Shrewsbury
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Choral
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Society
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Registered Charity No. 501644 |
Press releases CHORAL SOCIETY’S CHRISTMAS CRACKER OF A
CONCERT!
Brilliant Bach - The St John Passion (March 2008)On Saturday 8th March at 7.30pm, St Chad’s Church, Town Walls, Shrewsbury will resound to the magnificent music of J S Bach in a performance of the St John Passion. The concert will be performed by Shrewsbury Choral Society and Oswestry Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra conducted by Martin Schellenberg. They will be joined by local professional soloists Cathy Benson (Soprano), Harriet Goodwin (Alto) and Stephen Garner (Bass). Bach’s St John Passion has a special character that many concertgoers cherish and is a deeply moving and dramatic work. The score was first performed on Bach’s first Good Friday in Leipzig on April 7th, 1724. The purpose of performing a Passion was not just to tell the story as vividly and affectingly as possible, but also to teach its meaning. And that’s what Shrewsbury Choral Society wish to recreate on Saturday 8th March at 7.30pm. The tenor is the narrator, the voice of the evangelist and the other soloists sing the words of Jesus, Pilate, Peter, and others who participate in the story. Whenever the crowd, the soldiers, or other groups of people speak, Bach gives their words to the chorus with more elaborate settings. The chorus also sings complex numbers to open and close the passions. Martin Schellenberg said: “Bach’s St John Passion is highly emotional and powerfully meditative and this is a concert not to be missed”. Tickets priced £10 (£5 students and children) are available from Hares of Shrewsbury, from Choral Society Members or by post from 8 Grasmere Road, Shrewsbury.
Choral society's seasonal celebration (December 2007)Shrewsbury’s Choral Society will be presenting a traditional fun-filled carol concert for Advent and Christmas at St Chad’s church, Shrewsbury at 7.30pm on Saturday 8th December. The programme of popular classics is being presented under the title of “A Seasonal Celebration” and will include seasonal readings. Choral Society members will be joined by a Brass and Organ accompaniment, under the baton of Musical Director Martin Schellenberg. Martin Schellenberg said: “I would welcome people to come and sing, listen to some popular and fine music and to enjoy the real spirit of Christmas. We will be presenting a new piece titled “Rejoice and be Merry” – an Old English traditional carol set to music by composer John Rutter. As composer, arranger and conductor, Rutter has become the musical equivalent of Dickens, and synonymous with the season. Our ‘Seasonal Celebration’ held in the beautiful ambience of St Chad’s Georgian architecture with its special atmosphere will provide the ingredients for a perfect celebration of Christmas Music at its best”. Tickets priced £10 (unobstructed view) or £5 (restricted view) (Students & children £3) are available from Hares of Shrewsbury, from Choral Society Members or pay at the door subject to availabilty. Choral society's tribute to Sir Edward Elgar…“The Kingdom” (Summer 07)Shrewsbury Choral Society will be paying tribute to one of England’s finest composers- Sir Edward Elgar, when on Saturday 9th June at 7.30pm they perform his final oratorio- The Kingdom at St Chad’s Church, Shrewsbury. Shrewsbury Choral Society’s Conductor and Musical Director Martin Schellenberg will be leading the 120-member choir in a celebration of the 150th anniversary of Elgar’s birthday. The choir will be accompanied by soprano Claire Seaton, mezzo-soprano Susannah Spicer, tenor Andrew Mackenzie-Wicks, Michael Bundy, bass-baritone, and the Oswestry Symphonia with organist Tim Mills. Organiser Thelma Foster of Shrewsbury said: “One of England's greatest composers, Sir Edward Elgar, was born on 2 June 1857, and our concert will be a fitting tribute to a great composer, and a splendid occasion for the people of Shropshire to enjoy Elgar's exemplary oratorio in all its sublime glory. A dream-ticket to some English choral music bliss! The Kingdom was Elgar's final oratorio and is the story of the acts of Jesus’s disciples after his Ascension. Opening with a majestic orchestral prelude, with stirring choruses of great beauty and grandeur, it features the wonderful soprano aria “The sun goeth down”…one of Elgar’s exquisite creations. The Kingdom is the closest Elgar ever got to writing an opera; and in Shrewsbury Choral Society’s new era of bringing great music to audiences, we aim to continue the finest tradition of singing masterpieces by great composers”. Ticket sales: Tickets: £10 and £5 from (01743) 443146, or from Hares, Shrewsbury, Choir members – or pay at the door (subject to availability).
