19TH CENTURY "GIRL POWER" SET TO BE CELEBRATED AT CHESTER CONCERT

Music by two trailblazing female composers of the 19th Century - the Spice Girls of their day, is set to feature in a special concert by Chester Bach Singers.

Featuring music by Amy Beach and Fanny Hensel, the event takes place at St Werburgh’s Church in Chester on Saturday 14th March at 3.00pm.

Chester Bach Singers will be joined by its newly appointed Musical Director Joseph Judge and Wrexham's NEW Sinfonia under the musical direction of Robert Guy.

Entitled 'Music of Dedication', the concert also features Anton Bruckner's Mass in E Minor.

Born in 1867, American composer and pianist Amy Marcy Cheney Beach was the first successful American female composer of large-scale art music. Her "Gaelic" Symphony, premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1896, was the first symphony composed and published by an American woman. She was one of the first American composers of her era to succeed without the benefit of European training, and was known as one of the most respected and acclaimed American composers.

Fanny Hensel, born Fanny Cäcilie Mendelssohn in 1805 was a German composer and pianist. Her compositions number over 450, most of which were unpublished in her lifetime. Hensel's younger Brother was the composer Felix Mendelssohn. Whilst unthinkable today, owing to the social conventions and constraints of the time, much of her work was published in his name. Undaunted, and encouraged by her Husband, Fanny Hensel published a collection of songs in her own name in 1846. definitely an early example of Girl Power!

Speaking about the concert, Helen Crich, the chair of Chester Bach Singers said:

"We are delighted to be staging this special concert which, alongside the work of Anton Bruckner, will celebrate the work of Fanny Hensel and Amy Beach, two trailblazing female composers, the Spice Girls of their day if you like. We are really looking forward to working with NEW Sinfonia and their conductor Rob Guy, alongside our own new musical director Joseph Judge. It promises to be a very special afternoon, do come and join us."

Full details of Chester Bach Singers first concert of 2026 can be found at: 

www.chesterbachsingers.org.uk 

...where tickets can be booked.