2019 Spring CONCERTSaturday 6th April
The Ashton Hall, George Street, Lancaster LA1 1PJ The Ashton Hall, is the public Hall of Lancaster. It is the largest concert venue in the area and Lancaster & District Choral Society have used it for their concerts for many years, even singing at its opening events in 1909. |
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Vivaldi's Gloria
RV 589 
Antonio Vivaldi
1678 – 1741 ***
Exsultate, Jubilate by Mozart (soprano and orchestra)
Toccata and Fugue in D minor by Bach (organ solo) ***
Mozart's Requiem
in D minor K.626 
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
1756 – 1791 |
Lancaster Town Hall
- The Ashton Hall
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The leader of the orchestra - Julian Cann
John Perrin - Musical Director
John trained at the Birmingham School of Music and Bretton Hall College of Education and has ABSM(Gen Mus), ABSM (Org Teacher), ARCM (Org Pert) and Cert Ed qualifications He has had successful experience as a Head of Music in large secondary schools and as a Musical Director. He has trained many types of choirs of all ages and styles, and directed a wide range of musicals and operettas.
John trained at the Birmingham School of Music and Bretton Hall College of Education and has ABSM(Gen Mus), ABSM (Org Teacher), ARCM (Org Pert) and Cert Ed qualifications He has had successful experience as a Head of Music in large secondary schools and as a Musical Director. He has trained many types of choirs of all ages and styles, and directed a wide range of musicals and operettas.
Emily Robinson - Soprano
Emily has long been an active member of the musical community and a familiar face among festival choruses and choirs in the South Lakes area. She is now in demand as a soprano soloist, and works as a singing teacher both privately and at Kendal College.
Emily has performed in oratorios, cantatas, and recitals throughout the area. She has sung solo pieces in churches and cathedrals and on stage all over the country, including Lichfield Cathedral, Sherborne Abbey and Lancaster Cathedral. With a repertoire spanning the musical spectrum from Baroque to Britten, Monteverdi to Modern, she sings Bernstein and Gilbert & Sullivan or Mozart and Handel with equal gusto. Recent performances have included Mozart's Requiem, Orff's Carmina Burana, Dido in Dido & Aeneas, and the Queen of the Night in Preston Opera's production of Mozart's The Magic Flute in March 2016. In 2018 she gave four performances of Schubert's Winterreise song cycle in various venues, all accompanied by Alex Phillips-Yates.
Emily enjoys singing with the Encore Opera Group, in addition to her solo work with other local choirs and performance groups and as a street performer, and recently she has begun co-directing Carnforth Community Choir.
Emily has long been an active member of the musical community and a familiar face among festival choruses and choirs in the South Lakes area. She is now in demand as a soprano soloist, and works as a singing teacher both privately and at Kendal College.
Emily has performed in oratorios, cantatas, and recitals throughout the area. She has sung solo pieces in churches and cathedrals and on stage all over the country, including Lichfield Cathedral, Sherborne Abbey and Lancaster Cathedral. With a repertoire spanning the musical spectrum from Baroque to Britten, Monteverdi to Modern, she sings Bernstein and Gilbert & Sullivan or Mozart and Handel with equal gusto. Recent performances have included Mozart's Requiem, Orff's Carmina Burana, Dido in Dido & Aeneas, and the Queen of the Night in Preston Opera's production of Mozart's The Magic Flute in March 2016. In 2018 she gave four performances of Schubert's Winterreise song cycle in various venues, all accompanied by Alex Phillips-Yates.
Emily enjoys singing with the Encore Opera Group, in addition to her solo work with other local choirs and performance groups and as a street performer, and recently she has begun co-directing Carnforth Community Choir.
Anna Burford - Mezzo Soprano
Anna made her Royal Opera debut in 2012 as Schwertleite (Die Walküre) and has since sung First Maid (Elektra) and Girl (Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny) for The Royal Opera.
She grew up in Cornwall and studied at the Royal Northern College of Music. She has sung a wide range of roles for Welsh National Opera, including Maddalena (Rigoletto), Ursule (Béatrice et Bénédict), Magdalene (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg) and Suzuki (Madama Butterfly). For English National Opera she has sung Amastris (Xerxes), Maddalena, Anna (The Trojans at Carthage) and Dresser/Schoolboy/Waiter (Lulu). Her other UK appearances include Giulio Cesare for Glyndebourne Festival, Owl (Ayre’s The Cricket Recovers) for Almeida Opera, Aldeburgh Festival and Bregenz Festival and Erda (Das Rheingold and Siegfried) and Schwertleite for Longborough Festival Opera. Burford has also performed in the USA and Europe, singing roles including Giulio Cesare for Seattle Opera and Opera Ireland, Olga (Eugene Onegin) in Caën and Orfeo (Orfeo ed Euridice) for Opéra National du Rhin.
