Preparations are under way for a new event at Storyhouse in Chester which will sees three of the city’s top choirs join forces in concert for the very first time.
Chester Sings, which takes place on Sunday, April 15 at 7.00pm, is the first major collaboration between The City of Chester Male Voice Choir, Chester Bach Singers and Chester Music Society Choir and the first time that they will have appeared on stage at Chester’s prestigious new arts centre.
The concert will feature each choir singing a selection of popular pieces from their extensive repertoires and will include everything from much-loved traditional choral pieces to songs from The West End and Broadway with all three choirs coming together for the very first time in a grand finale.
The concept of bringing together the three choirs is the brainchild of the chairman of Chester Music Society Choir, Clive Cooper.
He said: “The arrival of Storyhouse offers a vibrant new opportunity for the presentation and development of the arts in Chester and the surrounding area.
“It provides a new space in which many varieties of performance can be delivered.
“This includes the choral performances for which Chester has a fine reputation.
“It is to this end that we saw an opportunity for our three choirs to come together and so Chester Sings was born.
“This is an exciting opportunity for us all; not only to see Storyhouse as a venue for choral performance, but also to provide an exciting new platform for future co-operation between the choirs of our city.
“We are all really looking forward performing at Storyhouse on April 15 and we hope that the audience will be delighted with what promises to be a great celebration of choral music in our wonderful new arts venue.”
All three choirs have been established in Chester for many years, each with its own distinctive style and repertoire.
The City of Chester Male Voice Choir, founded in 1941 by Fred Warren, is well known throughout the region and has forged links with many other choirs throughout the UK and in Europe having performed in venues including The Royal Albert Hall, Manchester Free Trade Hall and some of the great cathedrals of Europe including Notre Dame, Paris, Rheims, Sens and Cologne.
Under the musical direction of Rodney T. Jones, the choir has won several awards and is looking foward to a busy 2018 which will include the choir singing at The Menin Gate in Belgium as part of commemorations to mark the Centenary of the end of the First World War later this year.
Chester Bach Singers, under the musical direction of Martin Bussey is well known for its critically acclaimed performances of Baroque music, particularly Bach and Handel as well as championing the music of contemporary British composers.
The choir has performed with several orchestras in the region including the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Chetham’s School of Music and the Chester Bach Orchestra. The choir also has been fortunate to perform in several prestigious venues including The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester and St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
Completing the line-up for Chester Sings is Chester Music Society Choir under the baton of their musical director Graham Jordan-Ellis.
In addition to their regular concerts at Chester Cathedral, the choir has performed extensively across the UK and Europe and concert tours have included performances in Ghent, Venice and Prague.
The choir has formed links with several other local choirs and music societies having performed with The Crosby Symphony Orchestra, Southport Bach Choir and the Liverpool Welsh Union amongst others.
Tickets for Chester Sings are just £15 and can booked online at www.storyhouse.com/events/chester-sings.
