audience interaction which created a wonderful atmosphere for us all to enjoy.    His programme included The Warsaw Concerto and a medley of Andrew Lloyd Webber pieces.   Councillor Bob Stanway on behalf of Forma was pleased to present a cheque for £250 to Epilepsy in Action which operates in our area this being a part of our profits over the last year.

 

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Redcar Rocks - Battle of the Bands Competition

FORMA were pleased to support the Redcar Rocks Battle of the Bands competition held in Redcar during  early July 09.

By providing £1000 in prize money we were able to make a substantial contribution to the proceedings.   The winning group Soviet Disco stormed to victory and an extra prize of £200 was given by FORMA to the junior band Up in Smoke.

Our chairperson Bob Fortune was one of the team of judges for the three heats and for the final which was held at The Coatham Bowl on the 4th July.

The event was mainly organised by Frankie Wales who is trying to raise money to get a Redcar Amateur Boxing Club team to Las Vegas.  We wish him well.

The photos show Soviet Disco receiving their prize presented by Frankie Wales and Up in Smoke with chairperson Bob Fortune and committee member Brian Davis.

 

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Thursday 26th February

Afternoon concert

IONE CUMMING

Following from her tour of parts of the UK the lovely Ione will sing songs from the shows and opera
at 
Zetland Park Methodist Church
Redcar
1.30 pm
£2.50 including refreshments

Both events are funded by the National Lottery

On February 26th we held our third matinee concert at Zetland Park Methodist Church when the lovely Ione Cumming - soprano - entertained us for an hour accompanied by Frank James at the piano.   The matinees have proved to be very popular and our audiences now fill the church.   Ione gave a delightful performance with a range of pieces to suit everyone.   Frank at the piano provided excellent accompaniment and his solo playing was extremely enjoyable.

Audience participation brought smiles to everyone's faces when Ione sang the Habinera  from Carmen with support from three of our male members of the congregation.   We will certainly be hoping for a return visit later in the year.

 

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Thursday 19th February

The Cleveland Police Band

at

St. Peter's Parish Church

Redcar

7.30 pm

£4.00 including refreshments

Forma were delighted to welcome The Cleveland Police Band to St. Peter's Church in Redcar on Thursday evening 19th February 2009.   It was the band's first concert of the year and we were first to hear their new programme of pieces.  It started off with a rousing march and was followed by the wonderful Finlandia.  Audience participation was encouraged during Colonel Bogie and four people were invited to come out to the front and play and sing along with the band.   There was a selection of lively pieces and more gentle ones in particular Dear Lord and Father of Mankind.   Tribute was paid to the film crew who visited Redcar to make the Atonement movie.   The audience were invited to have refreshments during the interval and a raffle helped FORMA funds.  This was a great evening for all and we would like to thank the Police Band for coming along to give us such first class entertainment and for their professional approach to the whole evening.

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MONDAY JANUARY 26TH 2009

Afternoon Concert 
with

The International Concert Pianist

VINCENT BILLINGTON

A programme of classical and popular pieces with a dash of humour

Zetland Park Methodist Church 
Redcar 1.30 p.m
£2.50 pay at the door including refreshments

National Lottery Funded

 Vincent Billington - international concert pianist entertained a full audience of around 120 people on Thursday 26th January.  As part of a set of three matinees Vincent gave us a concert to remember with his amazing piano playing and his delightful humour when he shared with us some of his experiences from his life in the world of classical music.  The audience were impressed with his ability to play any piece on request from memory as he played pieces such as Warsaw Concerto, Clair de Lune and  Flight of the Bumble Bee.   We hope to have Vincent back to entertain us again later in the year.

 

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In November and December, as part of a healthy eating project FORMA organised six lunchtime SOUP AND SONG matinee concerts three at St. Peter’s Parish Church and three at a Dormanstown Community Centre.   Local artists, including Maggie Camp, Martin Nesbitt, Cliff Healey and Barry Marshall, along with Jim Bainbridge from Scotland, entertained senior citizens as they enjoyed healthy home-made soups.  A raffle was held on each occasion.  These proved to be popular and enjoyable events.