Anna performs extensively in concert, her repertory ranging from Handel’s Aci, Galatea e Polifemo (Gabrieli Consort under Paul McCreesh) to Berio’s Folksongs (Antwerp). Her other concert repertory includes Britten’s Spring Symphony, Tippett’s A Child of Our Timeand De Falla’s The Three-Cornered Hat. She has also sung in many concert performances of opera, including Merope (Oedipe) and Puck (Oberon) for Scottish Opera and Margret (Wozzeck) in Paris and London with the Philharmonia.
Anna made her Royal Opera debut in 2012 as Schwertleite (Die Walküre) and has since sung First Maid (Elektra) and Girl (Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny) for The Royal Opera.
She grew up in Cornwall and studied at the Royal Northern College of Music. She has sung a wide range of roles for Welsh National Opera, including Maddalena (Rigoletto), Ursule (Béatrice et Bénédict), Magdalene (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg) and Suzuki (Madama Butterfly). For English National Opera she has sung Amastris (Xerxes), Maddalena, Anna (The Trojans at Carthage) and Dresser/Schoolboy/Waiter (Lulu). Her other UK appearances include Giulio Cesare for Glyndebourne Festival, Owl (Ayre’s The Cricket Recovers) for Almeida Opera, Aldeburgh Festival and Bregenz Festival and Erda (Das Rheingold and Siegfried) and Schwertleite for Longborough Festival Opera. Burford has also performed in the USA and Europe, singing roles including Giulio Cesare for Seattle Opera and Opera Ireland, Olga (Eugene Onegin) in Caën and Orfeo (Orfeo ed Euridice) for Opéra National du Rhin.
Anna performs extensively in concert, her repertory ranging from Handel’s Aci, Galatea e Polifemo (Gabrieli Consort under Paul McCreesh) to Berio’s Folksongs (Antwerp). Her other concert repertory includes Britten’s Spring Symphony, Tippett’s A Child of Our Timeand De Falla’s The Three-Cornered Hat. She has also sung in many concert performances of opera, including Merope (Oedipe) and Puck (Oberon) for Scottish Opera and Margret (Wozzeck) in Paris and London with the Philharmonia.
Christopher Littlewood - Tenor
Christopher is a recent graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music with a First Class BMus (Hons) in Vocal Performance. Christopher's operatic roles include Prince Phillipe
A Dinner Engagement; Spoletta Tosca, Goro Madame Butterfly, El Remendado Carmen, Daniel Buchanan Street Scene, Njegus The Merry Widow; Monsieur Triquet Eugene Onegin and he has most recently sung in the chorus of Bergen National Opera.
Christopher was awarded the Elsie Thurston Song Prize in 2013 and has since worked with distinguished artists such as Louise Winter and Sir John Tomlinson. He is a busy guest soloist throughout the UK and has performed in many Oratorio works including Mozart's Requiem, Handel’s The Messiah, Haydn's Creation, Bach's Magnificat, Gounod’s Messe Solennelle, and, in 2015, Christopher made his debut at the Bridgewater Hall as the Tenor soloist in the UK premiere of Penderecki's Symphony No.7 'Seven Gates of Jerusalem'.
Christopher Littlewood appears by kind permission of the RNCM.
Christopher is a recent graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music with a First Class BMus (Hons) in Vocal Performance. Christopher's operatic roles include Prince Phillipe
A Dinner Engagement; Spoletta Tosca, Goro Madame Butterfly, El Remendado Carmen, Daniel Buchanan Street Scene, Njegus The Merry Widow; Monsieur Triquet Eugene Onegin and he has most recently sung in the chorus of Bergen National Opera.
Christopher was awarded the Elsie Thurston Song Prize in 2013 and has since worked with distinguished artists such as Louise Winter and Sir John Tomlinson. He is a busy guest soloist throughout the UK and has performed in many Oratorio works including Mozart's Requiem, Handel’s The Messiah, Haydn's Creation, Bach's Magnificat, Gounod’s Messe Solennelle, and, in 2015, Christopher made his debut at the Bridgewater Hall as the Tenor soloist in the UK premiere of Penderecki's Symphony No.7 'Seven Gates of Jerusalem'.
Christopher Littlewood appears by kind permission of the RNCM.
