Amici Forever

[specialjenny]

Anyone else from here like this 'opera band'?

www.amiciforever.com

They are touring the UK soon and the tickets are on sale.

I am seeing them in concerts next month!

Love,
Jenny

[Andrew]

Hi 'specialjenny',

Greetings from Edinburgh, Scotland, UK!

Great to hear from you

'Amici Forever' are QUALITY!!!

I have the 'Opera Band' CD. I particularly like the version of, 'Lux Aeterna' (Nimrod) from 'Elgar's Variations', which is included.

I've made several enquiries over the months in terms of finding out whether any 'Amici Forever' DVDs have been released, but apparently there haven't. I could be wrong of course- in which case correct me!

I'll have to find out when they're touring the UK

Regards,

Andrew

[blue1]

Just a bit of info that may be of interest.

Someone involved with this band happened to mention them to me before they recorded their first album. At that time they seem to have been called just `Amici,' though they were referred to at that early stage as an `opera group.' So unless the person I was talking with had been misinformed, the `forever' bit was added later, but the tag was there from the start.

[specialjenny]

I think you are right. They did start off with Amici.

Hi Andrew, Amici has a DVD, I am not sure if it's release in UK yet, but certainly has in Australia, USA and some other countries. Amici's 2nd album Defined have also released here 2005 sometime ago. They had to delay the release date for UK for various reasons but will be release very soon. So keep an eye out for that. Very similar to The Opera Band, so I think you'll like it.

Go to www.amiciforever.com and the news/tour page has info on the UK tour.

Love,
Jenny

[Andrew]

Oooh!

As Michael Caine would say... "Notta lotta People know abow that"...

Thanks for that info lads/ ladettes; gents/ ladies
(choose whichever term you deem is appropriate for yourself!) i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

Andrew

[Andrew]

specialjenny said:

I think you are right. They did start off with Amici.

Hi Andrew, Amici has a DVD, I am not sure if it's release in UK yet, but certainly has in Australia, USA and some other countries. Amici's 2nd album Defined have also released here 2005 sometime ago. They had to delay the release date for UK for various reasons but will be release very soon. So keep an eye out for that. Very similar to The Opera Band, so I think you'll like it.

Go to www.amiciforever.com and the news/tour page has info on the UK tour.

Love,
Jenny

Jenny, thanks for the 'Amici' website info... I'm going off to have a look at it now

Andrew

[Ross]

I have the Amici Forever In Concert DVD which plays songs from the Defined album plus they each sing a song by themselfs.
It is a 63 min dvd filmed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
The songs are:-
Prayer in the night, Senza Catene, Nella Fantasia, Habanera, The prayer, Land & freedom, Torna a surriento, Quando M' En Vo, How do you keep the music playing, Smoke gets in your eyes, Core 'Ngarato, Funiculi Funicula, Toreador song, Ocean heart, Aranjuez ma pensee, La Fiamma sacra, Nessun dorma and Senza Catene music video.

I will be seeing them in Queenstown NZ on Sun 5th Feb and also in Christchurch Tue 7th.

I am going to both as Yulia Townsend is opening in the first concert and Ben Morrison (A great young Christchurch violinist) is playing in the second one.

[Andrew]

Ross,

Hey... That's Fantastic!!!

Will you write an "informal review" of your concert for us if you can please?

I guess there's a strong likelihood that the DVD will be released here in the UK, since 'Amici' are coming this way?

Andrew i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

[Ross]

Thats a good idea, I'll do my best to review the concert.

[roger]

Hi Jenny and everyone,

I have seen Amici Forever a couple of times and, although they are not for the purists, I definitely feel they deserve a place in the world of crossover. I have their first CD and will probably buy the second. I would definitely pick up a DVD.

Ther used to be a five-piece band but I gather Nick Garrett has left to pursue a solo career. Good luck to him but I feel it is a shame from the group's perspective.

Ross, I am most envious, not only because you get to see Amici twice in three days, but because you will be seeing Yulia Townsend. If the opportunity should arise, tell her she DOES have fans in the UK, and in Holland, and in the US. And they're just the ones I know about!

Roger

[gareth]

Hehe,

Yulia does know she has at least one fan in Holland .... we're both on MSN Messenger

Gerrit

roger said:

Hi Jenny and everyone,

Ross, I am most envious, not only because you get to see Amici twice in three days, but because you will be seeing Yulia Townsend. If the opportunity should arise, tell her she DOES have fans in the UK, and in Holland, and in the US. And they're just the ones I know about!