 

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MATINEE - DAVID BAINBRIDGE 

Thursday 18^th December 2008

  International Baritone accompanied by Peter Gaunt on the piano

David pays a return visit to entertain us with songs from the opera and musicals with an additional festive touch.  

Zetland Park Methodist Church   1.30 p.m.

Pay at the door - £3.00 including seasonal refreshments.

December 18^th saw the return of David Bainbridge, International Baritone, to Zetland Park Methodist Church as the first of three FORMA matinee concerts being held over the winter months.   The event was well attended (approx 65) with people returning to hear him for a second time.   David presented a varied and enjoyable programme of pieces, some with a seasonal influence.  He was accompanied at the piano by Peter Gaunt.  The concert was followed by refreshments in the schoolroom.  

These three matinee events are part funded by the National Lottery.

 

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JAZZ AND BLUES NIGHT

 

This will be our Christmas celebration.

CLAXTON HOTEL REDCAR   

Friday 28th November 8.00 

featuring TEES HOT CLUB 

with Gus Smith on vocals

and guest musicians (following the sell out concert last March).

Pie and Pea supper with a vegetarian option.  Quiz and Raffle

Tickets £6.50   - from Christine on 01642 477018

 Tees Hot Club played again for us on our Jazz and Blues night on 28th November 2008.

Following on from their sell out concert in March they played to another packed audience at the Claxton Hotel in Redcar.

They began with a set of Jazz classics including Take the A Train and What is this thing called Love.   Jack Laing on Sax and Pete Papprill on trumpet and flugal, both seasoned musicians, complimented the excellent guitar playing of the group lead by Ian Bosworth.  Gus Smith on vocals added his mellow tones.   A blues section in the middle of the event was very well received where Duncan Lister's excellent guitar playing was recognised by blues enthusiasts in particular.  The evening finished with a second set of Jazz numbers which led at the end to members of the audience standing up to show their appreciation.

Pie and Peas completed a great evening's entertainment.   Thanks go to the staff of the Claxton who looked after us extremely well.

 

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JULIE FELIX

returns to Redcar

Tuesday and Wednesday 17th and 18th June 2008

Sir William Turner’s  Almshouses

Kirkleatham  

7.30 p.m. 
 

£12.00

Entry by ticket only

Ring 01642 477018 or 01642 470932

 

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A matinee programme of ballads, comedy songs and favourites from the musicals

with a dash of opera

 sung by the international baritone

 

DAVID BAINBRIDGE 

 

 Accompanied on the piano by Peter Gaunt

 ZETLAND METHODIST CHAPEL

 REDCAR

 On Thursday 17^th April 2008 at 1.30 p.m.

 Entrance fee £2.50 including refreshments

Further information from 01642 477018

 This event has been sponsored by Platform for classical music excellence in the Tees Valley

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Saturday April 12th 2008     
Redcar High Street

Working with Redcar Borough Council

STREET ENTERTAINMENT

Featuring Jim Bainbridge

The Men of Staithes 

Trish Maclean and Ian Wright

 

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An informal night of

JAZZ  AND  BLUES

with

TEES HOT CLUB

and special guests

at

REDCAR CRICKET CLUB

Saturday - 29th March 2008 at 8.00 p.m.

Tickets £5 including a cold platter supper

RAFFLE

Tickets from 01642 477018 and 470932

Come and enjoy the words and music of

• Cole Porter

• Fats Waller

• George Gershwin

• Jerome Kern

• Django

• Duke Ellington

FORMA’S 2008 programme of events got off to an excellent start on the 29th March at Redcar Cricket Club with a Jazz and Blues evening enjoyed by a capacity crowd.  In addition to the quality musical content the audience were treated to a cold platter supper. 

