Sunday 19th December 2010 at 2pm A musical treat for all the family to kick-start the Christmas week, as David conducts the Bristol Schools Chamber Choirs and a live band in a ‘Winter Wonderland’ of festive favourites including Benjamin Britten’s superlative Ceremony of Carols. Tickets £8 adults, £5 under 18s from 0845 40 24 001, www.stgeorgesbristol.co.uk
News, concerts and events
Exultate Singers – Carols by Candlelight
Wednesday 15th December 2010 at 8pm David conducts Exultate Singers in the choir’s annual Carols by Candlelight concert, which this year will be held in Clifton College Chapel, Bristol. Come and enjoy an atmospheric evening of seasonal music for choir and organ. Tickets £15 (concessions £13, students in full time education £5, children under 18 £2) available from Providence Musics shop on 0117 927 6536 or online at www.exultatesingers.org/shop
City of Bristol Choir – Duruflé Requiem
Sunday 14th November 2010 at 7.30pm City of Bristol Choir continues its 20th anniversary season with Remembrance Sunday concert of reflective and meditative choral music at St Alban’s Church, Westbury Park, Bristol. The choir is joined by professional cellist Juliet McCarthy to perform works which reflect the themes of peace and reconciliation, including In War, a setting by Malcolm Archer of words by Winston Churchill, Barber’s Agnus Dei, Fauré’s Elegie and John Tavener’s Threnos for solo cello. Duruflé’s atmospheric setting of the Requiem mass completes the programme. Its combination of timeless plainsong melodies with hushed celestial harmonies contrasted with dramatic outbursts from the choir and organ make it a moving piece to hear live in concert. The concert is given in support of the work of the Royal British Legion. Tickets are £13 (£11 concessions, £5 under 18s) available from City of Bristol Choir ticket line on 07932 711379 or online at www.cityofbristolchoir.org.uk/141110.php.
The remainder of the season will include performances of Bach’s Mass in B minor and Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 with His Majesty’s Sagbutts and Cornetts.
Exultate Singers – Rachmaninov All-Night Vigil
Sunday 7th November 2010 at 7.30pm David conducts Exultate Singers in a performance of Rachmaninov’s lavish music for the Russian Orthodox church, the All-Night Vigil (often simply known as the Vespers), one of the greatest choral masterpieces of the twentieth century. Written for unaccompanied choir throughout with deep textures, sumptuous harmonies and simple, beautiful melodies, it is unmistakably Russian and perfectly suited to the warm, clear acoustic of St George’s Bristol. In an evening of Russian music, the virtuosic cellist Richard May and concert pianist Olena Shvetsova perform movements from Shostakovich and Rachmaninov’s Cello Sonatas and the haunting Vocalise. The UK premiere of Yuri Yukechev’s The Epistle for choir and cello completes the programme. Tickets £10 – £18 from St George’s box office on 0845 40 24 001 or online at www.exultatesingers.org/shop
Exultate Singers – A Sense of the Divine
Sunday 13th February 2011 at 7.30pm David conducts Exultate Singers in a performance in the round of Tallis’ 40-part motet, Spem in alium, in St George’s Bristol. The concert also includes Allegri’s Miserere mei and works by Lili Boulanger, William Harris, Eric Whitacre, Jaako Mäntyjärvi. Tickets are priced from £10-£20 (discounts for concessions), available from St George’s box office on 0845 40 24 001 or online.
City of Bristol Choir – 20th anniversary season
City of Bristol Choir launches its 20th anniversary season with a performance of Mozart’s Requiem, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms and Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis in a collaboration with the professional orchestra, The Bristol Ensemble, on Saturday 2nd October 2010 in the Colston Hall. Tickets are priced from £15 – £20 (£5 for under 18s) and are available from the Colston Hall box office on 0117 922 3686 or online at www.cityofbristolchoir.org.uk.
The season will include performances of Duruflé’s Requiem, Bach’s Mass in B minor and Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 with His Majesty’s Sagbutts and Cornetts.
RSCM Millennium Youth Choir Summer Course 2010
16th – 22nd August 2010 The RSCM Millennium Youth Choir’s Summer Course is based at Truro Cathedral. You can hear them sing services at the Cathedral – Evensong at 5.30pm on Monday 16th, Tuesday 17th, Wednesday 18th and Friday 20th August at 5.30pm; sung Eucharist at 10am and Evensong at 4pm on Sunday 22nd August.
The choir will also be giving a concert at 7.30pm on Thursday 19th August in St Ives Parish Church, St Andrew’s Street, St Ives, Cornwall TR26 1AH. Tickets will be £6 in advance, £7 on the door, available from the local box office on (01726) 879 500 or online at www.crbo.co.uk.
RSCM Millennium Youth Choir 10 year celebrations
Saturday 16th – Sunday 17th October 2010 The RSCM Millennium Youth Choir marks its tenth birthday with a weekend of celebrations at St Peter’s Church, Eaton Square, London. A Thanksgiving Service at 5pm on Saturday 16th is led by Canon Wendy Wilby of the RSCM Council; the preacher is the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, and music will be sung by past and present members of the choir. In the evening there will be a black tie party. On Sunday, the choir will give a concert at 3pm at St Peter’s – entry to the concert is free and all are welcome. For more information, see the RSCM Millennium Youth Choir website.
David directs RSCM America Washington course
26th July – 1st August 2010 David directs the Advanced Course for Trebles for RSCM America, based at Washington National Cathedral. He will be conducting services in the Cathedral throughout the week including Eucharist at 11.15am (4.15pm UK time) on Sunday 1st August, which will be streamed online on the Cathedral’s website www.nationalcathedral.org