Roger

[gareth]

Hmmm, I posted this message on the Yulia board as wel. Let me now also wish Geoff Sewell so much strength and courage in coping with this.

Opera band star gives up group

25.01.06
By Julie Middleton


The New Zealand singer who co-founded opera band Amici Forever is giving up the group to devote more time to his newly diagnosed autistic daughter.

Geoff Sewell, a former accountant-turned tenor, says he has made the "difficult" decision to put his family first. The "popera" group's tour of New Zealand and Australia next month will be his last.

Sewell, 31, says 2-year-old Sienna's condition means she needs routine and stability, which are incompatible with the band's globe-trotting tours.

The diagnosis came last month when London-based Sewell and his New Zealand wife, Simone Lanham, also parents to 4-month-old Olivia, saw experts to find out why Sienna was not speaking.

After weeks of tests, doctors "dropped the bombshell", says Sewell. "And that completely ripped us apart. We didn't know what it was all about.

"Simone was the first to speak after we heard the news, and she asked: 'What does her adult life look like? Will she be able to have a relationship, get married, have children like other people?' The doctor said: 'To be brutally honest, it's highly unlikely'."

Five weeks after the diagnosis, "we're still bursting into tears - even when I was running to work this morning. Why us, why this?"

Sewell says the decision to leave the band was "difficult and painful" but did not take long.

Doctors have stressed that the input Sienna receives in her first five years is crucial, and Sewell is using pictures to help his daughter develop communication skills.

He is meeting Autism NZ representatives while touring here, to raise the profile of the disorder.

It was a family crisis that sparked Sewell's move into a musical career. His sister, Julie, died aged 21 during an epileptic fit.

He recalls from her experience the ostracism that people with "social disorders" can face.

"I'll be doing my best to be in the playground protecting Sienna and making sure people aren't nasty to her, because that's what kills me."

After Julie's death, Sewell reassessed his career as an accountant and decided to follow his heart, training at the Boston Conservatory in the United States.

He created a troupe of singing waiters, Tenors Incognito, in London in 2000, performing at celebrity parties.

In 2002, Sewell started Amici Forever, made up of himself and four other classically trained singers who fused classical music with pop pizzazz.

Their debut album, The Opera Band, sold more than a million copies. The second album, Defined, topped the Kiwi charts.

"It's all been an unbelievable pace."

The Sewells no longer have a stake in the band but Tenors and Divas Incognito, which has offices in London, New York and Edinburgh, will continue to provide income.

The couple hope to open offices in Australia and New Zealand soon as part of a plan to eventually head homewards. Sewell grew up in Hawkes Bay.

Amici, now a foursome, will be joined on their New Zealand tour by singers Russell Watson, Yulia and violinist Ben Morrison. The band will continue with a replacement tenor after the final Australian show.

But this is not the end of Sewell's career. "When I want to come on tour I'll pick the time that's right for the family."

What is autism?
* A life-long developmental disability affecting social and communication skills. People have difficulty making sense of the world.
* Affects 40,000 New Zealanders, or 1 per cent.
* The causes are still unknown but research shows that genetic factors are important

[specialjenny]

Thanks Gerrit for posting it. I was about to come and let you all wonderful people know the sad news. I respect Geoff's decision, as family always come first!

Best of luck to Geoff's family and the remaining 3 members of Amici.

Love,
Jenny

[roger]

gareth said:

Hmmm, I posted this message on the Yulia board as wel. Let me now also wish Geoff Sewell so much strength and courage in coping with this.

First of all, my grateful thanks go to Gerrit for posting this sad news to both boards and I echo his words in wishing Geoff the strength and the courage he needs.

I once had the pleasure of meeting Geoff, albeit incredibly briefly. I also had the opportunity to watch him interacting with many Amici fans. I left with the impression that he is a thoroughly nice guy.

Geoff and Simone, on behalf of everyone at Hayley Westenra International, and I am sure Hayley would wish to be included in that as well, I send you my very best wishes in all you do to help and support Sienna.

And Jenny, please pass on those sentiments to Geoff if the opportunity should arise when you see him.

Roger

[specialjenny]

Sure Roger, I will print off all your lovely messages and give them to him in person when I see him in less than a month.

And you are very right, he is a very kind person. Always willing to spend time with the fans.

Just thought I will share some photos with you lovely people.

This is Geoff's wife Simone on the left and me on the right, taken Sept 04.



Same night, Geoff is the blonde handsome man and I am in purple.



August 05:



Cheers everyone.

Love,
Jenny