2024
Saturday 16th March
Lenten Reflections
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2023
Saturday 25th March
Haydn: The Creation
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Sunday 25th June
"Gloria"- music for choir and brass
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Saturday 25th November 2023
Britten: St Nicolas
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2022
Saturday 26th March
Brahms: A German Requiem
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Saturday 25th June
Most Heavenly Music
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Saturday 10th December
In the Stillness
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2021
Saturday 27th March
Haydn: Creation
Concert cancelled
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Saturday 26th June
Summer Shakespeare
Concert cancelled
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Saturday 27th November
Haydn: Little Organ Mass & Vivaldi: Gloria
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2020
Saturday 28th March
Brahms: A German Requiem
Concert cancelled
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Saturday 27th June
Most Heavenly Music! Shakespearean Songs and Sonnets
Concert cancelled
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Saturday 28th November
Haydn: Little Organ Mass & Vivaldi: Gloria
Concert cancelled
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2019
Saturday 23rd March
Lenten Reflections
at Wesley Church, Reading
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Saturday 22nd June
Verdi: Requiem
at Great Hall, Reading
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Saturday 30th November
A Spotless Rose
at Douai Abbey,
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Click here to read the reports on the performance in Düsseldorf |
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2018
Saturday 24th March
A Shining Light
at Wesley Church, Reading
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Saturday 14th July
Dixit
at St Luke's Church, Reading
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Saturday 17th November
In Flanders Fields
at Greyfriars Church, Reading
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2017
Saturday 8th April
Handel: Judas Maccabaeus
at St Luke's Church, Reading
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Saturday 1st July
Rutter: Requiem and Harry: Mass
of the Martyrs
at Wesley Church, Reading
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Saturday 9th December
Saint-Saëns: Oratorio de Noël and Bach: Christmas Oratorio (Parts 1 and 3)
at Wesley Church, Reading
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Click here to read the full story of this event. |
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2016
Saturday 19th March
Crucifixus: Easter Music
at Wesley Church, Reading
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Tuesday 19th July
Haydn: The Seasons
at Wesley Church, Reading
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Saturday 3rd December
Mozart
at Doual Abbey, Upper Woolhampton
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Monday 12th December
Come and Sing Carols
at Wesley Church, Reading
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The music included
Stainer: Crucifixion
Lotti: Crucifixus
Mozart: Ave Verum Corpus
Victoria: Tenebrae Responsories
Finzi: Lo the Full Final Sacrifice |
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A collection was taken for Singing for the Brain.
A very enjoyable evening which raised a wonderful contribution to the work of this local charity. |
EARLIER EVENTS
Thursday 31st December 2015
Handel: Messiah
Joint concert with the Johanneskantorei Düsseldorf in Düsseldorf, Germany
"Düsseldorf singing success for Reading Festival Chorus" - read the GetReading article here.
Saturday 17th October 2015
Handel: Messiah
Joint concert with the Johanneskantorei Düsseldorf
"That was a most wonderful performance of the Messiah. Everyone (conductor, soloists, orchestra, and especially the choir) was magnificent".
Saturday 7th December 2013
A Winter Warmer - Music to Kindle the Heart
Vivaldi: Gloria, Haydn: Little Organ Mass, Purcell: O Come Ye Sons Of Art
The concert was really splendid; the Chorus sang extremely well; the soloists were well matched,both when singing solo or when duetting with each other or the chorus; the organist was first class and our Welsh Dragon led from the front with his usual style and vigour. Finally, I thought the ladies looked splendid, with their sparkling buttonholes. Well done to you all!
Saturday 23rd March 2013
Karl Jenkins: Stabat Mater
After a full day of intensive rehearsals, held as a Come and Sing event, the Reading Festival Chorus teamed up with members of the Reading Symphony Orchestra to perform Karl Jenkins' Stabat Mater. It is the name given to a 13th-century prayer (Stabat Mater dolorosa - The sorrowful mother was standing) written as a reflection on the suffering of Mary, mother of Jesus, at the crucifixion.
For this performance, there was a mixture of full choral works and solo moments, with young soloist Harriet Kirk having a very warm tone to her verse. She also sang in Aramaic and Arabic.
The alternating choir and solo pieces helped the flow and gave the choir a break, especially considering it had only been rehearsed in a day.
The hour-long suite is a timeless classic and it will be sung hundreds of years into the future; it covers all the emotions and makes an ancient text relevant.
The Festival Chorus is conducted by Edward-Rhys Harry, who has performed all over the world. Tonight, his singers were following him keenly.
Alongside the orchestra, an unnamed organist provided the crucial swell for this 'come and sing' performance.
The warm sounds and beautiful setting of the Concert Hall helped brighten up a very cold Spring evening.
Xn magazine, April 2013. Author : Laura Blackburn Finlay.
Saturday 21st April 2012
Rossini: Petite Messe Solenelle
Reading Festival Chorus treated their audience to a lovely performance of Rossini's Petite Messe Solenelle at Greyfriars Church in Reading. Members of the audience expecting a solemn mass were surprised and delighted to hear a joyful piece, full of memorable melodies, showing much more in common with Rossini's operatic works than sacred music.
This setting of the mass, accompanied only by two pianos and an organ, allowed the audience to hear the choir at its best. Under the new baton of Edward-Rhys Harry, the singers produced a polished performance, with clear tones and beautifully controlled dynamics. The choir navigated the tricky fugue passages with confidence and sang with evident enjoyment throughout.
The four soloists, Rhiannon Llewellyn (soprano), Helen Bruce (mezzo-soprano), David Webb (tenor) and Ed Ballard (bass), each entertained the audience in the extensive solo passages and united to make a beautifully-blended sound in the Gloria. Jane Seymour and Annabel Thwaite provided a spirited piano accompaniment, further enhanced by Simon Dinsdale on the organ.
Greyfriars Church provided a comfortable and intimate venue for this very enjoyable performance.
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