Saturday, December 31, 2011

Christmas Album Update

Libera just posted some News and pictures on their web site. You can see it here. I could describe it, but I really like how they wrote it. We need to use the word "brilliant" in the US more! :D



"The boys were very busy in the run up to Christmas, and alongside many many carols, they appeared on television and radio shows including Live with Gabby (Channel 5), This Morning (ITV) and the famous Chris Evans Show (BBC Radio 2).

Some of the boys were interviewed for news TV and radio.

We were very proud to notch up the Christmas Number One slot on iTunes. This is absolutely brilliant and we are so grateful to all our supporters, both old and new, who downloaded songs or bought the album.

The Christmas Album has also done well in charts all over the world, including a number 2 in the USA Billboard Classical chart and it even spent 2 weeks at number 1 in the overall Album chart in the Philippines - ahead of pop stars such as Michael Buble, Coldplay and the Black Eyed Peas!

We are now looking forward to 2012 and our first tour of the year, which will be to SE Asia.

Happy New Year!"



This is awesome news! Congratulations, Libera! All your hard work really paid off! I'm so happy "Carol of the Bells" is UK's #1 Classical song sold on iTunes! It's my favorite!!!

And The Christmas Album reaching #2 on the US Billboard Classical chart is amazing! No, brilliant! And yay, Philippines for making the album #1 on the Philippines Top Overall Album sold chart...for 2 weeks!

Thanks for the great update, Libera! And Happy New Year to you, too! :D 

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Asia 2012 Tour Venue Details

UPDATED: December 27 & 12, 2011 to show ticket info & 2 concert dates in Singapore!


1. Singapore
       Friday, April 6, 2012, 8:00 p.m.
       Saturday, April 7, 2012, 8:00 p.m.
       Esplanade Theatre
       1 Esplanada Drive
       Singapore, Singapore
       +65 6348 5555
       http://www.esplanade.com/
       Seating - 1942
       Tickets - available on Dec. 28 at 9am at Sistic here.

           












2. Tokyo
       Friday, April 13, 2012, 7:00 p.m.
       Saturday, April 14, 2012, 1:00 p.m.
       Bunkamura Orchard Hall
       24-1, Dogenzaka 2-chome Shibuya-ku
       Tokyo, Japan
       +81 (3) 3477 9111
       http://www.bunkamura.co.jp/english/
       Seating - 2150
       Tickets - Ordering information from eplus.jp available here and here
                      Premium Seats ¥ 12,000 ($153.84)
                      Reserved Seats ¥ 8,000 ($102.56)
                      Casual Seats ¥ 3,000 ($38.46)





Saturday, December 24, 2011

Libera Christmas Greeting 2011



Happy Christmas everyone! Libera made a video that's like their yearly Christmas card to all their fans! It was made while they were waiting to appear on the UK TV show "This Morning." It's really cute! And Moose makes an appearance with ribbons on!

Cassius: Hello. I'm Cassius.

Barney: And I'm Barney. Thank you for clicking on us.

Cassius: We're Libera, and we're just about to go on a Christmas TV performance.

Barney: We're in the changing rooms at the moment, and we're getting ready for the big show.
             We'd like to wish you a very merry Christmas.

Cassius: And a happy New Year.

All: Merry Christmas!

Friday, December 23, 2011

Libera on BBC Radio2

Left to right - Barney, Stefan, Ralph, Kavana, Josh, Jakob, Eoghan, Alex,
Matthew R-A, Cassius, Daniel, Jude, Luke, Matthew J, Chris Evans

UPDATE:

Jimmy Riddle has uploaded the highlights to YouTube! Thank you, Jimmy! They sing parts of "In Dulci Jubilo," "Once In Royal David's City," "Winter Wonderland," "In the Bleak Midwinter" and "Away In A Manger!" And it's all live!!! Really great! And I love their roll call when Chris Evans calls out their names. Stefan says, "Bonjour!" Barney says, "Voila!" Eoghan says, "Oui, oui, oui!" Shout-out to the French fans! Or French students like yours truly. :) And Ralph cracks Chris up with a "Tis I is here!" :D



