From Music Man to Mama Mia: Songs through the decades enliven Whanganui concert

Lynn Whiteside conducts the Wanganui Community Choir in songs across nine decades. Photo / Bevan Conley

Singers in a Whanganui concert came back on stage after an interval in wigs and 70s clothing, waving their arms and making peace signs.

It was the Wanganui Community Choir's Musicals and Movies Through the Decades concert, on June 8 at the Central Baptist Church. They were about to launch into a selection of songs from the musical Hair, and the capacity audience loved it.

Musical director Lynn Whiteside likes musical theatre, and the concert focused on the genre. It began in the 1930s with songs from 42nd Street, and included songs from The Sound of Music, The Phantom of the Opera and Mama Mia.

It was an inclusive concert, Whiteside said, which is what the 50-strong choir aims for.

After the excitement of Hair and Mama Mia, the choir calmed everybody down with a beautiful four-part harmony from the Bond film Skyfall.

Shelley Walls and members of Brass Whanganui were guest artists, and the accompanist was Abigail Livesay. The church was the fullest Whiteside had ever seen it.

"It was just chocker. I couldn't believe it."