CONCERT POSTER
HISTORY OF THE PROJECT
Acknowledging the disappointment of our many participants, we have decided not to hold a Festival in the south of France in 2013. Part of the reason is that Helen needs an artificial joint to replace her arthritic knee, and we are hoping that the UK NHS will honour her long wait for effective treatment and perform an operation in the summer of 2013.
However, we do not expect to have an idle year; we are promoting a Singing Weekend at the end of August. This will take place in Oldham on 24/25 August, and will consist of a singing workshop day on Saturday 24th followed by a rehearsal with the orchestra and the concert on 25 August. The theme will be the 50th anniversary of the speech “I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King on 28 August 1963, which marked the climax of the Civil Rights movement in USA against the discrimination faced by Afro-Americans. The concert will be a celebration of FREEDOM, a thanksgiving for the remarkable achievements in the USA, and in other parts of the world, in the past 50 years, and an aspiration for other minorities across the world, who may still be downtrodden and marginalised.
The two works for the choir are:
- “I Have a Dream”, a cantata for narrator, choir and orchestra by Max Taylor, which uses the speech as the text for the work, and
- “Feel the Spirit”, a cycle of spirituals for soloist, choir and orchestra by John Rutter.
[further information on these works here]
We hope that the weekend will be a happy reunion for the many who have participated in our St Gauderic Festivals in the past few years, and an opportunity for others to join us who have not been able to travel to the south of France.
Attached is a poster and booking form for those interested in joining us for this occasion. We look forward to hearing from you in the next couple of months. You are advised to book early, as we are expecting a lot of interest in this event, and would hate to have to turn you away.