Peter Edge - Bass-baritone
Peter Edge is a baritone in his second year of Masters at the Royal College of Music, London, under the tutelage of Peter Savidge and is generously supported by the Walker Trust, Kathleen Trust, Clemence Charitable Trust and Millington’s Charity. Peter graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music in 2017, with a First Class Honours Degree. Competition successes include the International Medal at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod, the Chris Treglown Memorial Award and RNCM Freckleton Prize. Peter also achieved Highly Commended in the Kathleen Ferrier Bursary Competition, Brooks-van Der Pump English Song Competition and the RCM Lieder Competition.
Opera roles include Alfio (Cavalleria Rusticana), Dulcamara (L’elisir d’amore), Snug & Theseus (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Pooh-Bah (The Mikado), Robin (Ruddygore), Papageno (Die Zauberflote), Littore (L'incoronazione Di Poppea) and Masetto (Don Giovanni). He has also performed scenes of Un Giorno di Regno (Tesoriere), Eugene Onegin (Zaretsky), Cenerentola (Alidoro), Lakmé (Frederic) and Cosi Fan Tutte (Guglielmo & Don Alfonso). Peter has been a Young Artist of Longborough Festival Opera for the last two years and performed principal roles in three contemporary operas with the RCM, in collaboration with Tête à Tête Opera, in May. As an oratorio soloist, Peter has recently performed Bach’s St John Passion, Dvorak’s Stabat Mater, Brahm’s Requiem and Haydn’s Creation.
Peter made his TV debut on S4C, at Llangollen, and also appeared in the BBC Film: Florence Foster Jenkins. Peter regularly sings on live BBC Radio 4, with the BBC Daily Service Singers, and has performed on BBC Radio 3. In September, Peter was invited to be interviewed and perform live on BBC Radio 3’s live drive time show: In Tune, with presenter Sean Rafferty.
Further information and recordings can be found at www.peteredgebaritone.co.uk
Peter Edge appears by kind permission of the RNCM.
Peter Edge is a baritone in his second year of Masters at the Royal College of Music, London, under the tutelage of Peter Savidge and is generously supported by the Walker Trust, Kathleen Trust, Clemence Charitable Trust and Millington’s Charity. Peter graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music in 2017, with a First Class Honours Degree. Competition successes include the International Medal at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod, the Chris Treglown Memorial Award and RNCM Freckleton Prize. Peter also achieved Highly Commended in the Kathleen Ferrier Bursary Competition, Brooks-van Der Pump English Song Competition and the RCM Lieder Competition.
Opera roles include Alfio (Cavalleria Rusticana), Dulcamara (L’elisir d’amore), Snug & Theseus (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Pooh-Bah (The Mikado), Robin (Ruddygore), Papageno (Die Zauberflote), Littore (L'incoronazione Di Poppea) and Masetto (Don Giovanni). He has also performed scenes of Un Giorno di Regno (Tesoriere), Eugene Onegin (Zaretsky), Cenerentola (Alidoro), Lakmé (Frederic) and Cosi Fan Tutte (Guglielmo & Don Alfonso). Peter has been a Young Artist of Longborough Festival Opera for the last two years and performed principal roles in three contemporary operas with the RCM, in collaboration with Tête à Tête Opera, in May. As an oratorio soloist, Peter has recently performed Bach’s St John Passion, Dvorak’s Stabat Mater, Brahm’s Requiem and Haydn’s Creation.
Peter made his TV debut on S4C, at Llangollen, and also appeared in the BBC Film: Florence Foster Jenkins. Peter regularly sings on live BBC Radio 4, with the BBC Daily Service Singers, and has performed on BBC Radio 3. In September, Peter was invited to be interviewed and perform live on BBC Radio 3’s live drive time show: In Tune, with presenter Sean Rafferty.
Further information and recordings can be found at www.peteredgebaritone.co.uk
Peter Edge appears by kind permission of the RNCM.
RNCM - Royal Northern College of Music
The RNCM is a leading international conservatoire located in the heart of Manchester, with a reputation for attracting talented students, teachers, conductors and composers from all over the world.
