Quires and places where they sing
Choral concerts, opera and singing events being planned in 2008

return to this month

Humperdinck     Hansel and Gretel
a live performance of the opera is shown here in high-definition direct from one of the world's greatest opera houses - it's a dark and amusing new production shown as a New Year's Day event.

Epiphany carol service

Verdi     Macbeth
a live performance of the opera is shown here in high-definition direct from one of the world's greatest opera houses - it's a new production by Adrian Noble.

A Viennese Strauss Gala
recreating the nostalgia of soirées, waltzes and operettas of Strauss, Kalman and Lehar - including Die Fledermaus, The Merry Widow and more.

Concert
singing from opera, folk, and from musicals as well as traditional Welsh compositions.

In aid of the RAF Benevolent Fund appeal for Princess Marina House.

The Demon Barbers
The diverse repertoire of this five man a-cappella group includes British and American popular songs, both spiritual and comedic, in virtuosic close harmony arrangements.
"They sing like angels, but I wouldn't trust any of them to cut my hair!"  (The Demon Barbers at the Chelmsford Cathedral Festival.)

Mozart      Idomeneo
a concert performance, sung in Italian

Mozart      Idomeneo
a concert performance, sung in Italian

Mozart      Idomeneo
a concert performance, sung in Italian

Godspell
music & lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
a new production of the classic Broadway musical.

A Schubert Extravanganza!
including
    Overture to Rosamunde
    Four partsongs
    Ave Maria
    Mass in E flat major

refreshments in the Steyning Centre after the concert

Jazz evening

Salif Keita
one of three African performers in this triple bill, Salif Keita is a giant of Mali music, singing here a set of classics which fuse traditional Mande music with other world beats.

The Hired Man
a musical by Melvyn Bragg and Howard Goodall, set in rural Cumbria in the early years of the 20th century.
"A brilliant musical score ... a wonderful production - better than many in the West End."  The Independent

Karita Mattila in
Puccini     Manon Lescaut
a live performance of the opera is shown here in high-definition direct from one of the world's greatest opera houses.

music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
     Oklahoma!
the famous musical filled with songs and melodies in celebration of American farmland spirit.

Vaughan Williams     Hugh the Drover
Not many operas centre on a boxing match at an English country fair, but Hugh the Drover is no ordinary opera. Written in 1914 it paints a lyrical but unsentimental picture of a golden age in English rural life. 
Vaughan Williams set out to write "a comedy, full of tunes, and lively", combining actual folk ballads with his own melodies. Surrey Opera offers a rare chance to see this enchanting and unjustly neglected masterpiece in a new production with full chorus, professional soloists and orchestra.  The production commemorates the 50th anniversary of Vaughan Williams’ death.

Singing day on
Karl Jenkins' The Armed Man

Visions of Heaven and Earth
songs and arias in celebration of springtime
including music by Handel, Mozart, Schumann, Vaughan Williams and Ivor Gurney.

A fund-raising concert for Lorica St Patrick's Nightshelter

Contemplation
music for cloistered women
The programme ranges from 12th century music by Hildegard of Bingen, through songs by composers including Palestrina to large scale works composed for 17th century convents.

Celestial Sirens is a semi-professional choir directed by Deborah Roberts, which has performed with the early music ensemble Musica Secreta.

Buddy
Buddy is a musical celebration of the legendary singer-songwriter Buddy Holly, who shot to stardom in 1957, only to die in a plane crash two years later. Buddy - the musical, which is still running in London's West End, catches the unique mixture of innocence, determination, humour and charm that was Buddy Holly, featuring favourites such as That'll Be The Day, Oh Boy! Peggy Sue, True Love Ways, Chantilly Lace and many more hit songs.

Singing Day
on the Glorias of Vivaldi and John Rutter
all singers are invited to join this Singing Day with Arthur Robson, rehearsing and performing the Vivaldi and Rutter Glorias.   The day culminates in a performance to which an audience is invited, starting at 4.15 pm.  Please register by 9 February.

Saturday 1 March, 10.15 am to 5 pm Big School, Christ's Hospital, near Horsham

information and registration: 01403 256203
or by e-mail to Mike Roberts,
CHCS Workshop Organiser

St David's Day concert
a fund raising concert for the St Peter & St James Hospice

Easter concert, includes

Haydn     The Creation (English version by Neil Jenkins)

Visions of heaven
music from the 16th to 20th centuries, including music by Victoria, Stanford, Stainer and Finzi, as well as John Tavener's haunting Song for Athene and Parry's magnificent Blest Pair of Sirens.

