It’s Valentine’s Day in May

Millicent Choral Society & South East Concert Band presenting love songs across the ages to the stage

The Millicent Choral Society has been entertaining the local community and beyond for the best part of five decades and their next performance is this weekend. Alongside special guest artists the South East Concert Band, the Millicent Choral Society are bringing Valentine’s Day to May with a Love Songs Concert at the Millicent Civic & Arts Centre at 2.30pm this Sunday.

Choir leader Michael Bleby said this weekend’s performance will showcase a diverse range of music – including movie inspired ballads Elton John’s Can You Feel The Love Tonight? from The Lion King and the Titanic’s My Heart Will Go On, as well as time honoured classics including Three Coins in The Fountain, a Sinatra classic, and The Rose of Tralee, our of Ireland. The program also includes The Beatles song Yesterday, the John Denver-Placido Domingo collaboration Perhaps Love, Dean Martin’s That’s Amore and First of May, by the Bee Gees.

There will also be an afternoon tea during interval. The Millicent Choral Society was formed in 1974 and has run continuously, performing at a variety of venues through the region and further afield. “There are so many good venues for singing in this region – the Uniting Church Hall, other churches, the Civic & Arts Centre,” Michael said.

“We have also done a couple of concerts in the Tantanoola Cave over the years and they have been hugely successful. The acoustics are like a cathedral and we have sold out concerts that can have 60 people seated in the stunning cave setting.”

The choir has hit the road as well at South Australian Choral Association events, as well as Victorian events, and they have joined forces with other choirs, including the Port Lincoln choir, at festival events.

In its hey day, membership was around 30 singers and still now sits around the 15-20 mark.

The Millicent Choral Society is a genuine community choir – no audition required – it is all about the enjoyment of singing.

One of the biggest challenges for community choirs is sourcing an accompanist and the Millicent choir has made the move to backing tracks to ensure they can continue – even when their most recent accompanist left the region.

“It does present its challenges but it also gives you the opportunity to sing to a large orchestral backing track if that’s what you want,” Michael said. “I work with a lady from Ireland that can source what I need and email me the MP3 file – that’s been a big change.”

The group, as it always has, also performs a cappella.

Tickets for this Sunday’s Love Songs Concert is $20 for adults, $15 for concession and children (under 18) for $5, with tickets available at the door for cash only.