December 21, 2011

Kavana Crossley tweeted today that Libera is scheduled to be on "The Chris Evans Breakfast Show" on BBC Radio2 on Thursday, 22nd December from 6:30 - 9:30 am London time. (That's 12:30 - 3:30 am Chicago time.) If you would like to listen to the show, click here. In the upper right corner click on the "Listen" button to hear the show live. I wonder if it will be Barney, Kavana and Cassius again. They've been doing a lot of great interviews this Christmas. :D

Singapore Concert Poster



The Singapore concerts poster has been released! It's really nice! I love the blue color and the boys in front look like they're flying. Thank you to Yuni for the copy. :)

The tickets for the 2 concerts should be available starting December 28, 2011. They can be ordered at www.sistic.com.sg.


Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Libera "This Morning" TV Appearance

Libera was on the UK TV show "This Morning" well, this morning. :) First Barney, Kavana and Cassius are sitting on bean bags in regular clothes! They played a game where they got to judge the jokes inside Christmas crackers (those things that pop when you open them).




Then at the end of the show Libera sang "Joy To The World!" I see 16 boys. Front row is Jude, Ralph, Matthew J, Eoghan, Dylan, Cassius, Matthew R-A, Luke, Stefan and Barney. Back row is Daniel, Josh, Alex, Kavana, Jakob and Carlos. So happy to see them all and to have another song!

Monday, December 19, 2011

Stefan Leadbeater on TV with Michael Buble!



Michael Buble had a 90-minute UK TV special called "Home for Christmas." But isn't he from Canada? lol. Anyway, the very last song was Stefan and his school choir singing "Silent Night" with Michael Buble!!! How cool is that?!! :D


Michael Buble with Stefan on the back right side! :D

There were 16 boys. Stefan is on the far right.




Stefan third from the right.


Michael Buble did a running low five with all the boys. :)

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Live with Gabby TV Appearance



Libera appeared on UK TV today on the "Live with Gabby" show! Thank you to Michael for uploading it to YouTube! :)

First Gabby interviewed Barney, Kavana and Cassius. Then 14 boys sang "Carol of the Bells" live. In the front are Barney, Stefan, Dylan, Matthew R-A, Cassius, Luke, Matthew J, Ralph and Eoghan. In the back are Alex, Jakob, Carlos, Jude and Kavana.

14 Libera boys on Live with Gabby

Matthew R-A, Cassius, Jude

Matthew J, Ralph, Eoghan

Great picture of Matthew J!

Alex & Jakob with Stefan front left & Carlos front right.

Barney, Stefan, Dylan

Jude is so cute in this one! :D

Love how Luke is blurry & Ralph is in focus...

...then Luke is in focus and Ralph is blurry. :)

Jakob & Carlos

Interview starting at 0:50 -

Gabby: As usual at this time of year, there are a feast of musical treats, but surely none more spellbinding than a festive offering from Libera. Consisting of 24 boys aged from 7 to 16, they've just released a heavenly album of Christmas classics, and 3 of the little angels are with me right now. Ladies and gentlemen, 3 of the boys from Libera. I couldn't help but notice the cover. Do you fight over who...oh, you've got one as well. You're a good plugger (this means a good advertiser). Do you fight over who gets on the cover?

Cassius: No.

Gabby: No?

Kavana: No, we don't fight.

Gabby: That's you, isn't it? (pointing to Cassius' picture)

Cassius: That's me, my beautiful face.

Gabby: You're shy. So you three, I saw you in, you know, backstage in the green room playing cards earlier on. You're not all that angelic. Do you gamble as well?

Kavana: We all have our different hobbies and stuff as well as singing. When we wait we like to play cards, games and stuff, and it's just fun to hang out with.

