CHOIR SET TO SHOWCASE MOZART MASTERPIECE ALONGSIDE NEW CLASSICAL WORK

One of Chester's top choirs is set to stage a concert featuring a much loved classical piece of music and a recent composition by a rising young British composer.

Chester Festival Chorus will stage a performance of the iconic Mozart Requiem, and a contemporary piece, "A Glimpse of the Light" by British composer Rory Wainwright Johnston at St Thomas' Church in Chester on Saturday 21st June at 7.30pm. The evening will also feature a performance of Mozart's "Ave Verum Corpus."

The choir will be joined on stage by the British Sinfonia and soloists Soprano Elspeth Piggott, Mezzo Soprano Lorna Day, Tenor Timothy Peters and Bass Henry Saywell. The concert will be conducted by Ellie Slorach in what will be her final concert as the choir's musical director.

Instantly recognisable from numerous films, TV programmes and adverts and regarded by many as his masterpiece, Mozart's Requiem in D minor (K626) was unfinished at the time of his death in December 1791. It was completed in 1792 by Franz Xaver Süssmayr. 

The inspiration for Rory Wainwright Johnson's "A glimpse of the Light" came from the last line of the poem ‘A passing glimpse’ by Robert Frost. First performed in Yorkshire in 2019, the work was written to be performed in concert as a partner to Mozart's Requiem.

Chester Festival Chorus was formed in 1981 by Martin Merry, a founder of the Chester Summer Music Festival and Artistic Director from its inception in 1978 until 1985. Since its formation the Chester Festival Chorus has established itself as one of Northwest England’s leading large-scale mixed-voice choirs. At the annual Chester Summer Music Festival the chorus has performed major choral works from Handel and Mozart to Britten, Poulenc and Tavener. 

Along with their guest soloists, the choir will be accompanied by British Sinfonietta, an orchestra of top flight freelance professional musicians. The orchestra's highlights include the televised world premiere of Adiemus Colores by Sir Karl Jenkins at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, screenings of Casablanca at the Royal Opera House in London, Video Games Live in Glasgow, London and Manchester, screenings of Home Alone in Denmark, and the sell out London Welsh Festival of Male Choirs at The Royal Albert Hall.

Rory Wainwright Johnston is a conductor and composer from Bradford-on-Avon, near Bath. Rory is currently the assistant conductor of the Groot Omroepkoor (Netherlands Radio Choir) and works as a regular deputy conductor for choirs in Berlin. Since 2022, Rory has developed a professional relationship with RIAS Kammerchor, working as a deputy and assistant conductor, including on their last two New Years Concerts in the Berlin Philharmonie and their subsequent recordings. Rory has also worked with many choirs across the Northwest of England. As a composer, his music has been performed and broadcast by a variety of ensembles and artists from across the UK and Germany. 

A rising star in the classical music world, Ellie Slorach is the Founder and Artistic Director of Kantos Chamber Choir and works across the UK and internationally with several orchestras and choirs. Her recent work includes making her debut with the Royal Northern Sinfonia at Sage Gateshead and with New Adventures’ production of Edward Scissorhands at Sadler’s Wells. Specialising in concerts for schools and young people, Ellie has worked with orchestras including The Hallé and the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège. She is often invited to work with youth and student orchestras and choirs including the Hallé Youth Orchestra. Ellie will be conducting a BBC Proms concert at The Royal Albert Hall in London later this year.

Speaking about the concert, Andy Ashton, Chair of Chester Festival Chorus said:

"In our final concert with our current conductor and music director Ellie Slorach, we are delighted to be staging a performance of Mozart's ultimate achievement, his Requiem, accompanied by the British Sinfonietta. Mozart's Requiem is, of course, an iconic and powerful piece of music that has been used in several adverts on TV, so even if you are not familiar with classical music you will still recognise some bits and if not, you can enjoy the power and the beauty of the music. "A glimpse of the Light" was written specially to complement the Mozart Requiem, has similar themes but in a modern style. The concert, in the intimate setting of Chester's St Thomas' Church, will also feature Mozart's Ave Verum Corpus. We look forward to being joined on stage by top flight soloists for what will be a very special evening of music."

Full details of the Chester Festival Chorus concert at St. Thomas's Church can be found at: 

www.chesterfestivalchorus.org.uk 

...where tickets can be booked online.