In praise of Libera's non-soloists

[PaulWSpaceRockDodger]

While Libera fans' attention naturally tends to focus on the choir's soloists --- all of whom certainly deserve great praise for their brilliant performances --- I think that the choir's non-soloists sometimes are a bit overlooked by fans. Two examples come to mind when I look at Libera's roster for their April 2014 US tour: Henry Barrington and Matthew Rangel-Alvares. Henry and Matthew have been making outstanding contributions to Libera for many years, and provide great role models for the newbies. (I believe that Matthew has done some descant solos, but to my knowledge he has never been a "front line" soloist.) Another example that comes to mind is Kavana Crossley, whose energetic performances on-stage and brilliant commentaries in interviews off-stage have been remarkable. Many other examples could be cited. The analogy is with football, where it takes a whole team working together to enable the goal-scorers to do their work. Choirs are equally reliant on teamwork. Ultimately, every boy who plays a part in Libera should be counted as a star.

[Sigi]

Think so too...I wonder, if the others don't want to be a soloist or if they are not allowed to sing a solo. Would be very nice to hear all of them with a little solo from time to time. (For me, I like it most, if the whole choir sings and the soloist just sing a part of the song - not a soloist as a star and the choir in the background..)

[kay]

Two names spring to mine, the Leggett brothers. Longstanding members of the group. Yet there seems no jealousy as to who gets a solo, the boys seem only to congratulate those who do. That's a really good ethic and a credit to all the boys past and present.

[labbie]

The Leggett brothers have performed solos during their time with Libera. Alex gave a beautiful rendition of "Agnus Dei" which was part of their programme on the summer 2010 U.S. tour, and a year later, Sam performed a tenor solo on "Te Lucis", which also featured the voices of the older boys.