The Vintage Chorus first met in January 2015, in the Festival Theatre Edinburgh. Over the following weeks and months, our numbers increased to about thirty regular members.
Our first public performance was the launch of the Old Town Collective, which was held at Surgeon’s Hall. We were nervous but soon were caught up in singing and looking forward to the next time. The choir gave four more performances that year, including a visit to North Berwick Day Care Centre.
During 2016 there were several more performances leading up to the final appearance of the year when we sang Christmas songs in the bar at the Festival Theatre before a performance of Hansel and Gretel. A few of our members dressed in costume and this attracted lots of attention from the audience.
In December 2016 choir members were lucky enough to take part in a workshop run by Opera North. We worked with their musical director in the morning, singing “Old Joe Has Gone Fishing” from Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes and “The Chorus Of The Hebrew Slaves” from Nabucco by Verdi. In the afternoon the Chorus joined our group and we sang the songs together. What a memorable moment that was!
The year 2017 brought more opportunities for the choir and we had five performances, including the Thistle Foundation Christmas Fair. That was a great afternoon. There was lots going on and the choir were given a great welcome. The smiling faces of the audience said it all!
In 2018 we took part in the Edinburgh Film Festival’s showing of silent films. We sang “Dance Of the Cuckoos” at the end of a Laurel and Hardy film. The audience joined in and it was hilarious.
We also sang in the reception area of the Royal Infirmary as visitors and patients were coming and going. In December we sang at the Braid Hills Nursing Home and it was lovely to see our audience joining in with the familiar songs and carols.
The Year 2019 started on a high, when we were lucky enough to have a one hour workshop led by Lee Ormsby, from the cast of Les Miserables. We sang “At The End Of The Day” and “Master Of The House”. We had great fun and were delighted that we could actually perform the songs by the end of the workshop, helped by one of our members and our Musical Director taking the parts of Monsieur and Madame Thenardier!
In June 2019 the Festival Theatre showcased “The Big Birthday Show”, celebrating the arts. We sang a medley of our songs on stage and in front of an audience. That was a great night to remember for a long time.
We finished the year by returning to the Braid Hills Nursing Home - they must have liked us!
The choir had gone from strength to strength in the five years to Spring 2020, when lockdown came into effect. At that time nobody knew how long our rehearsals would be suspended for, but we were all ready to return when it was safe. Unfortunately, the Festival Theatre were no longer able to support us and we had to make other plans.
The Vintage Chorus relaunched in September 2022 and we currently have around twenty members, and look forward to a happy future singing our hearts out! If you are interested in joining us, please drop us an email via the button link below.