An invitation to sing in the Cheltenham Festival Chorus
Update 12 February 2010: We currently do not have any soprano positions available and have very limited Alto and Bass spaces left. You are welcome to apply for these positions — we will keep your details on a waiting list and will inform you if a position becomes available.
Following the success of the Festival Chorus’s Carmina Burana at the 2008 Festival, we are glad to inform you that the chorus will be returning on Saturday 17 July at Cheltenham Town Hall for an evening of opera choruses and arias.
Join our star tenor, Alfie Boe
Our star tenor for the evening will be Alfie Boe, whose recent successes include La Boheme at English National Opera and La Traviata at Welsh National Opera. Carmina Burana conductor Gareth Hancock will be returning to direct proceedings with the Philharmonia Orchestra. Gareth conducted Alfie Boe’s debut album in 2006.
Repertoire for this concert is still being finalised, but it’s sure to include a good spread of favourite opera choruses by Verdi, Bizet, Puccini, Borodin and Wagner.
The all important dates
- First rehearsal: Sunday 20 June (6–9 pm)
- Second rehearsal: Sunday 27 June (6–9 pm)
- The Festival Chorus performance: Saturday 17 July (rehearsal at 1.30pm, concert starts at 7.30 pm)
We are inviting singers from all across the county, from a range of choirs, and we hope that we can welcome as many of you as possible. The total number of participants in the Festival Chorus will be 140, and to keep the sectional proportions as ideal as possible, it goes without saying that tenors and basses will be particularly welcome!
In advance of the 17 July rehearsal and performance (1.30pm and 7.30pm), Gareth will come to Cheltenham for two rehearsals — on Sunday 20 and Sunday 27 June (6–9 pm). Because we’re keeping rehearsals to a minimum, attendance at both is essential. These two prior rehearsals will take place at St Andrew’s Church in Montpellier, Cheltenham.
To assist us with the considerable costs of mounting this performance, we are going to have to charge a per person administration and music-hire fee of £10. We hope that this will not be a deterrent for any of you, and that the pleasure of taking part in this exciting project will far outweigh such financial considerations. We will collect this fee at the first rehearsal in return for the music.
How to sign up
Membership of this Festival Chorus will be on a first-come first-served basis, so do please get back to us promptly.
We really hope this is something that catches your imagination, as it’s sure to be a Music Festival event to remember for a long time.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Meurig Bowen
Director
Cheltenham Music Festival
