Thunder From Down Under this Friday in Glace Bay

Cape Breton's own Men of The Deeps meets Australia's Metropolitan Male Choir of South Australia coming together in support of the Cancer Patient Care Fund and The Savoy Theatre METROPOLITAN MALE CHOIR OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA The Metropolitan Male Choir began life in 1928 among workers in the Holden motor body factory in Adelaide. It was then known as the Holden Male Voice Choir and its original membership was 39 with many from Cornish and some from Welsh backgrounds. They sang under the leadership of Clarrie Roberts. In the early 1930’s, because of its association with the national broadcaster ABC Radio, it became known as the 5CL Male Choir. Regular appearances were made on ABC Radio, and the Choir featured in Adelaide’s first Choral Festival in the Adelaide Town Hall in 1934. In 1936, Adelaide’s centenary year, the Choir’s name was changed to its present name of Metropolitan Male Choir of South Australia. Over the years, the Choir has grown to a current membership of 73 and has become recognised and acclaimed both throughout Australia and overseas. The Choir sings a wide variety of music from Operatic choruses, all forms of sacred music including hymns and Negro spirituals, musical comedy, folk songs, traditional and contemporary popular music. Moreover, these are sung many in English but several in foreign languages. This present tour of Canada and USA will culminate in England and Wales with the final highlight being a concert with Choirs from all over the World in a pre-Olympic 'Wales Choir of the World' concert at the Royal Festival Hall London with the great Bryn Terfel as soloist. THE MEN OF THE DEEPS The Men of the Deeps is a choir of working and retired coal miners from the island of Cape Breton in Nova Scotia, Canada. Organized in 1966 as part of Cape Breton’s contribution to Canada’s Centennial Year (1967), the group’s inception was an effort by the people of Cape Breton to preserve in song some of the rich folklore of the island’s coal mining communities. The musical repertoire of the Men of the Deeps is gathered from mining communities around the world. Many of the group’s songs are 'home grown' - composed by contemporary Cape Breton bards, or traditional songs which trace their roots to their Celtic fore bearers in the old country. Musical Director and Conductor, Jack O’Donnell has become an expert on coal mining songs in Canada, and published a major collection entitled And Now The Fields Are Green: The Men of the Deeps is more than a singing group - it is a social institution. There is a camaraderie amongst the members of the group that carries over to their audiences wherever they perform. Clad in coveralls and hard hats, they make an impressive impact when they enter a concert hall in total darkness with only the lamps on their helmets for light. Anyone who attends a concert by the Men of the Deeps cannot help but come away with the feeling that a special breed of men has touched them.

Time(s): 7:00 PM | Price(s): $19.50