TOP CHESTER CHOIR SET TO BE JOINED BY SPECIAL GUESTS FOR FIRST CONCERT OF THE YEAR

A Chester-based choir, which is highly regarded as one of the best chamber choirs in the Northwest, will be joined by special guests for its first concert of 2026.

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 for the concert in the historic surroundings of St Werburgh's Church in Chester on Saturday 14^th March at 3.00pm. 

Entitled 'Music of Dedication', the concert will feature Anton Bruckner's Mass in E Minor together with an opportunity to hear music by two trailblazing women, Amy Beach and Fanny Hensel.

Written by Bruckner in 1866, Mass No.2 in E Minor was commissioned for the dedication of the Votivkapelle of the newly built Linz Cathedral.  Bruckner subjected the work to far-reaching revision in 1869, 1876, and 1882. The Mass has been widely performed and recorded with over 100 recordings made.

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 Her compositions number over 450, most of which were unpublished in her lifetime.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. In 1846, encouraged by her Husband, Fanny Hensel published a collection of songs in her own name. Hensel died of a stroke in 1847, aged just 41.

Joining Chester Bach Singers as its new Musical Director, Joseph Judge is a Graduate of The Royal Northern College of Music. In addition to his work with Chester Bach Singers, Joseph is Chorus Director of Leeds Philharmonic Chorus, Artistic Director of the Exon Singers Festival, Musical Director of Chester Festival Chorus, Director of the Hallé Choral Academy and Score Reader/Orchestrator with the Northern Film Orchestra. Joseph's recent projects also include Choral Director for the acclaimed Alan Bennett film 'The Choral' and working with English National Opera and Walk the Plank for a large-scale project bringing opera to the community in Manchester. Joseph has also conducted Manchester Camerata and assisted the BBC and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestras. Joseph has led session recordings for Sony PlayStation, and produced Northern Lights – an album of contemporary choral works with BBC Choir of the Year winners, Voices of Hope.

North Wales based NEW Sinfonia is a multi-faceted arts organisation which boasts a professional chamber orchestra, community vocal ensemble 'NEW Voices' and an education programme 'NEW Academi', based in North Wales. The artistic team is made up of exciting creative professional musicians who come from across North Wales and beyond. When not performing with NEW Sinfonia, its players perform with the UK’s most prestigious orchestras including BBC Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Hallé, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Opera North, and Liverpool Philharmonic. 

NEW Sinfonia's Musical Director and Co-founder Robert Guy is an internationally acclaimed conductor.  Born with severe hearing loss, Robert didn’t hear birdsong until after a life-changing operation as a child. Now, he transforms that early silence into powerful, electrifying performances. Robert is Principal Conductor of the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, and a keen advocate for new music, as demonstrated in the acclaimed ‘Gresford: Up From Underground’ - the community opera composed by his brother Jon Guy to mark the 90th anniversary of the Gresford disaster. The opera, which is currently touring venues across Wales, continues to engage thousands and honour Welsh heritage in a groundbreaking way.

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

www.chesterbachsingers.org.uk 

...where tickets can be booked.