St John's Smith SQ Concert 2022 - Dec 4th

[LordG]

All good seats will be gone when peasants were allowed to purchase a seat...

All for the upper class...

[Cainmac]

I don’t know if it was a St John’s decision or a Libera decision not to stream. But I have made a plea for them to re-consider. Fingers crossed.

[Padmachou]

Honestly, I get it that the streaming is convenient for those who cannot attend but... It might also bring some people to NOT attend because the streaming is cheaper and easier, and that would not help Libera. Also the streaming means a small concert twice, and I really like a long full concert, and I am sure the boys and their family enjoy that too. And the streaming from SJSS was great, though not as good as the DVD they produced before.

[Surpinto]

I don’t know if it was a St John’s decision or a Libera decision not to stream. But I have made a plea for them to re-consider. Fingers crossed.

As Padmachou stated, they performed and recorded the entire concert twice so as to be assured that any mishaps could be corrected in post-production. And in order for that to happen they would have to perform the concert on two separate nights. If you recall, they sang abridged concerts in 2021 and 2022 rather than a full-length concert exactly for this reason.

They did exactly that when recording the Ireland and America DVDs. There were two separate performances on two separate nights in which they ran through the entire set list in full. The first time they did it with nearly no audience aside from specially invited guests, and the second time with a full audience.

For those having attended a number of their concerts in person, mishaps very much do happen. A soloist off key or not entirely on point due to nerves, feedback or issues from the audio equipment, an individual microphone malfunctioning, or other weird events happening during the concert such as a boy needing to leave the stage because they are unwell for some reason. Those here who have attended more concerts than I have can tell you story after story of just such problems. I have witnessed a number of these myself, including in 2014 when they had to redo the opening song for the America DVD recording right in front of us because of equipment problems.

With that said, there's no way they're going to suddenly book the venue for an additional concert the night before and start selling those tickets as well. It's just too taxing on the boys as they will be in the middle of their school year, and I don't think the venue is even available If you want to see them in concert I think your best bet, assuming you're not traveling to the UK in December, is to wait until the possible 2023 US tour. This tour has been hinted at, although not officially announced, by their US affiliate Libera of the US. Let's hope it happens!

The other thing that we must consider is just how expensive and/or time consuming the editing is. Sam Coates, or whoever did the editing after the two SJSS concerts in 2020 and 2021, would need to spend many hours combining and mixing the audio and video. Remember, there are zero full-time paid Libera staff. Every single person involved with the choir maintains full-time employment elsewhere. Nearly all are unpaid volunteers.

What's more, I doubt that the revenue they collected from video sales – considering they probably had to pay a portion of it to SJSS for hosting the video and whatever recording costs they incurred at the venue – was in any way super significant. While for us, as hardcore fans, we would without doubt spend money on concert videos, there are only so many of us; perhaps not enough that it would be financially advantageous for them to release a stream.

On the other hand, I do hope that they decide to release a new video recording at some point in the future akin to Ireland and America. It's been long enough now that I believe such a recording would be a good venture for them Their recorded concert footage, as well as their music videos, have been the vehicle through which they have gained more international notoriety than any other single avenue.

[Mr W]

Cheeky question, but does anyone have a spare ticket anywhere half decent for the concert?

Somehow managed to miss out on the booking release and I am definitely in the cheap seats!

Of course, not expecting a freebie!

Post here if you can help, or send me a PM. Then again, maybe everyone else is in the same situation.

Thanks.

[LordG]

As there is still a lot of water flowing down the Thames until the concert, I would also like to ask
if anyone is willing to sell their good Premium Ticket should circumstances require it.

Thanks

[Cainmac]

I don’t know if it was a St John’s decision or a Libera decision not to stream. But I have made a plea for them to re-consider. Fingers crossed.

The other thing that we must consider is just how expensive and/or time consuming the editing is. Sam Coates, or whoever did the editing after the two SJSS concerts in 2020 and 2021, would need to spend many hours combining and mixing the audio and video. Remember, there are zero full-time paid Libera staff. Every single person involved with the choir maintains full-time employment elsewhere. Nearly all are unpaid volunteers.

I always value your feedback, Surpinto. But, we say in the south, y’all are beginning to make me nervous. Admittedly, I had no idea two concerts were required for streaming. But, if we are going to suggest that putting together the stream is too much for Libera’s volunteer directors, then wouldn’t it imply that new albums, DVDs, and international tours would also be beyond reach.

That last one scares me the most. I can’t imagine a future without another US tour. Okay, maybe a bit over-dramatic, but I choose faith in this Robert trained, Robert raised team (a team that appears to be growing). They choose to give of their time and talent to grow the next generations of singers. The summer concert reviews seem to support that they are succeeding in their mission. And there’s even talk of a new album.

So along with faith, I choose hope that this alumni team will carry on with concerts, tours, albums, DVDs, and even streaming. And, most importantly, that they carry on the tradition of developing and supporting young musicians in a way that changes their lives ever. That’s the incredible legacy that Robert has left.

