An interview with Sheila Redstone as she ‘retires’ from the Wayns

Our former choir secretary and long-time second soprano Sheila Redstone is “retiring” from the Waynflete Singers after the Verdi Requiem, after more than 30 years of singing with us. 

We asked our retiring Sheila if before she went, she could tell us about some of her favourite memories from her time in the Wayns and whether as a seasoned choral veteran she has any parting advice for us all. This is what she told us…

How did you come to join the Wayns?

I got married and arrived in the South in 1994. My last choir in the North was the Manchester Cantata Choir and the conductor there suggested I contact David Hill (then conductor of The Waynflete Singers) after arriving in Winchester. David invited me to sit in on a rehearsal and afterwards the only thing he asked me to do was sing an alto part to a four part hymn tune! (Unfortunately the whole choir’s re-auditions were the following year so I didn’t get away with such an easy ride then!)

Coming to a new area of the country and not knowing people was difficult at first but the then secretary of the Wayns seated me amongst an extremely friendly crowd of 2nd Sops, some of whom are still singing with us today. Thank you to them and many others in the choir for their friendship over the last 30 years.

Sheila Redstone

Can you give us some highlights from the many concert performances by the Waynflete Singers that you’ve been involved in?

The most moving performances I sang in were both the Bach Passions, (St. Matthew and St John), principally because of our Evangelist the now late William Kendall. He sang for us many times and we were so privileged to hear “one of the best Evangelists in the country”.

The Rachmaninov Vespers was probably the most challenging performance because of the language as well as the music, and the most exciting performance was certainly when we joined the Bach Choir to sing for the late Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002. We were on a huge temporary stand, directly opposite the gates of Buckingham Palace, and sang Zadok the Priest conducted by Sir David Willcocks as the Queen came out in the gold Coronation coach. That really was a ‘shivers down the spine’ moment. 

We also sang at the World War 2 commemoration event on Horse Guards Parade in July 2005 - only 2 days following a huge bombing in London. We were all a bit on edge!!

And if you had to pick a favourite?

I have two overall favourite performances- Bach B Minor Mass and of course, the Verdi Req. Definitely my numbers 1 & 2 for the Desert Island!

Were there any performances that you didn’t enjoy?!

We were asked to sing in a Proms concert with the Bach Choir in August 2001. This was definitely the most “unmoving” performance I was involved in! The music was the world premiere of John Tavener’s Song of the Cosmos. It really had to be heard to be believed! The piece contained only 4 Greek words: Agios; Kyrie Eleison; Sofia. The choir was accompanied by some strings along with various sizes of Tibetan temple bowls, bandir drum and tantam. The following day, the Daily Telegraph critic ended his piece with “The choirs occasionally ruptured the stillness with vast Victorian-style cadences. The only real challenge was in staying awake.”

What is your happiest memory from your time with the Wayns?

Just after I joined the choir, we were given the opportunity to record Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast with Bryn Terfel and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Andrew Litton. A couple of years later, I was able to meet Lady Suzanna Walton and told her that I had sung on that recording. “How wonderful” was her reply. “It was perfect. No-one else needs to record that work ever again”. You can imagine my smile!

Can you tell us about your 8 years serving as choir secretary?

My 8 years pale into insignificance now- Kate still does an amazing job after so many years. However it was quite different when I was a secretary- I had to work with the land line telephone (no mobiles) and a fax machine (no emails)! Some of the most challenging times were communicating with choir members, especially when we joined with the Bach Choir (as David Hill was also their conductor at the time) for national events in London. The main problem was the need to coordinate precisely with them about things like security passes - one per person and no replacement if it was mislaid! Of course on one occasion someone mistakenly threw theirs away and this presented a huge problem - solved of course at the eleventh hour!

As I’m not the most technologically minded person, I was quite proud of the fact that I managed to build the communication bridge between fax machine and computer. After 8 years though, I decided new eyes and thoughts were needed. Our ‘new conductor’ (Andy Lumsden) had settled in with us and so it seemed a good time to stand down.

What would you say to any of our current members who are thinking of becoming more involved in the running of the choir, as you did?

Do it!! It can be hard work but very rewarding, being a member of a team working towards the same goal.

What has led to your decision now to retire from the choir?

I have sung with 4 choral societies as well as doing solo and stage work. My decision has been accelerated by the slow deterioration of my voice (due to my great age!) giving rise to great frustration as I have enjoyed singing almost since I can remember. However, I am still able to sing, for the 7th time, the glorious Verdi Requiem and so, in the words of the late great Colonel Michael Hickey, I’m leaving “whilst there are still bubbles in the glass”. I shan’t miss driving 10 miles in the dark every Thursday evening but I shall miss getting together with friends and enjoying being challenged with tricky pieces. Thank you to Andy -and David - for sharing your musical expertise and making (most of!) the rehearsals enjoyable.

Lastly, do you have a farewell message for the choir?

Don’t overlook the absolute privilege it is to sing with this choir. Work hard in between rehearsals as well as at them and always remember, especially in concerts, singing is meant to be ENJOYED!