EDITORIAL

Remembering can be done in so many ways…. with ceremony and music and flags and flowers or in silence with no one else there.

Simply telling the stories of the people who are being remembered is salutary.

One of the most moving stories of sacrifice in war is of John Young, a 24 year old from 7 Jedburgh Gardens in Glasgow’s West End.  He was a captain serving with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in 1944 in Kohima in the North East of India. This was a crucial ridge selected by the Japanese as their way into India.

Captain Young’s order was to hold the position ‘until the last man and the last round.’ Knowing the impossibility of the situation, he finally ordered his men to retreat and he elected to hold the position with the injured, so that he would be the last man and he would fire the last round. His fight so impressed the Japanese that they buried him with full military honours.

John Young is remembered today by veterans of the Burma Campaign, who set up the Kohima Educational Trust which gives educational support to the children of the area where they fought.

He is remembered by a granite plaque at the door of his Glasgow home. This was unveiled in 2011 by the then Lord Provost of Glasgow, Robert Winter, after sterling research work by Roy McCallum and Gordon Graham of the Kohima Trust.

He is remembered by the congregation of Wellington Church where he and his family worshipped. There,  his name is one of many inscribed on the wall of remembrance.  A special collection on Sunday 11 November 2012, was inspired by John Young’s sacrifice and has been given to the Kohima Educational Trust.

And,   following a worldwide competition organised by the College of Piping in Glasgow, John Young will be remembered by a pipe tune named after him. This will be played in public for the first time on Thursday 15 November at 11am in Jedburgh Gardens where John grew up.

Remembering will continue for a long time to come.

 

Chance to sing in Gloria X

The West End’s annual feast of choral and organ music – GLORIA – this year celebrates its tenth anniversary. Singers are invited for the choir, assembled especially for the event, which will perform in Glasgow Cathedral on Wednesday 13 June and in Wellington Church on Wednesday 20 June.

The programme of choral music to be sung will include Parry’s great anthem “I was Glad”. This being Jubilee year, Handel’s coronation anthem “ Zadok the Priest” will be included as well as a number of shorter pieces by composers past and present.

Two of the city’s most experienced choral conductors – Ian Anderson and Iain Galbraith – will conduct the concerts in, respectively, the Cathedral and in Wellington Church. The organ will be played at both concerts by Alan Kitchen

All singers interested in rehearsing for these powerful evenings should attend the first rehearsal in Wellington Church on Wednesday 9 May at 7.30 or at the latest, the second rehearsal on Wednesday 16 May at 7.30m in Wellington Church, Southpark Avenue, G12 8 LE.

Chinese Burns Supper to entertain all nations

Wellington Church INTERNATIONAL WELCOME CLUB and CONGREGATION CHINESE BURNS NIGHT FRIDAY 27 JANUARY 2012 7pm for 7.30pm Enjoy a unique evening of Burns poetry and song with Chinese counterparts in this Year of the Dragon. Meal includes haggis-filled Chinese dumplings! And vegetarian options, of course WELLINGTON CHURCH HALLS 77 Southpark Avenue, Glasgow G12 8LE £3 ticket at the door: £6 family ticket  (only a few left so be on time at 7pm!)

Brian opens the debating year

 

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE PART OF BRIAN TAYLOR’S BIG DEBATE?

We’re coming to your town . . . and we’d love to see you there!

 WHERE: Wellington Church, 77 Southpark Avenue, Glasgow, G12

WHEN: Friday 6^th January

TIMES: Doors open at the venue at 11.30am the show is on air from 12.15 – 1.00pm.

RESERVATIONS: please complete the booking form attached and return it to brian@bbc.co.uk to book your seat in the audience. Or alternatively you can book online at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-15190428

PANEL: SNP MSP Bill Kidd and Labour MSP Drew Smith will be joined by Professor Sheila McLean.

Brian Taylor’s Big Debate is a news and politics radio programme with a panel and audience, broadcasting on BBC Radio Scotland every Friday lunchtime. The show has visited more than 50 cities and towns across Scotland since itbegan in 2009.

Each week BBC Scotland’s Political Editor Brian Taylor chairs a panel of people from the world of politics, business, arts and the community and he needs YOU to ask the questions and take part in the debate.

 The audience is at the heart of this programme.

Our audience and panel members have asked questions and aired their opinions on issues ranging from sectarianism, independence, wind farms and roads, to the future of wild beavers in Perth and the trams in Edinburgh!

Questions should be brief and to the point if possible and can be on anything that you feel passionate about. Please email your question to us at brian@bbc.co.uk byThursday 5^th January. Please be aware we’re not able to guarantee that all questions will be used.

 

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU IN GLASGOW ON FRIDAY 6th JANUARY!