[justin]

I don’t know if it was a St John’s decision or a Libera decision not to stream. But I have made a plea for them to re-consider. Fingers crossed.

The other thing that we must consider is just how expensive and/or time consuming the editing is. Sam Coates, or whoever did the editing after the two SJSS concerts in 2020 and 2021, would need to spend many hours combining and mixing the audio and video. Remember, there are zero full-time paid Libera staff. Every single person involved with the choir maintains full-time employment elsewhere. Nearly all are unpaid volunteers.

I always value your feedback, Surpinto. But, we say in the south, y’all are beginning to make me nervous. Admittedly, I had no idea two concerts were required for streaming. But, if we are going to suggest that putting together the stream is too much for Libera’s volunteer directors, then wouldn’t it imply that new albums, DVDs, and international tours would also be beyond reach.

That last one scares me the most. I can’t imagine a future without another US tour. Okay, maybe a bit over-dramatic, but I choose faith in this Robert trained, Robert raised team (a team that appears to be growing). They choose to give of their time and talent to grow the next generations of singers. The summer concert reviews seem to support that they are succeeding in their mission. And there’s even talk of a new album.

So along with faith, I choose hope that this alumni team will carry on with concerts, tours, albums, DVDs, and even streaming. And, most importantly, that they carry on the tradition of developing and supporting young musicians in a way that changes their lives ever. That’s the incredible legacy that Robert has left.

I think there's no need to read too much into this. They will tour when the money, time and circumstances allow. When that will be is probably only known by a select few in Libera.

[Choirfan]

One more looking for anyone who might have a spare half-decent seat for the December show. Unfortunately I came to the party late and all the premium seats have sold out.

I'll buy one of the cheap seats anyway though would very much appreciate an up-close view. Having just attended the two wonderful summer shows in England, I appreciate being able to see who is singing what, the facial expressions etc. It's all part of the enjoyment for me. I was lucky enough to be in the second and fourth rows so no complaints there.

DM if in a position to help

[Surpinto]

I always value your feedback, Surpinto. But, we say in the south, y’all are beginning to make me nervous. Admittedly, I had no idea two concerts were required for streaming. But, if we are going to suggest that putting together the stream is too much for Libera’s volunteer directors, then wouldn’t it imply that new albums, DVDs, and international tours would also be beyond reach.

I think you might be overthinking what I said . I didn't meant to suggest that suddenly because of Robert's passing they are unable to do streams, concerts, or the like. They have never been able to do those easily.

Consider Libera's international tours. Except some tours to East Asia where they can fill a concert hall of 5k or whatever it is, all tours are financial losses for them. Not sure about UK concerts, but certainly international ones. Touring the US for example requires charitable fundraising to the tune of $200k if memory serves. They do not come close to making up their expenses in ticket or album sales.

Even in the Philippines and Singapore they have had private, independently wealthy donors who funded large parts of those tours too.

There is nothing wrong with that, but it's a myth that Libera are the commercial success, financially speaking, that we would wish them to be. Sorry if that brings a bit too much gravity to the discussion but it's true.

Recording DVD's is incredibly expensive. That's why the last time they did it was all the way back in 2014 (my first concert! ) and why PBS was involved in the production.

Streaming concerts bring specific challenges totally unrelated to tours or albums or even DVDs, which is what I was trying to underline.

If we want them to come back to the US (please please PLEASE!! ) then the best thing to do would be to donate to their official US affiliate: Libera of the US. If we want them to have the funds to make DVDs then we must donate to their UK homebase too. Not sure if you're aware but Libera educates the boys for free, everything is funded by donations and generosity. Many of us here donate on a monthly basis to one or both of these, even if it's only $5, $10, or whatever per month. I would certainly encourage you to join us.

[fan_de_LoK]

Ticket sales for the St John concert are progressing slowly but surely.

Tonight the last available ticket in category A is gone.
And category B is already well under way.

At the rate the sale is progressing, the concert will most likely be sold out before December.
If so, maybe the organizer will decide to open the sale for the galleries upstairs.

20220816_230917.jpg (111.38 KiB) Viewed 7597 times

20220816_230917.jpg (111.38 KiB) Viewed 7597 times

[Surpinto]

Yeah, total sellout is predicted; which is at it should be, right? I'm so looking forward to this concert.

[fan_de_LoK]

Tonight only 1 seat remain available, in the very back left corner.

St John SS 2022 - Almost sold out.jpg (120.2 KiB) Viewed 7417 times

St John SS 2022 - Almost sold out.jpg (120.2 KiB) Viewed 7417 times

[Luckdragon]

Tonight only 1 seat remain available, in the very back left corner.

Well, at least it's next to a toilet.

[Surpinto]

Tonight only 1 seat remain available, in the very back left corner.

Well, at least it's next to a toilet.

Does that make the seat total $#!t?