Summer Festival featuring Faryl Smith

Friday 13th July, 2012 - 11:37am

The Summer Festival Concert has, since the 1930s, been an occasion for bringing an international singing star to Penzance as a guest artiste.  In recent years the choir has hosted Bryn Terfel, Dame Felicity Lott, Dame Valerie Masterson, Owen Brannigan, Alan Opie, John Treleaven, Benjamin Luxon, Amorel Gunson and Bonaventura Bottone to name but a few.  And earlier Cynthia Glover, Heddle Nash, Norma Proctor amongst many.

This year the choir’s guest artiste is the rapidly rising star, Faryl Smith, a Mezzo Soprano who first hit the international scene at the age of 13 years in a stunning performance on Britain’s Got Talent in 2008.  In December that year Faryl signed a multi-million pound contract with Universal Music Group, the largest ever granted to a schoolgirl.  Her debut album, Faryl, was released in March 2009 and became the fastest selling solo classical album in British chart history, 29,200 copies in the first week.

In April 2009, Faryl travelled to Los Angeles to begin a United States promotion tour and appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show.  On return to Britain she opened the 2009 Classical     BRIT awards, sang at the FA Cup Final, performed a duet with Jose Carreras at the Hampton Court Palace Festival and sang before HM Queen Elizabeth II at the 2009 Royal Variety Performance.  Her career since then has been remarkable with wide ranging concert and television appearances, all of which this 17 year old singer has to fit in with her A-level studies at Southfield School For Girls in her home town  of Kettering, Northants.

The story behind Faryl coming to Penzance is one of serendipity.  Her singing tutor, Sylvia Berryman, and husband Graham, are fans of Mousehole Male Voice Choir and, following a harbourside concert, adjourned to the Old Coastguard Hotel where the choir members are wont to continue singing, pint in hand.  The choir’s Musical Director, Stephen Lawry, struck up a conversation with them and it went uphill from there.

The concert begins at 7.30pm on Sunday 5th August. Programmes can be purchased in advance at the discounted price of £8 from Morrab Studio, Penzance; The Kings Arms, Paul; Mousehole News. 

Only a limited number of programmes may be available on the door price £10. 

 

If you are unable to get to any of the sales outlet points you should e-mail  mmvc@talktalk.net before July 29th, giving name, address, and telephone number, to reserve seats at £8 each.  Your programmes will be kept for you until 7.15pm on the night; if they are not claimed by that time, they will be released for general sale.

The choir’s latest CD, From Cornish Cliffs, will be on sale at £10. There is extensive information about Faryl Smith on her website.