Three choral works from the Baroque era. Alongside Vivaldi’s lyrical and exuberant church music a popular instrumental gem, while Carissimi’s Old Testament tale of sacrifice and obedience features dramatic battle scenes, daring promises and a sublime final chorus.

A night at the musicals
show favourites from the glitzy world of Broadway and the West End.

It's Showtime

Britten     Peter Grimes
a live performance of the opera is shown here in high-definition direct from one of the world's greatest opera houses - it's a new production by John Doyle.

also on 5 April in Shoreham-by-Sea

The Dawn of the Renaissance
music from 15th century England and Europe
the programme includes music by Dufay, Binchois, Ockeghem, Obrecht, Dunstaple and Browne.

Concert
in aid of the Cameo Club

Brahms      Requiem

Service of Easter Music and Readings

J H Maunder      Olivet to Calvary

Fauré      Requiem

Sunday 16 March at 7.30 pm Big School, Christ's Hospital, near Horsham

tickets: 01403 247434

Brahms     A German Requiem
the Angus Ross memorial Concert

Music for Passiontide
by candlelight

Handel      Messiah

Handel      Messiah

J S Bach      St John Passion
the Hanover Band specialises in a performance with period instruments.

Deborah Voigt and Ben Heppner in
Wagner     Tristan und Isolde
a live performance of the opera is shown here in high-definition direct from one of the world's greatest opera houses - it's a new production by John Doyle.

J S Bach      St John Passion
the concert takes the form of a Proms-style staging for Easter of Bach's dramatic vision of Christ's final days, first performed in Leipzig on Good Friday 1724.

Gounod     St Cecilia Mass
during the High Mass for Easter Day

Unforgettable operetta
featuring songs from The Merry Widow, Orpheus in the Underworld, The Gypsy Princess and many more ...

John Rutter     Requiem
Karl Jenkins    The Armed Man

Eastbourne Festival Concert

Choral concert

Dvořák     Mass in D
and a selection of British music which the choir will be taking to Krakow on their April tour, including Elgar's Give unto the Lord, Parry's Blest pair of Sirens and Vaughan Williams' O taste and see.

Handel     Messiah

Rutter     Mass for the Children

The Dawn of the Renaissance
music from 15th century England and Europe
the programme includes music by Dufay, Binchois, Ockeghem, Obrecht, Dunstaple and Browne.

Angela Gheorghiu in
Puccini     La Bohème
a live performance of the opera is shown here in high-definition direct from one of the world's greatest opera houses.

Concert

The venue is at Cranleigh School, Surrey
information: 0161 946 0889

Sunday 10 to Sunday 17 August
The Cranleigh Choral Week has traditionally attracted singers from choirs of differing sizes and choral styles. It provides opportunities to experience both chamber choir singing and a major choral/orchestral work in one course. Working with more than one conductor, each choir is provided with a programme ranging from the Renaissance to contemporary pieces, including some lighter items.

Around the world in 80 minutes
a musical world tour

Red Priest, with dynamic vocal group The 1607 Ensemble and The Little Baroque Company

Special Preview Concert
for Brighton Early Music Festival 2008

A special fundraising concert to support the 2008 festival

The King and I is a musical based on the book Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon.The plot comes from the story written by Anna Leonowens, who became school teacher to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the early 1860s. The musical opened on Broadway in 1951 and was followed by a  film version in 1956.

Youth section
production

High School Musical
Disney Channel’s movie musical comes to life on stage – the story of high school basketball star Troy and brainy Gabriella, who meet during a holiday karaoke contest and discover their love for singing, then find that they are new classmates.

Paris - Prince of Troy
a new musical telling the story of the passionate love between Paris and Helen and its tragic consequences.

Musicals
favourites from the West End musicals - Mamma Mia, Mary Poppins, Les Misérables, High School Musical, Grease and more.

Workshop  for Voices and Viols
with Alison Crum

A workshop with players and singers on a selection of motets and madrigals from the 16th and 17th century (often specified as ‘apt for voices and viols’). The workshop will include works using 5 to 16 parts, so singers will be expected to sing one or two to a part for some of the time.  A recital follows in the evening (below).

