Dear <<Greeting>>
You may have heard me mention once or twice with some pride that this is the English Arts Chorale’s 40th anniversary season. At the heart of our programme this year is a very exciting collaboration between the EAC, the Suffolk-based Eye Bach Choir and the spectacular young Symphony Orchestra of the Prague Conservatoire. To celebrate our collaboration, we will be performing a programme of English and Czech music, including Vaughan Williams’ A Sea Symphony, Dvorak’s Te Deum, and Smetana’s Vltava, in a grand tour taking in Suffolk, London and Prague. Vaughan Williams’ vast symphonic setting of Walt Whitman’s enigmatic poetry is in my view unsurpassed in its musical depiction of the sea in all its forms.
I very much hope you will join us for the London concert in the glorious Duke’s Hall, at the Royal Academy of Music, on Sunday 29th March at 6pm. Tickets are available at tickets.ram.ac.uk or by calling 0207 873 7373.
For those who live or are happy to venture further afield, the Suffolk concert takes place on Saturday 28th March, at St. Edmundsbury Cathedral in the historic market town of Bury St Edmunds, judged by the Sunday Times as one of the best places to live in England. Tickets can be obtained from whatsonwestsuffolk.co.uk, tel. 01284 758000. Why not make a day of it and travel there and back by coach with the choir? Email travel@englisharts.org to request a place.
The two choirs will travel to Prague in April, joining the orchestra on their home ground to perform in the magnificent Baroque church of St. Salvator, standing proudly at the grand entrance to the world-famous Charles Bridge. If you happen to be in Prague after Easter, please join us on Saturday 18th April!
Finally, tickets are already on sale for our season finale on Tuesday 7th July, when we will be performing Verdi's great Requiem entirely from memory, in the Queen Elizabeth Hall on London's South Bank. Singing without a score creates performances of immense energy, focus and flexibility, and I hope you will consider experiencing this first hand.
Full details of our programme and where to buy tickets for this special season can be found at www.englisharts.org
With warm wishes,
Leslie Olive
Founder & Artistic Director
The English Arts Chorale
2020 - Dates for your diary
Saturday 28th March, St Edmundsbury Cathedral : Vaughan Williams A Sea Symphony
Sunday 29th March, Royal Academy of Music : Vaughan Williams A Sea Symphony
Tuesday 7th July, Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank : Verdi Requiem
Saturday 26th September, St Mary's Reigate : Open Singing Day : Mendelssohn Elijah
Saturday 28th November, St Mary's Reigate : Messiah Come & Sing and concert
Saturday 12th December, St Mary's Reigate : Mendelssohn Elijah