Choral Society's Great English Anthem (Spring 07)Shrewsbury Choral Society’s newly appointed Conductor and Musical Director Martin Schellenberg will be leading the 120-member choir in a celebration of music by primarily English composers. They will be accompanied by organist Tim Mills and soloists from the Abberley Hall School Chapel Choir. Martin Schellenberg said: “The first concert of the new series encapsulates some of the finest church choral music from the end of the 19th century to the present day and can be heard at 7.30pm on Saturday 24th March in St Chad’s Church, Town Walls, Shrewsbury. The English Choral Tradition is a treasure-house of wonderfully powerful and inspiring music written by some of our greatest composers. In choosing the SCS’s programme for 2007, it was decided to include works that the Society had never sung or had sung a very long time ago but music that has never lost its appeal”. Martin continued: “From the late 1800’s, early to mid 1900’s there is rousing music by Sir Edward Elgar, John Ireland, Hubert Parry, Sir Charles Villers Stanford and Ralph Vaughan Williams. Benjamin Britten, Gerald Finzi and John Tavener are representatives of more modern music. The non-English composer to creep into the programme is Felix Mendelssohn … but when he writes such beautiful tunes as ‘O for the wings of a dove’ (from the longer anthem ‘Hear my Prayer’) how can one not put this piece into a programme like this. In this concert you will find many magnificent melodies and stunning harmonies to go with them. We hope that this will start an exploration into the glories of English Church Music for choir and audience alike, and that they will grow to admire and treasure it as much as we do. A concert not to be missed!” Programme: Britten: Rejoice in the Lamb; Elgar: Ave Verum; Finzi: God is Gone Up; Ireland: Greater Love; Mendelssohn: Hear My Prayer; Parry: I was Glad; Stanford: Justorum Animae; Tavener: Son for Athene and Vaughan Williams: Let all the World. Ticket sales: Tickets: £10 and £5 from (01743) 443146, or from Hares, Shrewsbury, Choir members – or pay at the door (subject to availability)
Choral Society's Christmas Concert (Xmas 06) Shrewsbury Choral Society’s newly appointed Conductor and Musical Director Martin Schellenberg will be making his debut shortly, at St Chad’s Church, Shrewsbury with a Christmas celebration concert. The 120-member Shrewsbury Choral Society will be performing their Christmas concert, with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth … his Mass in C Minor. This was Mozart’s most ambitious and elaborate sacred music, often known as ‘The Great Mass’, and which was composed in 1782 and 1783 as a thanks offering after his marriage to Constanze Weber. The programme will also include Solemn Vespers (evening prayers) and Ave Verum Corpus. Professional singers from the Northern College of Music will lead the singing: Katherine Moore (soprano); Janet Fischer (soprano) Diane Hatfield (alto); Blake Fischer (tenor); and Thomas Eaglen (bass) accompanied by the Oswestry Sinfonia and 120 vocalists from the Shrewsbury Choral Society. A spokesman for the Shrewsbury Choral Society said: “At the start of the Christmas period, this concert provides an ideal opportunity to celebrate Advent and to get into the seasonal mood. Music by Mozart is always appealing and the Mass in C Minor is a popular choice which will delight audiences. The concert takes place at 7.,30pm on Saturday 9th December and tickets are already on sale for what promises to be a superb evening of entertainment by some accomplished and talented singers and musicians”. Ticket sales: Tickets: £10 and £5 from (01743) 443146, or from Hares, Shrewsbury, Choir members – or pay at the door (subject to availability).
Choral Society's premier appointment (Autumn 06)
The 100-member Shrewsbury Choral Society has appointed a new Conductor and Musical Director to lead its musical programme of activities (from September 2006). Their new leader will be Martin Schellenberg who is also Director of Music at Abberley Hall.
Chairman of the Society, Thelma Foster said: “This is an exciting development for the choir and Martin has already created a new programme of music for our 2007 season, which will feature four major concerts:- The Great English Anthem (with music by Britten, Elgar, Finzi, Ireland, Mendelssohn, Parry, Stanford, Tavener and Vaughan-Williams); A Celebration of the 150th Birthday of Sir Edward Elgar (with a special concert- The Kingdom); Captivating Classics –Music by Haydn, and a traditional Christmas Carol Concert. Under Martin’s leadership we are looking forward to providing an extensive and highly-entertaining programme of music for Shropshire Music-lovers. Martin Schellenberg is a highly talented and creative Musical Director, who will lead the choir into a new era of choral excellence”.
Martin Schellenberg said: “I am delighted with my new appointment and I am looking forward to forging a dynamic and creative partnership with the Shrewsbury Choral Society. The music we have planned for Shropshire music-lovers will be interesting and challenging and to many different tastes, with a combination of profoundly powerful music and yet also the most delicate of sounds.”
For more information about Martin and the Society see About us |
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This page was updated 09/11/2008 |
