Brining Photography Weblog

The City of Coventry Male Voice Choir

On an appallingly wet and windy evening in July (typical British summer then) I met up with the City of Coventry Male Voice Choir at Coventry Cathedral with the intention of shooting some iconic new publicity photos for them.

When the appointed hour arrived, there was no way we could even attempt the proposed shots without looking as though the entire choir had been recently submerged. Options considered were either to abandon the shoot and retire to the pub, attempt to create something meaningful and artistic under the canopy (difficult when the rain was virtually horizontal under there anyway), or wait and see if the minuscule patch of bright sky visible in the distance would float overhead.

In the end option C prevailed and, miraculously, after a day of continuous rain, the clouds parted long enough for us to emerge from our huddle under the umbrella-village and do the shoot as planned.

A few examples are shown below and should you wish to find out more about the choir, please visit their website

Sir David Willcocks Presentation

As part of the Three Choirs Festival, a special evening reception was held for the legendary conductor, organist and composer Sir David Willcox where he was presented with a lifetime achievement award by the RVW (Ralph Vaughn-Williams) Society. It was particularly fitting that Sir David received the award here as he once graced the cathedral as its one time Director of Music.

Although nearly 83 years old, Sir David was a sprightly fellow and managed to hold the crowd with an amusing, if slightly long, speech about his life and work - although it was a remarkable feat to condense 83 years into 30 minutes!

Pictured is Sir David addressing the crowd and then proudly holding his new award.