Mahler      Das Lied von der Erde
The Song of the Earth is Mahler's great allegory of life and death, his summation of man's existence on the planet, and described by Mahler scholar Stephen Heffing as "his culminating synthesis of song and symphony".  The orchestra will also open the concert with Schubert's "Unfinished" Symphony no.8.

Songs of Sundrie Natures
Lute songs and madrigals
Following the workshop earlier in the day some music from the 16th and 17th century ‘apt for voices and viols’, by Byrd, Dowland, Weelkes, Ward, Ferrabosco, Jenkins and Simpson.

Concert
a fund raising concert for Newhaven Parish Church

Mozart      Mass in C Minor  KV427
part of the Leith Hill Musical Festival

Mozart     Don Giovanni
in one of the greatest of all operas, three women plot the downfall of infamous seducaer Don Juan.

Lionel Bart's Oliver!
award-winning musical based on Charles Dickens' classic story Oliver Twist.

music by Frank Wildhorn, lyrics by Leslie Bricusse
Jekyll & Hyde
a gothic musical based on Robert Louis Stevenson's story of a doctor whose scientific experiments release his own dark alter ego onto the streets of Victorian London.

Donizetti     Anna Bolena
a bel canto thriller based on the last days of Anne Boleyn as Henry VIII's queen.

High School Musical
based on Disney's original movie, following the story of basketball captain Troy and the smart, stunning academic Gabriella, who each break from their conventional roles to audition for their high school musical.

Mozart     Don Giovanni
in one of the greatest of all operas, three women plot the downfall of infamous seducaer Don Juan.

The Spirit of Pavarotti
a principal tenor with the English National Philharmonic Orchestra, Lee Bradley is joined by soprano Serenna Wagner in recreating the favorite somgs of the now legendary Pavarotti.

Donizetti     Anna Bolena
a bel canto thriller based on the last days of Anne Boleyn as Henry VIII's queen.

Music by Harry Warren / Lyrics by Al Dubin
42nd Street
a musical celebrating Broadway show people, the story follows chorus girl Peggy Sawyer on her journey towards stardom.

Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Flórez in
Donizetti     La Fille du Régiment
a live performance of the opera is shown here in high-definition direct from one of the world's greatest opera houses.

Bach     St John Passion

Mendelssohn    St Paul

The concert will also include part of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto, with Andrew Sutton as soloist.

contributing to the Motor Neurone Disease Association

Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein
Oklahoma!
a celebration of frontier life, with tender romance and dangerous passion.  Classic songs include Oh what a beautiful morning, The Surrey with the fringe on top and People will say we're in love.

A Hymn to Nina
a show dedicated to the songs of Nina Simone.

The first ever concert by the new Community Youth Gospel Choir, Messengers UK. They are joined by their African partner choir Messengers Uganda, sharing a programme of traditional, contemporary and African gospel sounds.

The event supports Kitittika School where Messengers Uganda are based.

Poulenc      Gloria
the concert also includes works by Barber, Bernstein, Copland and Tippett.

Schubert      Mass in G

Opera favourites
well-loved melodies from international professional opera singers

Lunchtime concert
English music by Purcell, Handel and Britten in the historic setting of the Chapel Royal.

The bootmaker's daughter
the world première of the dramatised story of a Lewes martyr, written by Chris Dixon.  The Cardinall's Musick is an early music consort performing music from William Byrd to traditional tavern songs.

Purcell      Dido and Aeneas
a performance of Purcell's only fully-fledged opera.

Chamber Choir concert

in aid of the Royal British Legion

Sailing the Ocean Blue
a jaunty medley of songs with a seafaring theme. As well as selections from HMS Pinafore there will be a host of other nautical numbers.

Schubert     Die Winterreise
an evocative and bleak portrayal of a man's journey through life.

The Great American Songbook
jazz arrangements including standards and less known gems, sung with style,   "A truly accomplished singer with a repertoire rich in character"  The Times.

Bizet      Carmen
a story of this famous opera is based on a French novella by Prosper Merimée. In Seville, Carmen the sultry gypsy meets Don José, a soldier who becomes obsessed by her. But independence is Carmen's passion, and the love affair turns to tragedy when Carmen catches the eye of  bullfighter Escamillo.  This fully staged production is sung in English and performed with orchestra.

Elgar      Sea Pictures
the concert will also include Walton's Crown Imperial, Vaughan Williams' The Wasps and other popular works.

