… my old friend

With the sunny summer odyssey of Blondie and Bacharach a hazy distant glow, term three turns its attention to themes more fitting for a change in the weather and the shortening northern nights – a darker, more austere programme lies ahead of us.

It feels like a coming of age for the choir. We are taking on big themes – depression, death, love, loss and hope: setting a high bar with Lacrimosa from Mozart’s Requiem Mass; the lesser-known but equally powerful Isolation penned by Joy Division’s lyricist and front man Ian Curtis, a tortured and tragic punk genius; a classic romance beyond the grave by Nick Cave; and a couple of reinvented traditional folk classics.

Great fun was had in the studio a few weeks ago with Edinburgh based sound artist Owen Green creating our own Joy Division remix, inspired by The Heritage Orchestra’s reworking of classic Joy Division tracks by Scanner. We are also brass-necked enough to rearrange Mozart’s Requiem to suit our unique mixed voice choir. I know Mozart would approve…

Not enough!

We are also embarking on our first professional performance Now’s The Time, with fantastic jazz composer and saxophonist Denys Baptiste. This adventurous and timely collaboration pays homage to Martin Luther King on the 50th anniversary of his “I have a dream” speech on Capitol Hill in Washington in 1963. We will be learning classic protest songs born out of the civil rights movement and the Black American Church – songs that require passion and total commitment.

There are some spaces available to make up our 200 strong choir for this project so if you have friends, colleagues or family who might like to perform with us and Denys’ 12-piece ensemble performing live on stage at the Usher Hall, please do join us for our weekend learning workshop (Sat 21 & Sun 22 Sept) and performance on Mon 7 October. Full details and booking information can be found by clicking here or on our + Extra Projects + link above.

We hope to see you there.

Stephen