I want to start this blog post by giving a huge shoutout to my wonderful husband David who has introduced me to a whole new world of music over the past few years, and also introducing me to many ‘firsts’, such as experiencing my first choral concert in Birmingham, and indeed, my first time visiting the city of Birmingham! Coming from a small town in Lincolnshire, surrounded by countryside, it still amazes me when I visit a city, the tall magnificent buildings, the busy train stations, the buzzing atmosphere and the crowds of people making their way through. I think I’m more intrigued by looking at the sights rather than the shops. I didn’t even realise that the train station was under the city centre! In just a short while of entering the city centre, I had already encountered many amazing experiences!
The concert we went to was called For Those We Loved and was held in St Philip’s Cathedral. Having never seen Birmingham Cathedral before, it was a wonderful moment to be able to fully experience the beauty outside and in. With stunning stained glass windows, beautiful architecture and brilliant acoustics that one could only wish for, it was the perfect setting for this breathtaking performance by the Birmingham Bach Choir. After hearing about the choir from David, it was such a pleasure to be able to get to go. There was another first for all of us, as the concert included the world premier of Paul Spicer’s Sound the Invisible Trump, written specially for the Birmingham Bach Choir.
I absolutely loved the concert and it was such a joy to be there. I highly recommend going. It was also nice to be able to be there with my husband. This was actually our first concert together. As we didn’t get to any over the past couple of years, it made it even more special being there as husband and wife. It created some special memories for us that we will definitely hold on to. The choir was just superb: I was mesmerised throughout, and the soloists just blew me away with their amazing voices. I especially loved it when Emily Matthews did her solo, and when Ed Ballard first started to sing. I’m surprised my mouth wasn’t wide open and almost touching the floor! This is definitely a concert I will remember for years to come.
This trip also held another first for us! It was our first time having a meal out together, just the two of us! Another special memorie! Before making our way to the Cathedral, we headed over to Ask Italian, my first time visiting one of their restaurants. Thankfully, they gave us a box for our leftover pizza! We didn’t quite realise just how big the pizzas were going to be. Plus, we did have a garlic flatbread with mozzarella to start with (which has very quickly become one of our favourites). It was very delicious and very moreish. If you’re looking for a restaurant in Birmingham, I definitely recommend checking out Ask Italian. I must say they are very generous with their portion sizes, which just makes it even better!
I felt quite sad after the concert had ended as I could have sat there for hours listening to the choir sing. As there was just an organist playing, you were definitely able to get the full experience of the choir signing. Their voices filled the entire Cathedral. You don’t even notice that there aren’t any other instruments. During the half time break, I sat very eagerly waiting for the second half to start!
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Due to health reasons, I am one for liking to know what seats are available, where the toilets are and that these things are easily accessible. The Cathedral was very warm and welcoming. The seats were very comfy, with lots of foot room, and plenty of room to put down our bags, coats and leftover pizza, and the facilities were very accessible. A big tick for all these!
After lots of clapping, it was time to head back home. As it was a Saturday night, I was fascinated by the amount of people crowded in the city, off on their nights out! Bars, clubs and restaurants were packed out! You don’t always see that coming from a small countryside town! I’m so thankful for this wonderful experience and I really can’t wait to go again to see the Birmingham Bach Choir. Hopefully we won’t have to wait too long as their next concert is on 25th June. It was definitely a night filled with firsts, making lots of new and special memories, a truly amazing and memorable evening experiencing an outstanding performance from the choir.
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