Famous for its horse racing, on 14 February 2015, Chantilly will be the venue for a Choral Singing Day. I will be leading choristers from across northern France in a workshop of music from the English choral tradition, culminating in a service of Choral Evensong in St Peter’s Church.
More details, including the music being sung in the workshop will be posted in due course.
On Saturday 20th April I’m presenting a short lecture at Canterbury Christ Church University entitled Music in a Liturgical Parish Church which will look at the role that music plays at St Stephen’s Church, Canterbury and how it becomes a way of reaching out to the local community. My lecture is part of a one day conference on church music called Sound Ministry. More details and links from my lecture are available by following this link.
On Saturday 16th March, I am conducting a ‘Bring and Sing’ workshop and performance of John Stainer’s Passiontide Oratorio “The Crucifixion”.
It’s taking place in Holy Trinity Church, Broadstairs between 2 and 6pm and anyone is welcome, whether a member of an RSCM affiliated choir or not. For more details, click on the image to the left to see the full poster, and make contact with the Canterbury Area RSCM secretary, Tracey Laws, who will take you booking.
I look forward to seeing you there!
Last Saturday (12th May) I had the pleasure of directing the North-West Europe RSCM (Royal School of Church Music) Choir Festival. Held in Brussels, Belgium, participants travelled from far and wide, including Holland, Luxembourg, and Germany, as well as those from cities in Belgium and, of course, me from the UK!
The music was taken from the RSCM‘s recent publication The Word Revealed, focusing on last year’s 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, and included And the glory of the Lord from The Messiah, by Handel and an excellent new anthem commissioned for the book, Vox Christi by Philip Wilby.
The enthusiasm from all taking part was excellent, and the quality of the singing really quite superb for a choir that had come together for the first time that morning.
A couple of videos are available on Youtube, although they were recorded on my mobile phone, and the quality of audio is very poor, clipping most of the way through – however, it gives a sense of the occasion:
I had a thoroughly enjoyable time and would like to thank everyone who was involved.
If you are looking for someone to lead a choral workshop – particularly amateur singers in church choirs, then I would be very pleased to hear from you via the contact page.
