MusicaliTea Review
Sierra Master Chorale’s MusicaliTea: A Culinary Cabaret
A year ago Sierra Master Chorale, the three-year-old auditioned Chorale arm of InConcert Sierra, boldly announced the “First Annual” MusicaliTea. It was a sell out.
Self-confidence rewarded, the more ambitious Second Annual MusicaliTea at the Miners’ Foundry on January 22 sold out weeks before Tea Day, and raised funds towards SMC’s operations, educational programs, and sponsorship of the new Laura June Breen Vocal Competition.
A boisterous “Be Our Guest” from “Beauty and the Beast,” led by SMC music director Ken Hardin, opened the afternoon, promising “a culinary cabaret.” It was indeed a feast as well as an entertainment – of music, words, and hats. The afternoon tea progressed from a triad of savory sandwiches, and a serenade of scones, lemon curd, preserves, and clotted cream, to the finale di dolci of such musical sweets as Timpani Tartlets and Brassy Brownies. Each course was introduced by MC Charles Atthill, who helpfully demonstrated how to wear a tea cozy.
Her Ladyship at Downton Abbey would have approved: the fare, the bone-china, lent by members of the Chorale, as well as the seamless service, also by Chorale members.
The 160 guests were periodically diverted by the whimsical comments of the MC, by musical numbers including Steve Nicholson’s interpretation of the Kinks’ 1972 “Have a Cuppa Tea,” and Charles Atthill’s bittersweet tale of a lovesick armadillo, as well as by spirited readings by Guest Artist Gary Wright.
Local actor Wright, master of many voices (his one-man-show “It’s a Wonderful Life” featured 37 characters) amused with “Misplaced Infusiasm,” a poem in praise of tea, inspired with “Three Cups of Tea,” entertained with vivid characterizations of the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, and delighted with Douglas Adams’ fantastical view of the world from “The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.”
The guests, many wearing hats for which prizes were awarded, gambled eagerly for more than 25 desirable raffle items, gift baskets and artwork donated by local merchants and Chorale members.
MusicaliTea drew enthusiasts from afar: Herb and Diane Graves journeyed from Santa Rosa to celebrate their 50th anniversary, and two ladies from Sacramento, who read about it in the national TeaTime magazine, vowed to return next year with a table-full of guests.
It says much about SMC that the major sponsors, Joan and Lance Goddard, Linda and Jerry Maloney, and Mimi Vishoot and Steve Nicholson of the Pleasant Valley Veterinary Center are all members of the Chorale, and that all the choristers (as well as a great many other volunteers) were involved in the execution of the complex event, lead by committee coordinators Valarie Bush, Ken Hardin, Jill Horrigan, Jerry Maloney, and Carolyn Valle, and advisors Julie Hardin, Barry Howard, and Linda Maloney.