Gabby: And Libera's kind of a moving ensemble, isn't it? You know, you won't stay in it forever. New boys join. So how does the dynamic work?

Barney: Well, um, we have these younger ones called mini boys, and they're quite new.

Gabby: Mini boys?

Barney: Yeah, so um, they slowly move up in the choir, so start getting solos.

Gabby: As their voices move down, they move up? Does it work like that?

Barney: So um, the older boys will sing all the lower harmonies, and the boys who are just starting will be singing lots of high parts. And so slowly you progress. And then the older boys can sometimes stay on and help out doing shows and things like that.

Gabby: So how big does it get? What's the biggest group that you'd sing with?

Kavana: Um, well we sing with, if we sang with like, back home there might be 40 people with us like rehearsing. But because some people are just too young to take away with us, so we have to keep them behind.

Gabby: So you travel quite a lot as well?

Kavana: Yeah, we do, um, we've been to Southeast Asia, like quite a bit of Europe as well. Um, what's funny is when we were coming back from the Philippines, we got caught in an ash cloud. And so we had to go to Greece, and then we had to get a coach from Greece...

Gabby: Greece, Angelos?

Angelos (another guest): Yeah, I saw it on air (?)

Kavana: Greece, then Italy, then a ferry around Italy...

Gabby: You did a lot of travel.

Cassius: That was actually my first tour. Yeah, so it was like 5 days longer to get back.

Gabby: And when you're away, do you miss family? Is it quite tough being away from mums and dads?

Barney: Well, you don't really think about it, cause you've always got something to do. When we're not singing or rehearsing, we do like sightseeing. We look around the place we're staying in. We have very nice hotels sometimes.

Gabby: Now are there some boys who are naughtier than others? Are there some boys that get into trouble? Or are you all very angelic?

Kavana: I guess like if you say that, I mean if we did that, it probably wouldn't work as a professional singing group. I mean, if we went abroad, and some people got into arguments with others, I mean, the fact that you're about to go on stage and sing to thousands of people just wouldn't work. So, um, I guess like in Libera they call us a family. I mean, even some of us call each other "uncle" sometimes for the bigger boys. And then the mini boys all learn from the uncles teaching the little boys. And it all flows like a big, friendly family.

Gabby: Fantastic. What a wonderful experience. So do you think singing is a career you'd like to persue when, you know, when Libera comes to an end for you?

Barney: Um, definitely, cause it's kind of luck if your voice still works after it's broken.

Gabby: What happens? I mean, do you dread that day when you wake up and go, "Hello, Mum."

Kavana: Some people think that as soon as your voice breaks, that's it. That's off. But, um, most of the older boys, they move on. They progress to lower harmonies. It's like putting another piece in the jigsaw puzzle, and it just fits perfectly.

Gabby: Well boys, you're lovely. It's lovely to have you with us. And I can't wait for everybody else at home to hear what we've been hearing this morning, cause it's a sensational sound. They're going to be performing "Carol of the Bells" in just a few moments. So I'll let you go off in a second and get ready....But right now to sing us out with "Carol of the Bells," it's Libera!

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Libera Christmas Ornament

If you got The Christmas Album - Deluxe Edition, you also got a silver wreath ornament. Did you put yours on your Christmas tree? We did! It looks so beautiful! :D



And if you don't have the album yet, I hope you get it for Christmas! :D

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Libera Interviewed on Classic FM




Cassius, Barney and Kavana were interviewed on Classic FM radio in the UK. Thank you to Michael for posting it on YouTube! To listen to or download the Podcast, click here.

In this interview we find out Cassius is amazed at how much he's done for only a 10-year-old. Barney finds their faces on the cover of the album to be quite amazing - "looking good as usual." lol It was weird to record a Christmas album in the heat of summer, but they put up Christmas decorations to get into a Christmasy spirit. They never went to a snowy forest to take the album cover picture. Barney is going to his grandma's for Christmas to have turkey by the fire. He and Kavana don't like brussel sprouts, but Cassius does! lol And when they filmed the video of "Still, Still, Still" for Songs of Praise, they also filmed "How Shall I Sing That Majesty!" Yaaaaay!!!!!!!!!

