Lion & Trainee Animal Keeper Help Alfreton Male Voice Choir in First post Covid Performance
A lion and trainee large animal keeper helped Alfreton Male Voice Choir perform their first post Covid lockdown performance recently in the theatre of the David Nieper Academy, Alfreton, in front of a wonderful audience of around 150 people including the mayors of Amber Valley Borough Council and Alfreton Town Council.
Raising funds for local charity AQUABOX, which sends water filters to disaster areas worldwide, the Choir performed eighteen varied tempo and genre popular songs including, 'Anthem' from the musical Chess, the Queen classic, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, with its mixture of acapella, ballad, opera and rock which surprised and delighted the audience. Whilst ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’ took everyone to the jungle with chimpanzee and lion calls along with a full size lifelike lioness, ‘Leonora’, making an appearance under the care of audience lion tamer 'volunteers' Rachael and daughter Liberty who happens to be at college training to be a large animal keeper.
Choir Chairman Mick Mularkey said, “What a great night. Our first wonderful live audience for nearly two years and doing what the Choir enjoys, entertaining, having fun and making money for charity.
Trumpeter John Barker woo’d the audience with two sets of four pieces including ‘Stardust' Thn the Choirs’ Sagalouts skiffle group, comprising guitar, ukulele x2, washboard, drums and tea-chest bass, provided a colourful and fun interlude after changing from their Choir green jackets and black trousers into colourful coats and wigs, performing three sons including the Lonnie Donegan piece ‘Does Your Chewing Gum Lose its Flavour on the Bedpost Overnight’.
AQUABOX representative Keith Hardy gave a short presentation on the work of the charity sending water filters and other aid to disaster areas such as the recent earthquake in Haiti and thanking both Choir and audience for the fund raising event.
The finale included ‘Les Miserable’ piece ‘Do You Hear The sing’ when tricolour flag waving Choir tenor Tom roused people to the barricade and 'join the crusade'. Then trumpeter John Barker joined the Choir for ‘High on a Hill’ and the final anthem song ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’
Chairman Mick said, “ A big thanks to trumpeter John Barker, the David Nieper staff and of course the wonderful audience who helped us raise funds for AQUABOX. We've not made the final financial calculations yet but we expect to be able to donate several hundred pounds to AQUABOX.”
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