Now in its fifth decade, the RNCM is relatively young, but its rich history spans back to 1893 when Sir Charles Hallé founded the Royal Manchester College of Music. In 1973, this institution merged with the Northern School of Music, and the RNCM was born.Today, the College is a thriving conservatoire with around 320 teaching staff and 880 students from nearly 60 different countries.
www.rncm.ac.uk/
Now in its fifth decade, the RNCM is relatively young, but its rich history spans back to 1893 when Sir Charles Hallé founded the Royal Manchester College of Music. In 1973, this institution merged with the Northern School of Music, and the RNCM was born.Today, the College is a thriving conservatoire with around 320 teaching staff and 880 students from nearly 60 different countries.
www.rncm.ac.uk/
Review
"An audience of over 250 enjoyed the Spring Concert of the Lancaster and District Choral Society in the Ashton Hall on the evening of Saturday April 6th. The choir of about 60 voices was joined by invited soloists Emily Robinson (soprano), Anna Burford (mezzo soprano), Christopher Littlewood (tenor) and Peter Edge (bass-baritone), and a chamber orchestra led by Julian Cann, all under the direction of John Perrin, performing music by Vivaldi and Mozart. In addition, John Perrin played the D minor Toccata and Fugue (probably by J S Bach) on the great Ashton Hall organ.
The first half contained the big Vivaldi Gloria (mostly for choir and orchestra, with a duet and solos by Emily and Anna), and Mozart’s youthful Exsultate Jubilate for Emily and orchestra. The choir and orchestra were busy, committed and effective throughout their many items in the Vivaldi, and the soloists added lyrical colour and contrast in their duet and solos. The range of speeds from slow to very fast was delivered with clarity and power by the choir, but the dynamic range was rather limited. Emily sang the virtuoso Exsultate with great agility. Her light voice was occasionally overborn by the orchestra, though not when she sang her daringly high top notes. John Perrin climbed to the organ loft to shake the building with the mighty Toccata and fugue, played with huge commitment despite a few stray notes.
The second half of the programme was filled by Mozart’s unfinished Requiem, with the usual completions by his pupil Sussmayr. The performance by soloists (Emily, Anne, Christopher and Peter), choir and enlarged orchestra was quite excellent throughout, from the mournful bassoons of the opening Requiem aeternam to the furious double fugue Cum sanctis tuis at the end. The choir was in fine form, with great attack and clarity in the fast pieces like the finale, and the early Kyrie which it echoes, and fine balance in more sustained sections, loud and soft. Different members of the audience will have their favourite items, but I was moved by the beautiful ensemble of the quartet of soloists in the Tuba mirum, and Recordare, and the heart-breaking Lacrimosa for choir and orchestra, truncated by Mozart’s death. I was reminded frequently of my old vinyl of Beecham’s famous recording, before it was degraded by overplaying. Our thanks go to all the performers, and to John Perrin, for such a wonderful experience. Why don’t we hear questions on music like this in Pointless?"
Robin McIlveen
The first half contained the big Vivaldi Gloria (mostly for choir and orchestra, with a duet and solos by Emily and Anna), and Mozart’s youthful Exsultate Jubilate for Emily and orchestra. The choir and orchestra were busy, committed and effective throughout their many items in the Vivaldi, and the soloists added lyrical colour and contrast in their duet and solos. The range of speeds from slow to very fast was delivered with clarity and power by the choir, but the dynamic range was rather limited. Emily sang the virtuoso Exsultate with great agility. Her light voice was occasionally overborn by the orchestra, though not when she sang her daringly high top notes. John Perrin climbed to the organ loft to shake the building with the mighty Toccata and fugue, played with huge commitment despite a few stray notes.
The second half of the programme was filled by Mozart’s unfinished Requiem, with the usual completions by his pupil Sussmayr. The performance by soloists (Emily, Anne, Christopher and Peter), choir and enlarged orchestra was quite excellent throughout, from the mournful bassoons of the opening Requiem aeternam to the furious double fugue Cum sanctis tuis at the end. The choir was in fine form, with great attack and clarity in the fast pieces like the finale, and the early Kyrie which it echoes, and fine balance in more sustained sections, loud and soft. Different members of the audience will have their favourite items, but I was moved by the beautiful ensemble of the quartet of soloists in the Tuba mirum, and Recordare, and the heart-breaking Lacrimosa for choir and orchestra, truncated by Mozart’s death. I was reminded frequently of my old vinyl of Beecham’s famous recording, before it was degraded by overplaying. Our thanks go to all the performers, and to John Perrin, for such a wonderful experience. Why don’t we hear questions on music like this in Pointless?"
Robin McIlveen
- 1987 - 2010 Founded, directed Lancaster County (later Community) Music Centre (LCMC) String Orchestra
- 1994 - 2000 musical director LCMC
- 1994 - 2010 chief conductor LCMC Symphony Orchestra
- 1996 - 2004 Conductor Morecambe Philharmonic choir (now the Bay Singers)
- 2004 - 2012 Conductor Carnforth Choral Society
- 2013 - conductor LCMC Senior Choir