Broadway show-stoppers
well-loved melodies from international professional opera singers

a play with songs
Call Mr Robeson
a roller coaster journey through Paul Robeson’s remarkable and eventful life, the play highlights how his radical activism caused him to be disowned, even by the leaders of the civil rights movement. It features some of his famous songs and speeches, including a dramatic rendition of Ol’ Man River.

Naked Voices go West
a programme of unaccompanied song in a cabaret setting, ranging from the West Pier to the West Coast USA.

Catchy! the Great Plague musical
the Great Plague of London brought back to life in a bawdy musical comedy with rats, dancing corpses and catchy songs.  An Edinburgh Festival sell-out show.

Lionel Bart     Blitz!
war-time musical comedy revolving around the life and family of Jewish East End momma Mrs Blitztein, and their struggles to survive the Blitz.

Forbidden love - a curious tale
drawing on songs and arias by Caccini, Caldara, Giordani, Monteverdi, Pergolesi and Mertz to tell the story of a hopeless love ... or is it?

Turning silence into song
songs ranging from lyrical to satirical, personal to political, humorous to poignant.

Mozart     The Marriage of Figaro
sung in a new translation by Kit Hesketh-Harvey, bringing to life all the wit, intrigue and panache of this comic farce.

The Magic Hand
jDutch counter-tenor Sytse Buwalde performs songs by Los Angeles pooet Stephen Kalinich, composed and played by Argentinian Pablo Escande.

Singers' concert

Verdi      Il Trovatore

Jazz, blues and gospel concert

Italian Songbook
Lieder recital exploring a relationship.

Brighton makes music
music by composers associated with Brighton & Hove - the concert includes works by Peter Copley, Ian Copley, Terence Deadman, Bruno Kyhan, Mark Richey and Michael Stephenson..

Jazz meets classical in the English tradition
the Kingfisher Chorale is a highly reputed chamber choir visiting Hove from the Midlands.  The concert is given in aid of the All Saints Hove Choral Trust.

Concert
in aid of the Oldland Mill Trust

Music for Maytime
with bar and supper

Duruflé      Requiem
Vivaldi     Gloria
and music by Tavener

Passion of Puccini
well-loved melodies from international professional opera singers

Monteverdi       L'Incoronazione di Poppea
This new production for 2008 is directed by Robert Carsen and conducted by baroque specialist Emmanuelle Haïm. Monteverdi's last work was first produced in Venice in 1642, a drama of sensuality and passion where love overtakes virtue.

Vocal Explosion
this World Music choir combines with percussion and brass to bring sounds from the streets of Cuba to Brighton.

Songs and Arias
passionate Italian opera, sensual French mélodie and fiery Spanish canciones, with piano solos.

Gilbert & Sullivan
Pirates of Penzance
a new production of the much-loved Gilbert & Sullivan classic, with orphaned pirates, flat-footed policemen and a bevy of blushing maidens – all the ingredients for G&S at their very best!

Tchaikovsky       Eugene Onegin
A revival of Graham Vick's 1994 Festival production, sung in Russian with English supertitles, and conducted by Vladimir Jurowski or Kirill Karabits (on 19,22,26,29 June, 5,8,11 July)

Amara harp & flute duo
an early evening concert in the candle-lit setting of a Regency town house.

Verdi      Il Trovatore

Passion of Puccini
well-loved melodies from international professional opera singers

Purcell     Dido & Aeneas
performed by postgraduate students from London's Trinity College Of Music and young professional soloists.

Airs and disgraces
"dark, smokey" interpretations of blues, folk and contemporary songs from Julie, with guitar and double-bass,  are complemented by wickedly witty poems from Leonie exploring life and love.

The Magic Hand
Dutch counter-tenor Sytse Buwalde performs songs by Los Angeles poet Stephen Kalinich, composed and played by Argentinian Pablo Escande.

Grand Opera Gala

A Centenary Recital
Michael Munns celebrates the organ music of Olivier Messaien, including Transports de Joie and movements from La Nativité. Sally Johnson (soprano) sings in Górecki's O Domina Nostra.

Food of Love
an evening of innovative contemporary choral music.

Gospel concert
a mix of traditional and contemporary gospel music.

Handel      Messiah

An evening concert
a programme of solos and duets by composers including Purcell, Handel, Mozart, Chopin and Schumann.

Puccini     Madam Butterfly
doomed love of an American naval lieutenant and his beautiful Japanese bride, sung in Italian with English surtitles.  The opera company is on its first ever tour of the UK, accompanied by the Russian State Opera Orchestra.

