ORGANISERS of the forthcoming Gorleston St Andrew's 39th Competitive Festival are hoping for massive turn-out and attend both the competitive classes and the final concerts.

ORGANISERS of the forthcoming Gorleston St Andrew's 39th Competitive Festival are hoping for massive turn-out and attend both the competitive classes and the final concerts.

All musical genres are covered in the comprehensive syllabus, which comprises instrumental and singing classes, speech and drama, while all musical disciplines offer the opportunity of participation for solos, duets or ensembles.

The singing classes include oratorio and sacred aria, operatic aria, operetta, Gilbert and Sullivan, Victorian or Edwardian ballad, Lieder, foreign song in original language, songs from musical shows, pop songs, and Folk/traditional songs.

Speech classes cover individual and group verse speaking from memory, story-telling and story-reading in Norfolk or Suffolk dialect and non-dialect, prose reading, sight reading and Bible reading. The drama section has classes for solo acting, duologue or triologue, group plays or excerpts.

There will be five professional adjudicators for the competitive classes, Barbara Law for woodwind, recorders, brass, wind ensembles and Folk; Gary Sieling for piano, electronic keyboard, pipe organ and composition; Margaret Lamb for strings, orchestras and chamber Ensembles; Trevor Hughes for solo singing, choirs and vocal ensembles, and Norma Redfearn, for speech and drama.

The three adjudicators for the Recital and Bircham Awards' Evening will be Jonathan Beatty and Gillian Thoday, with Liz Childs chairing the panel.

The festival will be taking place from March 17-28. The classes will be held in the Chapter House, with morning, afternoon and evening sessions and audience admission to these is free. All timings of classes are in the Festival Programme, which is available at the Chapter House during the Festival, and further details are on the website at www.gorlestonfestival.org

The Senior Concert will be held at the Chapter House on Friday, March 27, at 7.30 pm, the Junior Concert will be held at Lynn Grove High School on Saturday, March 28, at 2pm and the Recital Award and Bircham Award Evening will be held at the Chapter House on Saturday, March 28, at 7 pm. Audience admission charges for adults are �2.50 to each concert, with accompanied children free.

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