Tees Hot Club is a guitar/percussion band who skilfully delivered a programme of Django, Bossa and classic jazz pieces.  The Jazz numbers were complimented by the guest appearance of two elder statesmen of the North East Jazz scene, Pete Papprill  and Jack Laing, who added their depth of skills with a range of instruments including tenor sax and trumpet. Duncan Lister added his considerable talents to the blues numbers.  The rich mellow vocals of Gus Smith are always a pleasure to hear.    

Redcar had a real tradition of good jazz in the past – this evening was a great indication that this tradition should be rekindled.

 

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November 2007

JULIE FELIX -

The Forever Young tour

The Chapel
Sir William Turner's Almshouses
Kirkleatham
Redcar

 

"The chapel at Sir William Turner’s Almshouses was the beautiful setting for two sell-out concerts for Julie Felix on the 13th and 14th November.   

As part of her “Forever Young” tour Julie accepted our invitation to perform for us and the immediate response of her fans in the area for the first evening led us to extend the invitation to two nights.   Julie’s voice remains strong and her message is still powerful and sincere.   The performances were a mixture of her own choice of songs reflecting her cultural heritage and her personal thoughts and feelings, along with space after the interval for requests from the audience.   We were able to enjoy favourites such as “Masters of War”, “A Hard Rain’s a gonna fall”, Mr. Tambourine Man”, “The Fox” and the tour’s signature tune “Forever Young” along with “Tabu”, “Chimes” and “How could anyone” plus many more.    It was a privilege to share her thoughts about her parents, particularly her late father whose birthday it was on the 14th.

Julie stayed back to spend time talking with her many fans after the concert, posing for photographs and signing old LPs and new CDs. 

We are thankful to a team of young Air Cadets from the 2394 Squadron who sold programmes and manned the car park to guard our cars in dreadful weather.   They certainly lent a special air to the proceedings.

Both evenings were wonderful experiences and Julie is very keen to come back next year to entertain us again on her “Highway of Diamonds” tour to celebrate her 70th year.   This is likely to be in June – watch this space".

 

 

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KIRKLEATHAM MUSEUM - Summer 2007

From the 27th May onwards until the 2nd September FORMA provided musical entertainment linked with the exhibitions at the museum every Sunday. In addition each Bank Holiday and, during the school holidays, each Wednesday, was targeted for additional entertainment. Entertainment was provided by -

Bob Fortune, our chairperson who sang some of his own songs rooted in the Cleveland area and accompanied himself on guitar. See our link page for details of his C.D.'s and recording facilities.

Les Cameron and Barbara Helen who sang their own pieces many of which are featured on their C.D. "Beyond the Sand". See their website via our links page.

Ian Wright with Trish Maclean who sang a wide range of popular songs including some original pieces. Trish played her flute to accompany some of Ian's singing. For contact see our links page

Milo Thelwall who sang and accompanied himself on guitar and also played fiddle. On his final day he included his double base and was accompanied by a colleague.

Judith Haswell who sang songs linking with the exhibitions of sea and country. See our link page.

Richard Grainger sang from his wide repertoire of music connected with local industry and the sea. See our link page for details of his C.D.'s and tours.

Mike Fowler played guitar including some Elizabethan pieces and also some appropriate modern jazz pieces.

Maggie Camp and Alan Leach played songs and read poems to support the "Atonement" exhibition of photographs. In addition Maggie also played and sang songs linked with the coast and countryside. See our links page.

Mike Smith (Magic Mike) entertained the visitors at the Family Weekend with magic, balloons and singing. See our link page.

Alex Wade played a medley of sea shanties on her concertina see our links page.

and finally

Speckie the Clown (Colin Robinson) amused children and families with magic balloons and jokes. See our links page.

 

 

 

 

 

ATONEMENT STREET ENTERTAINMENT Tuesday and Wednesday 4th and 5th Sept. 2007

Redcar Borough Council invited us to provide some street entertainment to support the premiere of the film Atonement. Maggie Camp, dressed in army uniform played her guitar and sang a range of songs linked with the Second World War. This added an extra dimension to the town's celebrations and brought smiles to many faces.

