Here's a slightly belated review of the concert given by the "Jane Austen Singing School for Young Ladies" at the Skaneateles Library on November 21. Your Regional Coordinator attended the concert along with new JASNA member Sophia Battaglia (and, at the gracious invitation of Miss Joanna Manring, assisted in welcoming the audience). Under the capable direction of Miss Manring, the seven Young Ladies--the Misses Ellie Crough, Sofia Darovskikh, Phoebe Glowacki, Christina Marshall, Hana Polachek, Olivia Sheppard, and Chloe Strang--acquitted themselves admirably. The selection of songs from JA's period (some from her actual hand-copied collection) included several that are familiar to viewers of film and television adaptations, such as "Slumber, Dear Maid" and "You Who Have Tasted Love's Mystic Spell" from the 1995 BBC Pride and Prejudice, and "Weep You No More, Sad Fountains" and "The Dreame" from the 1995 film of Sense and Sensibility. The songs were interspersed with readings from the novels and letters--and your Coordinator was extremely pleased to learn that the Young Ladies have been studying the Regency period this autumn in various other ways (including experimenting with recipes that would have been familiar to JA). Altogether, a splendid time was had by all, and we can only hope that this is the first in a long series of public performances by the School.P.S.: Here's a link to another review of the concert, with quotes from Miss Manring's opening remarks about the School and its studies (http://www.cnylink.com/cnynews/view_news.php?news_id=1259587639).