Verdi     La Traviata
the tragic tale of courtesan Violetta and her love for nobleman Alfredo, sung in Italian with English surtitles.  The opera company is on its first ever tour of the UK, accompanied by the Russian State Opera Orchestra.

Lunchtime recital

Puccini     La Bohème
heartfelt story of Mimi from streetlife fun in the Café Momus till her tragic death in a Paris garret - sung in Italian with English surtitles.  The opera company is on its first ever tour of the UK, accompanied by the Russian State Opera Orchestra.

Concert
in aid of Southwick's 12th century Parish Church

I-sing on the cake!
styles from musical theatre to grand opera combine in a unique cabaret for all tastes, including the icing on the chocolate fudge cake served in the interval.

Jazz to Classics
a balance of different styles of music

Lunchtime recital

Voices of youth
this choir recently took part in the Voices of Youth concert in Covent Garden.  This afternoon it's an informal café style concert with a cream tea.

also on 21 June in Lancing College Chapel

The Birth of the Baroque
Choral music from 17th century England
including works by Orlando Gibbons, Thomas Weelkes and Thomas Tomkins.

In Concert
Christ's Hospital senior chamber choir Schola Cantorum joins with two local children's choirs to perform both independently and together.

Trees - if you go down in the woods
join a musical ramble to Walk in the Black Forest via Linden Lea, through The Ash Grove under The Green Leaves of Summer to The Green Cathedral - with wonderfully evocative poems by Robert Frost, Rudyard Kipling and others.

A picnic break and raffle complete the evening.

A little light music
an evening of music from film and stage, including numbers from Rodgers & Hammerstein, Sondheim and Gershwin.

Polish roots music direct from Poland - the group was the winner in the BBC World Music Awards 2004 for Best Newcomer.  They describe their house-style as hardcore folk - blending uncompromising traditionalism with gutteral punk rock.

Lunchtime concert

Britten       Albert Herring
A revival of Peter Hall's 1985 Festival production, conducted by Gérard Korsten.

Haydn     Litle Organ Mass
Fauré     Requiem
this choir from Oxford University gives these and other works in their concert in support of Friends of Brighton & Hove Hospitals.

Handel      Acis and Galatea

Messengers UK – Youth Gospel Choir
traditional and contemporary gospel sounds from this community youth choir, supporting efforts to raise money for young people in Uganda.

Saturday 14 June at 7.30 pm Lancing College Chapel, Lancing information: 01273 465495

tickets available from: The Bookshop, High Street, Steyning
The Secretary Shop, Henfield;  Ropetackle Centre, Shoreham-by-Sea
Bookworms, 4 High Street, Shoreham-by-Sea

Karl Jenkins     The Armed Man
an oratorio that follows a six-century-old tradition of "Armed Man" masses that take the fifteenth century French song "L'Homme Armé" as their starting point.

Cabaret & canapés
an evening of comedy songs and pastiches with songs taken from the world of cabaret, musical theatre and satire.  During the interval mouth-watering canapés will be served.

Saturday 14 June at 8 pm Dining Hall, Christ's Hospital, near Horsham

tickets: 01403 247434

Gilbert & Sullivan
H.M.S. Pinafore
a light concert celebrating the music of G&S, culminating in a concert performance of HMS Pinafore.  Bring a picnic for 7 pm before joining the concert.

Songs of Innocence and Experience
music, prose and poetry explore themes both classical and contemporary from William Blake's poems, taking in works by Aaron Copland, Beethoven, The Doors, Kate Bush and Kurt Weill.

Shakespeare's musicke
an evening of music connected with William Shakespeare, including music by his contemporaries and settings of his texts by various composers. The programme will feature George Shearing's delightful Songs and Sonnets, and the première of a new set of three songs by Clive Osgood.

Charles Gounod     Roméo et Juliette
Two powerful families - the Montagues and the Capulets - are divided by age-old enmity. In Gounod's lushly orchestrated score the clashes between the two clans generate tremendous excitement, and for the lovers there's a succession of magnificent duets. John Fulljames directs and Martin André conducts. Sung in French with English titles.

Giuseppe Verdi      Macbeth
Seduced by a dark prophecy and goaded by his wife, Macbeth becomes consumed by ambition. Having murdered the king and seized power he discovers that, to keep it, more and more blood must be spilt. Caught in a spiral of violence, Macbeth and his lady descend into madness and despair. Directed by Tim Albery and sung in Italian with English titles.