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In addition we have provided lunchtime music at BBC RADIO TEES featuring Trish Maclean with Ian Wright, followed by Maggie Camp on Tuesday 4th September. Les Cameron and Barbara Helen were followed by Mike Fowler on Wednesday 5th September. Extracts from the recordings have been played on BBC Radio Tees in the build up to the Proms.

Jim Bainbridge, The Young Uns and Stan Gee and Evelyn May also sang in Redcar High Street on Wednesdays during August. Jonty was unfortunately rained off.
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All in all it has been a very busy but exciting and enjoyable summer for FORMA members.
We are now looking forward to our next event on the 13th and 14th November when Julie Felix comes to entertain us at The Chapel in Kirkleatham Village.

 

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Saturday 7th July 2007
AMERICANA

"Around 70 people attended our most recent concert at Sir William Turner's Almshouses Houses on 07.07.07. To link in with America's Independence Day celebrations FORMA organised an evening of American music including some jazz, blues, traditional and more modern. Stan Croft and Mike Fowler began the evening with a selection of blues with some excellent solo spots by Mike. This extended to jazz pieces played by Mike and finished with his lovely version of "The Deer Hunter". The pair who have recently started playing together make a great combination and the two of them went down well with the audience. The evening ended with an entertaining and interesting performance by the experienced performers Stan Gee and Evelyn May who sang and played a range of instruments to convey the feeling of the American West. They, understandably, have been invited back to the Albuquerque Festival in America this Autumn following their first successful visit last year."

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20th April 2007
LOCAL FOLK The Claxton Hotel Redcar, at 7:30
The first F.O.R.M.A. event.
A Night of contemporary and traditional folk music featuring
Les Cameron and Barbara Helen
Ian Wright and Trish Maclean
Richard Grainger
Tickets £6.00 including a light buffet.

"F.O.R.M.A. held its own first concert on 20th April 2007 at the Claxton Hotel in Redcar to a packed audience. Over 115 people attended to watch a beautiful opening performance from Les Cameron and Barbara Helen where they played a selection of their own pieces and a couple of well known numbers. They were followed by the captivating Richard Grainger who held and involved the audience with a range of songs relating to the local area. Following the Pie and Pea supper Ian Wright and Trish Maclean rounded the evening off with their delightful style of singing and banter. Les and Barbara and Richard have their own web sites if you would like to know more - see Links page. All artists have CDs available.

F.O.R.M.A. would like to thank the audience, artists and the staff of the Claxton Hotel for all their contributions making this an excellent night."

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27th March 2007
Poems in Redcar Central Library - Gordon Hodgeon reading from his new book "Winter Breaks" at 7:15
F.O.R.M.A. Members will participate in the open mic part of Gordon's evening.

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24th February 2007
Music Night - The Claxton Hotel Redcar 7.30
(F.O.R.M.A. in supporting role only)
£6.00 including quiz and pie and pea supper. Featuring Martin Nesbit and Bob Fortune

"The Claxton Hotel was host to a sell-out concert on the 24th February 2007. A tasty pie and pea supper was provided for an audience of over a hundred people who had come along to support both F.O.R.M.A. and the local branch of an epilepsy charity. Entertainment was provided by local singer/songwriter Bob Fortune (FORMA's chairperson) who sang a mixture of his own compositions on local matters interspersed with classics from the 60's and 70's, and Martin Nesbitt who sang a collection of his humorous songs. The audience enjoyed the music and a quiz and a good night was had by all. FORMA committee members provided support to make this an extremely successful evening."

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18th February 2007
Display stand at Kirkleatham Pavillion
Local Craft Fayre organised by Joanne Hodgson of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council.

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23rd January 2007
Committee meeting

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10th January 2007
Inaugural Meeting - Committee formed.

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