Bill Tamblyn’s Quire performing in West London

The Quire

Colchester’s Quire, the town’s World Music Community Choir, will be taking part in the London Sangerstevne, a non-competitive international choral festival, this Saturday. It will be held at St Matthew’s Church in Ealing. Quire will be performing a 15 minute selection from its repertoire in each of two concerts (2.30pm and 7.30pm) along with other choirs from across Europe.

Its charismatic founder and musical director is Bill Tamblyn. Tamblyn was a pioneer in the 60s and 70s of post-Vatican II liturgical music, contributing to major hymnals used in Britain. He founded Chiswick Music, a music publishing company, in 1973, during a period when he was choirmaster at Our Lady of Grace and St Edward Catholic parish in Chiswick, West London. He was also a founder member of the St Thomas More Group of Catholic composers, and remains active with the National Network of Pastoral Musicians.

“I’ve been developing the Quire for ten years now” he says. A recent concert focused on a programme of world justice and peace music, which he describes as a “wonderful journey”. The programme, with a Justice and Peace theme, saw Quire sing justice songs from Africa in Xhosa, Shona and Zulu, and peace songs in Portuguese, Arabic and Hebrew from Brazil, the Middle East and Israel. Tamblyn was up front, playing bongos and encouraging audience participation. One item was his own composition, ‘All you who pass this way’ which was illustrated by background slides showing homeless people and foodbanks in Britain.

Quire events are listed on its website and Tamblyn says the 60-strong choir is willing to perform at venues away from their Colchester base. All invitations welcome!

For more information see: 

www.quire.org

www.londonsangerstevne.org.uk

www.nnpm.org