Self Isolation Choir – MESSIAH

 

The Self-Isolation Choir will perform its own completely new version of MESSIAH from isolation on 31st May 2020  In only 16 days, 2,900 singers have joined the choir from over 50 countries This new choir has attracted world class soloists and orchestral players for the performance. If you would like to take part there is a joining cost of £14.95 per singer of which £5.00 will be donated to a charity chosen by members of the choir with the remainder to cover the costs of setting up and running the project – building the website, administration, musicians, soloists etc. Singers can join at any time as the rehearsals are all stored on YouTube for later review and practice. If you are already a member of the choir please do forward this email to singers you feel may wish to join us – this is a unique experience taking place during these quite extraordinary times and we would like everyone to have the opportunity to take part – it would also be absolutely amazing if the choir totals 3,000 singers! Please click here if you wish to join The Self-Isolation Choir Please click here to ensure you have everything you need to rehearse and sing in the concert on 31st May  The choir is delighted to announce the soloists and orchestra leader for the event are (biographies below):  CAROLYN SAMPSON – Soprano  JENNIFER JOHNSTON – Mezzo-Soprano  ALEXANDER SPRAGUE – Tenor  ASHLEY RICHES – Bass  REBEKAH DURSTON – Leader  The Self-Isolation Choir Baroque Orchestra will be led by Rebekah Durston and made up of 2 violins, Viola, cello, double bass, harpsichord, 2 trumpets, 2 oboes and timpani. The Conductor and Choir Director for the event is BEN ENGLAND  Each soloist and instrumentalist will sing or play at baroque pitch from home and record their performance to the same tempo as set by Ben England. Each part will be overlaid to form a new performance. Finally, the choir itself is added. Each member of the choir will be invited to submit their own voice to be included in each chorus. Due to the large numbers, not every voice may be included in the final complete recording.

Ben England – The Conductor and Choir Director  A graduate of Bristol University, Ben trained as a conductor with Dr Alan Rump and Dr Adrian Beaumont, before going on to study conducting with Denise Ham of the London Conducting Academy. In 2002, Ben was appointed conductor of the Bristol Cabot Choir, and over the eight years he worked with them, transformed the choir into a major musical force in Bristol. The success of his work with the Cabot Choir led to his subsequent appointment as Musical Director of Bristol Opera, where he led the company in successful performances of Handel’s Samson and Lakmé by Delibes.  In November 2018 he conducted the revival of Eric Wetherell’s WWI opera A Foreign Field in Bristol, which won the NODA Best Dramatic Production award.

Carolyn Sampson has been proclaimed “the best British early music soprano by some distance” by the editors of Gramophone magazine. Carolyn has sung in Masaaki Suzuki’s recording project of Bach cantatas and choirs such as The Sixteen, The Kings Consort and The Tallis Scholars, amongst others. She made her English National Opera debut in 2000, for whom she later sang the roles of Pamina (The Magic Flute) and Handel’s Semele.   Jennifer Johnston is an English operatic mezzo-soprano. A graduate of Cambridge University and the Royal College of Music. She is particularly associated with both the Bayerische Staatsoper and its distinguished musical director Kirill Petrenko, and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, for whom she is their Artist In Residence A prolific concert performer and sung with many of the world’s greatest orchestras.   Alexander Sprague, studied at The National Opera Studio and The Royal Academy of Music and the recipient of the Kohn Bach Foundation Scholarship. He has performed extensively on the concert and recital platform, appearances include Handel’s Messiah with the London Festival Orchestra at The Royal Festival Hall.

Ashley Riches read English at the University of Cambridge where he was a member of the King’s College Choir. He studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and subsequently joined the Jette Parker Young Artist Programme at the Royal Opera House. He was a BBC New Generation Artist until December 2018.    Rebekah Durston studied music at The University of York and performed the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the University Orchestra and won the Scarborough College Recital Prize. Rebekah won a Leverhulme Scholarship to study baroque violin with Catherine Mackintosh at The Royal College of Music and graduated with Distinction.   The Self Isolation Choir with currently: 800 Sopranos 1,000 Altos 500 Tenors 600 Basses

Thank you to everyone for all their help, support and wonderful emails ChoraLine email : music@choraline.com F017 Tremough Innovation Centre – Penryn TR10 9TA – UK

 

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