We would welcome more applications from singers, who are experienced in choirs, and especially if they are familiar with the repertoire. Please read the information from the brochure below, and then print the booking form at the bottom of this page and return it completed to the administator asap.
FESTIVAL DE MUSIQUE
ST GAUDERIC
26 AUGUST – 2 SEPTEMBER 2014
Advance Singing Workshop Day 12 July
Experienced Choral Singers Wanted (all voices, SATB)
to join the Festival Chorus for the sixth St Gauderic Music Festival
Festival Administrator:Â Helen Taylor, Faulkenhurst House, Wakefield Drive, Chadderton, Oldham, OL1 2PT
Tel: 0161 287 6207. Email: festival@stgauderic.com. Website, www.stgauderic.net
Note that all details on this leaflet are provisional and subject to change
Festival Details
The Festival is a week-long celebration of classical music involving musicians from UK, France and elsewhere, culminating in a major concert in Mirepoix Cathedral on Sunday 31 August. The aim is to produce, on an amateur basis, performances of a high standard, satisfying to both performers and audience. For singers, the festival will involve plenty of singing, preparing and performing at concerts, lots of eating, drinking and relaxing in the warm Mediterranean summer sunshine, and the opportunity for sightseeing in the region. Most of our singers come back year after year.
In 2014 the Festival will include concerts in the villages of Manses and St Gauderic, and in the Cathedral at Mirepoix. Dr Colin Beeson, former Deputy Director of RNCM and Musical Director of Preston Opera, will be musical director for the Festival following the success of the 2012 Festival and the “I Have a Dream” project in 2013. We will have a talented accompanist, and of course there will be superb soloists.
We welcome non-singing husbands/wives/partners to the Festival. They will be able to enjoy a relaxing holiday in warm sunshine, take more advantage of the facilities at the accommodation, explore the beauties of the locality as well as some excellent concerts.
Participants will mostly arrive on the Tuesday, 26th. Wednesday will be an opportunity to acclimatise, possibly on a cruise on the Canal du Midi, and rehearsals will start on the Thursday morning, 28 August. Excellent accommodation will be available at Auberge du Balestie and Terra Nova from the Tuesday 21 August, and our first organised event will be the barbeque and party night at Terra Nova on the Wednesday evening, to which we hope that you will bring your party pieces.Â
There will be an advance workshop day on Saturday 12 July to work on the more unfamiliar works for the festival. This will be at Manchester Creative and Media Academy, and more details about this will be circulated nearer the time.
The repertoire for this Festival will include:        Faure Requiem            and             Bach Cantata no 140Â
Â
Food and Accommodation during the Festival
Participants may be accommodated in the Auberge du Balestie, Terra Nova or in other local houses and gites. The Festival Administrator will allocate the accommodation in advance. Please do not try to book accommodation during the Festival directly with the Auberge.
Rehearsals will take place each day, mainly in the church at St Gauderic. As ever, excellent meals will be served at the Auberge, and wonderful lunchtime picnics in St Gauderic village hall. Transport between venues will be arranged.
There will be some time for sightseeing, and outings to local tourist spots will be arranged (entrance fees & bus costs not included).
The Festival Banquet will be at the Auberge on Monday 1 September 2014, and it is hoped that all members of the chorus, and those associated with the Festival will be able to attend. This is included in the Standard Fee, but will be charged extra to those making their own arrangements.
The Auberge du Balestie is a hotel and restaurant in the countryside between Mirepoix and St Gauderic. It occupies a beautiful hill-top location with splendid views of the Pyrenees. It is owned and run by an English family, Dave and Sylvia Allett, and has been refurbished to provide accommodation for 23 in double and twin rooms; a dining room, function room and swimming pool. More detail is available on their website, www.auberge-du-balestie.com.Â
Terra Nova is a 23 place gite with excellent well-loved facilities including common rooms and swimming pool. See the pictures on the website, www.centreterranova.eu
Details of other locations to be used will be posted on the festival website from time to time.
Keep an eye on our Website, www.stgauderic.net, for further information about St Gauderic and the Festival
Fees and arrangements for the Choir
The standard fee of £550 is inclusive of accommodation from Tuesday 26 August to Tuesday 2 September, all meals at the Auberge or elsewhere, picnics at lunchtimes, transport to and from Carcassonne airport and between venues. The price quoted is for shared accommodation; we regret that because of the demand, a supplement will be charged for single rooms. For those booked into the Festival, there will be no charge for the advance workshop.
The fee does not include the cost of flights to the south of France. Block booking of flights to this part of France has proved not to be cost effective; cheaper deals are normally available to individuals. Flights are available to Carcassonne, Toulouse, Perpignan, Beziers, Nimes and Montpellier from Stansted, Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds Bradford, East Midlands and other airports. The Festival timetable is organised around the flights Liverpool to/from Carcassonne. Transport to and from Carcassonne airport will be arranged. For those who arrive other than at Carcassonne, please discuss your transfer arrangements with the Festival Administrator, as we may be able to arrange cost-effective transfers.Â
Participants choosing to travel by car or train (to Carcassonne) are welcome, there is plenty of parking adjacent to the accommodation. Drivers, please arrange to arrive in the village square at St Gauderic by Tuesday 6.30pm, and keep in contact by mobile.
Ensure that you book your own travel arrangements; we will request details later to ensure that someone will meet and greet you. If you wish to arrive before or stay on after the Festival, please book directly with the Auberge. Places are available for non-singing members of the party, eg partners of chorus members. The full standard fee will be payable.
Own Arrangements: Participants who would prefer to make their own accommodation arrangements are also welcome and will be charged a reduced fee. A variety of hotels, gites, campsites and other facilities are available within reasonable distance. Meals at the Auberge and lunchtime picnics will need to be booked in advance; the Festival Administrator will advise you of prices.
Â
 |