Email brian@bbc.co.uk to book your place in the audience

 

CEILIDH to welcome newcomers

A ceilidh to welcome new comers to Glasgow will be held by Wellington Church congregation and their INTERNATIONAL WELCOME CLUB on Friday 25 November at 7.30pm.  A family affair, anyone who wants to have a bit of a dance, see others entertain and enjoy a modest supper without alcohol, for a modest donation of £3 per adult or £5 per family, is invited.

Just turn up for 7.30pm at the church halls at 77 Southpark Avenue, Glasgow G12 8LE .  Since this is near St Andrew’s Day (30 November) the event will have a St Andrew’s theme and a lot of fun.

 

Glorious choir tunes up for Malawi

Five centuries of choral music will be celebrated on Thursday 23 June to raise funds for Malawi. The concert will be free, but donations offered at the door of Wellington Church, 77 Southpark Avenue Glasgow G12 8LE will go to Christian Aid. The event is one organised by the West End Churches through their Christian Aid Malawi Partnership Project. Each pound raised will be matched 9 times by the Scottish Government’s Development Fund. The money will advance educational work in Malawi on Aids and HIV.

A host of composers from Tallis, Byrd, Bach, Handel, Mozart, Haydn, Mendelssohn and Elgar to Rutter will have their work sung by the famous ‘Gloria’ West End Choir conducted by Ian Anderson. Margaret Milton is the soprano soloist and Alan Kitchen will be the organist. In addition, organ solos will be performed by Malcolm Sim and Jonathan Salmond with Rosemary Guerrier as percussionist and Andrew Gordon as timpanist. A glorious evening of music again beckons.

Holy Week in the West End

In Holy Week which leads up to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his resurrection at Easter, churches in  Glasgow’s West End have a series of services to mark the momentous  events.

All united services, they start on Monday 18 April in Hyndland Church. Next day the service will be in Lansdowne,  followed by Kelvinside Hillhead church on Wednesday.  Maundy Thursday when the Last Supper was held, will be in Wellington Church crypt and will be a communion service. Good Friday will have a vigil in Kelvinside Hillhead Church from 12 noon till 3pm with a service in St John’s Renfield Church at 7pm- the time all the services will be held.

On Easter morning – Sunday 24 April – a communion service will be held in Kelvingrove Park near Lord Roberts’ statue at 8am. This will be followed by a breakfast in Wellington Church crypt (enter off University avenue) At 11am that day an all-age communion service will be held in Wellington Church with an evening service at 7pm when Stations of the Resurrection will be discussed.

 

 

Glorious invite

Singers who want to be part of the West End Festival’s musical extravaganza, Gloria IX, are invited to join the rehearsals starting on Thursday 5 May – voting day!

In its ninth year, Gloria will be performed in Glasgow Cathedral on Thursday 16 June and in Wellington Church, University Avenue, on Thursday 23 June.

‘We welcome as many choir singers as possible,’ said Alan Kitchen who will accompany the choir on the organ and who has provided three brand new hymn arrangements for choir, organ and percussion. ‘They can take part in either or both concerts and should be able to attend at least MOST of the rehearsals.’

Organ solos will be provided by local organists Malcolm Sim and Jonathan Salmond.

Directed by Ian Anderson, the choir will explore five centuries of choral music. The programme will range from 16^th century masters such as Byrd and Tallis, through Bach, Handel, Mozart and Haydn and via 19^th century masters Mendelssohn and Stanford into 20^th century music by John Rutter and Bob Chilcott.

Rehearsals will be held in Wellington Church starting at 7.45pm on Thursdays 5, 12,19 and 26 May and 2 and 9 June as well as final rehearsals in both venue.

Interested audiences are invited to rehearsals as well as the concerts where ‘audience participation’ is promised on the night. Contact:Alan Kitchen via Wellington Church email:wellingtonchurch@btinternet.com or Tel: 0141 339 0454. ‘Or simply turn up at the first rehearsal on Thursday 5 May,’ said Alan.

Join Gloria V111

Singers who would like to raise their voices in a massed choir to sing Gloria V111 – Faure’s Requiem and the Hallelujah Chorus among other pieces -   are invited to attend rehearsals each Wednesday from now at 7.30pm in the Southpark Avenue hall of Wellington Church in G12 8LE. The celebration of choral and organ music will be held in Glasgow Cathedral on Thursday 17 June and in Wellington Church on Thursday 24 June. The choir is under the direction of Ian Anderson with Alan Kitchen at the organ.

Worship singing of a different kind will be enjoyed at the Findlay Memorial Church in Clarendon Place at St George’s Cross on Sunday 16 May at 8.30pm when a Spring Praise Night will be held.

Talented musicians of all kinds – vocal, instrumental, individual or collective – have a chance to compete in Sky 1′s next tv search programme – Must Be the Music. The open competition will have auditions in Glasgow on Tuesday 25 May at the Theatre School in West Regent Street. 

Open to all musicians no matter what type of music they play, the series is determined to tap into the UK’s rich stream of creative music talent.  Full details on website: www.sky.com/music