If you'd like to translate the interview, it is typed below. :D

Lucy Coward (Interviewer): Today at Classic FM I'm delighted to welcome Kavana, Barney and Cassius from Libera. Thanks so much, guys, for popping in to have a chat with us about your new album and what is a particularly busy time of year for you. We'll come on to the album in just a second, but first of all, I know that you've already done a performance in conjunction with the release of the album. Why do you guys like performing at Christmas time particularly first of all.

Barney: Well, it's really exciting being in these huge cathedrals singing songs that go extremely high, and the harmonies are amazing, so it gives you that kind of classic Christmasy feeling.

Lucy: And what about you? I mean the repertoire that you've included in the concert, it's not all Christmas music, is it?

Kavana: I know some of them are um classical pieces but like 'Sanctus" which is the um, what's it, what's it...

Cassius: What we're mostly known for, like what we became famous for. Then we have like our sort of theme tune which is well, called "Libera."

Kavana: I mean, in our concert we have like alot of like Christmas carols like "White Christmas" we do at the end which is quite a nice thing cause we get to hear all the harmonies. I think what we enjoy most about performing at Christmastime is you get to see the other side of music. I mean, it's a happy time of year, and there's no sad, depressing songs. It's just a great way to sing joyfully.

Barney: Cause you're not in the audience thinking, "Wow, they're amazing. You're up there doing something that you love with your family watching and loads of people supporting you.

Cassius: And you're only like, like I'm only 10, and I'm doing all this amazing stuff. And I started when I was 7, so I've been doing it for 3 years, but I've gotten lots of exciting experiences.

Lucy: And so it's a real time of celebration regardless, I suppose, of it being Christmas or not. So let's talk a bit about the album, The Christmas Album. What kind of stuff is included on it? What could people look forward to?

Barney: Well, our amazing faces are on the front. Yep, looking good as usual.

Cassius: Hopefully.

Barney: Also, we have our favorite songs which we've decided my one is "The First Noel."

Kavana: My one is "O Holy Night" which we did a promo shoot earlier.

Cassius: Mine's "Carol of the Bells" cause it's bouncy.

Lucy: So there's lots of typical tunes that people will recognize?

Barney: Yeah, like very famous pieces.

Kavana: Yeah, there's the "Coventry Carol," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." I mean, cause it's our first Christmas album.

Barney: And "White Christmas."

Kavana: And "White Christmas." And so it's just a great thing you can play in the background on Christmas Day.

Lucy: But you didn't record it recently. You recorded it in the Summertime.

Kavana: Actually that's funny because we recorded it while the sun was still shining. There was no snow, and after we'd have breaks and run around in the sun while we were performing Christmas songs.

Cassius: I like on the album it's got like a forest of snow, and we're in the middle of Summer.

Barney: We didn't go to any forests.

Kavana: No, that would've been fun, though.

Cassius: And I don't get when we took the photo there was massive bright lights behind us, and I thought it was sun, Summer, and like all that.

Barney: It's got, it made an atmosphere.

Cassius: And then you see the picture of you with all Christmas stuff, and you think, "What the...?"

Barney: Where'd that come from?

Lucy: But you understand now, and it really works, and it's brilliant.

Kavana: It was a good atmosphere in the studio as well. We tried putting up little Christmas decorations to get into the mood. Well like some of the instruments, when we were listening over them, like the little bells and stuff, it like puts you in a Christmasy mood.

Lucy: So you're well-prepared. What are you guys looking forward to most about Christmas this year? Are you spending it with your families?

Barney: Well I'm having a real family Christmas. I'm going up to see my grandma, so we'll be like by the fire, turkey...turkey. That's good stuff.

