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Within the waves project -The process continues.. 4. Conductors All conductors were at the heart of the project and of the music they were conducting. It was a joy to see Sally, Sandra and Pete conducting. They manage to create a momentum and an atmosphere where each of them could make the choirs thrive on their own ways. It was great also to meet the coductors prior to the rehearsals and talk/discuss about music, about the ideas for the project. I learnt much from it and specially from Northumbria!!  5. Solists Sarah Jane and Rebeca both were spectacular. They were singing with such a beautiful tone and also with the emotions and atittudes required for this project. They did work hard as they both sung in languages other than what they grew up with. Their presence also contributed to the choir and the way they sung. Exploring difference suounds, accents and atittudes towards singing.  6. The choirs Both choirs were really welcoming throughout
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Within the waves project - the process 1. Within the waves research I have been living in England for the past 16 years. I felt I wanted to know more about England and this project has certainly taken me into a different England. The research at Cecil Sharp House was fascinating and it was amazing to listen to the sea shanties and sea songs from all different regions. It was amazing to find the song Rio Grande which estabilished a great connection between Brazil and England. It was also great to realise all the different ways both nations understood the sea, how they both experience the sea in different ways and how it has influenced their life style and the way music has always been present withn the life by and on the sea.  2. Repertoire Choosing the repertoire was a hard task. There were so much great music material from both sides, however the decision was to make sure the material chosen represented aspects from both cultures and also elements of the sailors
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Within the waves  It has always fascinated me how the world is entirely connected by water. In fact the seas and oceans provided the platform for globalisation to start several centuries ago. It would be a real shock to think of the development since early 16th century to date.  To work on a project of the capacity of Within the waves, one must understand the complexity and depth of which the project will be working on as well as the various view points from all the participants, both from artistic and also from the admin aspects. The richness of variety, the difficults in harmonising all the content exposed to you and the beauty of it when it is finally ready to go on stage.  It is overwhelming to see a large scale project coming to fruition. Looking at people on the evening of the performances was very touching. Everyone had challenges, different types of challenges to be overcomed. People were smiling and working hard to make Within the waves to come to life.