Frome’s biggest local choir usually performs in the Cheese and Grain, and will be doing so again in March 2019.
But before that, a group of singers will be heading to New York to sing in the world-famous Carnegie Hall.
Frome Voices received an invitation in May to be part of a 250-strong international choir to sing in the US premiere of ‘Symphonic Adiemus’, a work by the renowned Welsh composer, Sir Karl Jenkins, who will be there in person.
The choir had to send an audition recording of a previous concert. Having been accepted, 13 singers chose to take up the invitation. The group, along with some guests, will be travelling to New York in January and the performance will be on Martin Luther King Jnr Day, a US national holiday, on 21st January.
“It’s tremendously exciting,” said Alan Burgess, who conducts the choir and will be working with the group to make sure everyone is ‘performance ready’ in time. “We’ve got lots of work to do, but we are all thrilled to be flying the musical flag for Frome on such an iconic stage. It’s a wonderful opportunity to show how a choir from a small English town can perform to the highest of choral standards.”
After the New York group’s return, the full choir will be starting rehearsals for a concert in the Cheese and Grain on Sunday 31st March. This will be a performance of twentieth century British music, including Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Tippett and the beautiful ‘Stabat Mater’ by Sir Karl Jenkins, never before performed in Frome. There will be a full orchestra and soloists.
The choir is currently recruiting singers and would be delighted to hear from anyone who is interested in joining. Singers with and without experience are equally welcome – and male voices even more so!
If readers would like to know more about Frome Voices and its forthcoming activities, please contact: Jane Talbot 01373 472 218 or Olivia Date on 01373 302 567.
