Greetings from the Chapter House Choir!
CHOIR NEWS: NOVEMBER 2021
Greetings!
We are thrilled with the success of our concert in York Minster on 13 November (Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem and Comfort by award-winning composer Lillie Harris). What a special atmosphere! It was lovely to see Lillie Harris there. A huge thank you to Adrian Fuller and Katharine Carter for commissioning Comfort in memory of their parents, Graham and Olwyn Fuller. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted....
Tickets for the Carols by Candlelight concert in York Minster on Wednesday December 15th with the Chapter House Youth Choir have SOLD OUT on the York Minster website here. If you want to come on the Wednesday, do keep checking the York Minster website in case of returns.
All is not lost! We shall also be giving a Festival of Carols concert on Saturday December 18th in St Michael-le-Belfrey Church. Celebrate Christmas with some beautiful singing and festive handbells! Tickets are still available from our Eventbrite page here.
Last autumn we prepared a Virtual Carols by Candlelight concert which was premièred on YouTube and Facebook in December to worldwide acclaim! Our patrons joined us for a Carols by Candlelight preview on Zoom, where they could learn how the concert was produced. If you are interested in finding out more about the patrons scheme, please visit our Supporting the Choir page. We are very grateful to our patrons and members for their ongoing support.
Please keep safe and well. We look forward to seeing you at our carol concerts in December.
The Chapter House Choir first performed Carols by Candlelight in York Minster in 1965, when the choir was formed to raise funds for the York Minster Appeal. The choir continues to build on its reputation as one of the North of England’s finest chamber choirs, under the leadership of Musical Director Benjamin Morris. This year we are putting on two stunning carols concerts in very different venues and we look forward to seeing you there!
Carols by Candlelight – SOLD OUT!!
Wednesday 15 December 2021, 7:30 pm
The Nave, York Minster
With the Chapter House Youth Choir and the Handbell Ringers of the Chapter House Choir
Director: Benjamin Morris
The Chapter House Choir will be joined by the Chapter House Youth Choir under the direction of Charlie Gower-Smith. This ever popular annual concert will take place in the stunning Nave of York Minster. In addition to traditional choral items old and new, there will be festive music performed by the Handbell Ringers of the Chapter House Choir – a uniquely Christmassy combination in the perfect candlelit setting!
Festival of Carols
SATURDay 18 DECember 2021, 7:30 pm
St Michael-le-Belfrey Church, York
With the Handbell Ringers of the Chapter House Choir
Director: Benjamin Morris
This popular Festival of Carols concert will take place in St Michael-le-Belfrey Church, opposite York Minster. Celebrate Christmas with beautiful singing and festive handbells!
Tickets – £15 and £5 for students and those in full-time education – are available from Eventbrite using the “Buy tickets” button below.
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We are recruiting…
We currently have vacancies for a tenor and a second bass. If you enjoy making music to a high standard we want to hear from you! Please get in touch and we shall arrange an audition as soon as we can.
Choral Bursaries
There is also a limited number of choral bursaries (one per voice part) available to promising young choral singers aged 18 to 25 in full time education within any discipline. Currently, in 2021-22, we still have vacancies for a tenor and a bass in these roles.
Preparing for the March 2020 concert with new commission composer Lillie Harris (centre)
Have you missed our live concerts as much as we have?
Here is a recording of Che fa oggi il mio sole by Marenzio from our sell-out concert in the Chapter House, Treasures of the Italian Renaissance.
Che fa oggi il mio sole
Chapter House Youth Choir
About the Youth Choir
The Chapter House Choir is committed to inspiring the next generation of choral singers and to mark our 50th anniversary year in 2016 we launched a new Youth Choir for talented singers aged 13-19. The young singers performed alongside The King’s Singers and The Chapter House Choir in York Minster in their first concert!
More recently, the Youth Choir sang Evensong in Selby Abbey and gave a performance of Joseph Horovitz’s Captain Noah and his Floating Zoo. They performed in the November 2019 Treasures of the Italian Renaissance concert, and the 2019 Festival of Carols.
With the COVID-19 pandemic the Youth Choir moved online temporarily, producing two beautiful virtual Christmas carols in December 2020. The choir also had two super workshops, with guests Michelle Robinson and Laurence Williams. The choir focussed on developing performance skills to engage with audiences, whether singing in groups or as individuals. In 2021 the young singers worked on a stunning virtual recording of Britten’s Hymn to the Virgin with the Gesualdo Six, which you can watch here. They also took part in Haydn’s Creation with the spectacular Gabrieli Consort & Players in York Minster on 6 November.
Join Us
Congratulations to the young singers who auditioned successfully! If you know of anyone who might like to audition to join the choir, please encourage them to get in touch by email to youthchoir@chapterhousechoir.org – auditions will be available throughout the year, in person or by video call depending on current guidance and availability.
Next Events
Carols by Candlelight in York Minster with the Chapter House Choir
The Youth Choir will be performing in Carols by Candlelight in York Minster on Wednesday 15 December at 7:30pm – this concert is now sold out, but you may be able to buy returned tickets here.
