LEADING FEMALE COMPOSER IN CHESTER CONCERT DATE FOR TOP CHORAL GROUP

Final rehearsals are underway as one of the region’s top choirs prepare to launch their new season with a special Autumn Concert in Chester at which they will be joined by the composer of one the pieces they are set to perform.

Following their Summer break, Chester Bach Singers are a set to stage "Autumn Inspirations", the first concert of their 2023/24 season, on Saturday 21st October at 3pm at St Werburgh’s Church in the city centre.

The concert which will conducted by Musical Director Martin Bussey will see the choir performing Requiem by Duruflé plus works by Rebecca Dale, Cecilia McDowall, Michael Higgins, and Lily Boulanger. Composer Cecilia McDowall will join the choir at the event to talk about her work which includes a piece - "Crucifixus", which was commissioned by professional choir Sonoro and which formed part of workshop staged by Sonoro for Chester Bach Singers last year.

Cecilia McDowall is one of the UK’s leading composers of sacred and secular choral music. Her most characteristic works fuse fluent melodic lines with occasional dissonant harmonies and rhythmic exuberance. Her music has been commissioned and performed by such organisations as the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Chorus, City of London Sinfonia, London Mozart Players, St Paul’s Cathedral, leading choirs, including the BBC Singers, The Sixteen, Oxford and Cambridge choirs, Kansas City Chorale and at festivals worldwide.

Speaking about the concert, Martin Bussey said:

"We are very excited that Cecilia McDowall, once of the most significant and widely performed female composers of sacred and secular music in the UK today will be joining us at St Werburgh's to talk about her work. We are delighted to have the opportunity to perform her work at this special Autumn concert which launches our 2023/24 season."

Other highlights during the choir's new season of concerts and events include a Christmas concert on 16th December, a Workshop and informal concert featuring works by Poulenc, a performance of Elgar's Dream of Gerontious at Chester Cathedral in conjunction with Chester Philharmonic Orchestra, Cantiones choir and soloists Kathryn Rudge, Joshua Ellicott and James Platt on 2nd March. The choir will also stage a performance of Handel's Messiah on 20th April and special concert featuring music of the 1950s which tales place on 8th June.

Full details of "Autumn Inspirations" can be found at: 

www.chesterbachsingers.org.uk 

...where tickets can be booked online.