Kavana: No brussel sprouts.

Barney: No brussel sprouts.

Cassius: I like brussel sprouts.

Barney: Yeah, so it'll be a really kind of classic, family Christmas round the fire.

Lucy: And is that important to you guys as well?

Cassius: Well mostly I hope it snows.

Barney: Yep, snowball fights, sledging.

Cassius: Snowball forts.

Kavana: Igloos. Well, sort of igloos.

Cassius: Snowballs with holes in them.

Barney: Yes, driving to my grandma's. Should be fun.

Lucy: And looking ahead post-Christmas, what have you got planned? What's coming up for you in the new year?

Barney: Um, we always have a party in the new year. As peers we meet up and we boogie.

Kavana: We jam. But I guess we've got all these little things, like today we're doing this now. It's just so unexpected, but we get so many brilliant opportunities to participate in, at such this age, it's just wonderful.

Cassius: Especially as it's Christmas.

Barney: We recently recorded "How Shall I Sing That Majesty" and "Still, Still, Still." "Still, Still, Still" is quite a new one, and um so that's going on Songs of Praise quite soon, so hopefully that will help promote our album.

Lucy: Brilliant. Well come in and talk to me again next year. And I wish you a very merry Christmas in the mean time.

Boys: Thank you! You, too!

Monday, December 5, 2011

Singapore Added to Spring Tour!


Congratulations, Singapore! Libera posted on their web site today,

"Our next tour will be in the Spring of 2012, when we plan to visit Japan and Singapore. Japan is well known to us of course and we look forward to renewing friendships with our Japanese friends. Singapore is a new country for us and we are are very excited to be able to visit there. We are working on a busy schedule of private and public events, including two performances on Saturday 7th April at the Esplanade Theatre in Singapore and performances in the Bunkamura Theatre in Tokyo on Friday 13th and Saturday 14th April."

Exterior of Singapore's Esplanade Theatre

Interior of Esplanade Theatre

Hmmm. There's still a full week in between Singapore and Tokyo. Wonder if Libera will go sightseeing or go somewhere else for more concerts. There are so many great places to choose from. ;)

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Still, Still, Still Video



Libera performed on the UK Songs of Praise TV show tonight. (Why can't we have shows like that in the US?) Anyway, they've given us another Christmas carol video! It's a shortened version of "Still, Still, Still." Ralph's not there so we don't get his awesome solo. Guess you'll have to buy the CD to get that. ;) It's a beautiful song!

It's weird because the commercial for the SOP show showed the same church but Eoghan and Stefan in the center.


But in this video we never see them placed like this. So maybe there's another Libera video still to come! :D


The SOP web site says it was filmed in All Saints Church, Cheltenham. There are 23 boys in the video, and thank you to the camera people for getting so many great shots! The only ones who don't have close-ups are Daniel, Eoghan and Matthew Madine.

Daniel, Carlos, Jakob.......Tiarnan, Jonathan, Josh, Alex
Kavana, Kuba, Luke, Barney.......Liam, Sammy   
Matthew R-A, Henry, Tom.......Ciaran, Stefan, Matthew M
Cassius, Isaac.......Michael, Eoghan

Kavana, Carlos, Kuba (Jakub), Jakob, Luke

Matthew R-A, Kavana, Henry

Kuba

Luke, Jakob, Matthew R-A, Barney, Cassius, Henry

Ciaran, Tom

Sammy, Ciaran, Stefan

Isaac, Matthew R-A, Henry, Tom

Isn't this a great shot of Kavana?!

Barney

Jakob, Matthew R-A, Barney

Luke, Carlos, Barney, Jakob

Tom, Josh, Isaac, Liam, Alex, Sammy

Cassius, Tiarnan, Jonathan, Tom, Josh, Isaac, Liam, Alex, Sammy


Luke, Jakob, Barney

Isaac

Stefan, Ciaran

Thanks for the new video, Libera! Merry Christmas! :D