Charles Paterson Memorial Concert

I had a day-trip to Leicester today to sing in a memorial concert for my singing friend and musician Charles, who's funeral I went to in December (see here).

About 80 of us joined together to make a choir performing a range of Charles' choral music. We were each given a booklet containing (most of) the music, ranging from sacred to secular to arrangements of popular music. 

I particularly enjoyed Spring, the Sweet Spring...

and his arrangement of a Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square.

Charles was born and raised in Ipswich, but I did not know him from that, nor when he was at Cambridge University (had had graduated before I went up), bur from The Tudor Singers of London, in which we sang tenor together. We kept in touch through participating on our regular choir reunions - for the last time in August 2023.

Charles had a long association with Leicester where he taught at the Grammar School and member of the Leicester Bach Choir for 13 years - hence the location of the concert at the cathedral there.

You can read an interview with him from Music In Portsmouth here, and a post in the Leicester Bach Choir Facebook site here.

There were about a dozen form Tudor Singers there today; most singing but also a few in the audience.

Here are a few of photos.

I had to take a look at Richard III's tomb while I was there.

It was a great celebration and I loved singing Charles' music. It was also good to catch up with a few people I hadn't seen for quite a while over the cup of tea afterwards.

RIP Charles.