Christmas Glitz comes to Weston super Mare

On Saturday, December 10th 2022, Fascinating Rhythm hosted a very successful Christmas Concert in aid of local charity Ups and Downs SouthWest at The Blakehay Theatre in Weston-super-Mare. 

Fascinating Rhythm performed a range of songs from their diverse repertoire to a very appreciative audience, from jazz classics, show tunes and pop songs, to Christmas carols (yes – with bells!) and many festive favourites. The choir was supported on stage by the small in-house group RhythmMix and home-grown quartets Ebb Tide and Specs Appeal, who all performed a show section and Christmas section.  

“What an incredible evening! This was our first full concert since before the pandemic, so it was such a joy to work on and perform the majority of our repertoire. We particularly enjoyed blowing the dust off our Christmas songs, and to be back under the spotlights and sing at the beautiful Blakehay Theatre was pure magic. I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in making this such a special evening for an amazing cause, particularly the lovely ladies of Fascinating Rhythm who gave so much of themselves to put on this epic concert.”

Fascinating Rhythm’s musical director, Jo Thorn.

Audience members enjoyed the variety of songs and acts, many being in a theatre for the first time since 2019.

“Watching the Christmas concert performed by Fascinating Rhythm was such a joy. The musical genius behind every song showed in every chorus member, and the beautiful voices collated together to create an incredible sound. I would definitely recommend going to watch this chorus; they were vibrant, fun, mesmerising and just brilliant. The barbershop quartets also brought a little something new to the show. I’ve never seen or heard such a beautiful set. I will be watching them again, that’s for sure.” 

Shania Davies, a musical theatre graduate.

Several members of River City Chorus from Exeter came up to Weston Super Mare for the concert and reported;

“Fascinating Rhythm sang a wonderful, varied programme from old ballads to modern upbeat numbers, as well as a selection of carols and modern Christmas songs. 

Wonderful harmony singing put us in the mood for Christmas and inspired us to continue our ambition to be the best we can be.

Many thanks to Jo Thorn, the Music Director and the wonderful chorus.”

Fascinating Rhythm members voted Ups and Downs Southwest as their chosen charity for 2022 at their annual general meeting. Throughout the year, the chorus has participated in a number of fundraising activities to support Ups and Downs Southwest, which relies solely on charitable donations. During the show, three young people, who the charity has supported, joined the choir on the stage for a Makaton-signed performance of ‘This is Me’ from the musical, The Greatest Showman. The young people learned the signed choreography when they collaborated with Fascinating Rhythm in 2019 to produce a music video to raise awareness of Down’s Syndrome. The concert alone raised £1346.

“We feel so lucky to have had the support of Fascinating Rhythm this year. They have gone the extra mile to raise funds for Ups and Downs Southwest and our profile through their website and social media channels. With no statutory funding, we are solely reliant on public donations and grants, and every little bit really makes a difference to our families, children, and young people. The money raised by Fascinating Rhythm through the year will go directly towards our children and young people’s events, allowing us to create more opportunities to build up their skills, knowledge, and social networks”. 

The charity’s PR representative, Michelle Bull.

You can support Ups and Downs Southwest by donating via their website or participating in one of their fundraising initiatives.

There is nothing the members of Fascinating Rhythm love more than entertaining audiences and displaying our unique sound and beautiful harmonies. We look forward to sharing our enthusiasm for singing with aspiring singers at our Love to Sing workshop on January 28th 2023, and then taking to the stage again on February 18th alongside Go Vocal. Hope to see you there! 

To keep up to date with Fascinating Rhythm and other forthcoming events, follow our social media channels: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.