SINGING WORKSHOP - ALL WELCOME
We are delighted that former Music Director of the Reading Bach Choir, JanJoost van Elburg, is hosting a full day workshop on the sublime
Monteverdi Vespers
on Saturday 15th February 2025 at
Caversham Heights Methodist Church
74 Highmoore Road, Caversham RG4 7BG
10am - 4.30pm
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Claudio Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 is, simply put, one of the greatest works of sacred music ever written and there are not many opportunities to sing this magnificent work. The thirteen-movement work includes a variety of different styles and musical techniques and combines excerpts from different religious texts.
In this workshop you will have the chance to sing through most of the larger choral psalms lead by the much sought after Dutch choral conductor, vocal coach and from 2003 to 2010 previous Music Director of the Reading Bach Choir, JanJoost van Elburg.
JanJoost studied with Barend Schuurman - one of the leading conducting teachers in Holland - at the Conservatory of Rotterdam and currently conducts a number of choral groups (The Bartholomew Consort, The Lelikoor, The Westerkerkkoor) as well as giving workshops and lectures on such subjects as Renaissance & Baroque Music, Madrigals, Flemish Polyphony, Tudor Music, and Choral Conducting.
JanJoost will be ably supported by accompanist Gavin Roberts, Professor of Vocal and Academic Studies at Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
In this workshop you will have the chance to sing through most of the larger choral psalms lead by the much sought after Dutch choral conductor, vocal coach and from 2003 to 2010 previous Music Director of the Reading Bach Choir, JanJoost van Elburg.
JanJoost studied with Barend Schuurman - one of the leading conducting teachers in Holland - at the Conservatory of Rotterdam and currently conducts a number of choral groups (The Bartholomew Consort, The Lelikoor, The Westerkerkkoor) as well as giving workshops and lectures on such subjects as Renaissance & Baroque Music, Madrigals, Flemish Polyphony, Tudor Music, and Choral Conducting.
JanJoost will be ably supported by accompanist Gavin Roberts, Professor of Vocal and Academic Studies at Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Tickets are £22 or £5 for Under 18s BUY TICKETS
Please buy tickets beforehand either online or from choir members so we know how much music we need. Thank you.
Please buy tickets beforehand either online or from choir members so we know how much music we need. Thank you.
Tea / coffee and music hire included.
Please make your own arrangements for lunch. You are welcome to picnic in the hall (no alcohol please).
Please make your own arrangements for lunch. You are welcome to picnic in the hall (no alcohol please).
Concert - Mid-Winter Songs
Saturday 1st March 2025 7.30 pm
St Thomas of Canterbury Church, Goring-on-Thames RG8 9DW
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As Earth stirs in her winter sleep
And puts out grass and flowers
Despite the snow,
Despite the falling snow.
Reading Bach Choir presents a concert inspired by the poetry of Robert Graves and the music of American composer Morten Lauridsen. His monumental Mid-Winter Songs for chorus and piano redefines a cantata or choral cycle of music. Written in 1980, the settings of poems by Graves continue to sound fresh and engaging forty-five years later.
Equally engaging are the Sept Chansons and Un soir de neige by Poulenc in addition to the Trois Chansons of both Debussy and Ravel.
The thread of stirring through the long winter sleep continues to the modern day with Joanna Marsh’s In Winter’s House and a fitting connection to both Lauridsen and Graves with Everyone Sang by Matthew D. Nielsen.
Tickets are £18 (under 18s £5) and can be purchased here or on the door.
We are recruiting
This accomplished choir performs a wide range of choral music, ancient and modern, with a particular focus on challenging and rewarding new music. Recent concerts have included works by Caroline Shaw, Reena Esmail, Margaret Bonds and Saunder Choi as well as more familiar composers such as Byrd, Tomkins, Vaughan Williams and of course J.S. Bach. We recently performed an exhilerating UK premier of Kile Smith's The Arc in the Sky.
We are looking for new members with a high standard of singing and musicianship who are interested in challenging themselves musically in a friendly and aspirational environment, led by our Music Director Daniel Mahoney. If that sounds like you, please come and join us for a few rehearsals to try us out. If you enjoy the experience and want to stay with us, we will arrange a short audition.
We rehearse on Tuesdays at 7.30pm in St Andrews Church, Caversham RG4 7PL.
If you are interested, please contact: membership@readingbachchoir.org.uk or go to the 'Sing with Us' tab at the top of this page and select 'Join the Choir' and 'FAQs'.
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