Last updated; 4th June 2011
The Jersey Festival Choir continues to be very appreciative of the support of AIB Jersey
David Lawrence
20 years ago David Lawrence first stepped onto our beautiful island of Jersey at the age of 26 with the Jersey Festival Choir and Royal Academy of Music Sinfonia. He was a typical music student with plenty of wild curly hair that was the “Simon Rattle” hairstyle at the time! Over the years the hair has diminished but he has continued to work with the choir, regularly conducting our May concerts, throughout the wonderful leadership of Amy Luce, Sue de Gruchy, and now Libby Farnon, so much so it is starting to feel like a second home.
Little did he know how his life would change when 12 years ago at a workshop with the Holmchase Choir, where he met Rebecca Voak, a local primary school teacher in St. Martin and member of the choir. Their mutual love of music, laughter and zest for life brought them together and they married two years later and are now blessed with two beautiful children Emily and Samuel.
David’s life as a conductor means travelling daily from one place to another and often overseas, so the blissful situation of living in Jersey surrounded by family and friends would always be a frustrating, logistical nightmare. so home is now near Stratford upon Avon, where the closest thing to St. Brelade’s Bay is pottering along the Avon river trying not to bash into the numerous river craft or ancient bridges!
However the family manages to come over throughout the year and spends as much time as possible with their large family over here. The hardest thing is deciding which bay to venture too with all the cousins but Plemont Bay is currently holding the top spot with the perfect mixture of surfing for Emily, cool pools for playing boats in for Sam, back aching rock pooling for Rebecca and well, Dad has to join in with everything, in between a rare book moment!
Life is varied and always busy in their musical world, Rebecca works part time and leads infant music workshops and teacher training sessions whilst also being a children’s song writer and writing numerous commissions. Daily life for David is clocking up mileage and air miles and working from the extremes of contemporary Stockhausen to rock concerts with 8,000 children.
Coming ‘home’ to Jersey is a highlight of the year and he treasures the long relationship he has with the choir, their capacity to take on new challenges and sing with a warmth of spirit that seems so genuinely and uniquely Jersey. May 2011