Dear Annette,
It was lovely to chat with you yesterday – thanks for taking the time to talk. And how wonderful that your husband has been instrumental in setting up the chamber choir here! I’d love to hear more about that 😊
As we discussed, I would like to apply for funding from The Friends of the University of Reading to run a choral workshop day hosted by the UoR Music choirs (Chamber Choir and Women’s Choir). We would be collaborating with the professional chamber choir, Sonoro, in their Choral Inspirations project, and will openly invite all choirs and singers in the local community to come and get involved. A brief background to the Choral Inspirations project – Sonoro have undertaken a large project to commission six new choral works by contemporary composers that each respond to a core piece of repertoire already existing in the choral canon. The new repertoire is being carefully written so that it is accessible to the average amateur singer and is aimed at helping choirs increase their comfortability with new, contemporary music. I have included a list of the composers and ‘inspiration works’ below for interest.
Throughout the day participants will have the opportunity to sit side-by-side with the professional singers of Sonoro, receiving close mentorship as the massed choir learns and polishes the music. There will also be focussed vocal workshops from the singers offering professional guidance to overcome any technical challenges, as well as general music workshopping with the artistic directors of Sonoro, Neil Ferris and Michael Higgins. The day will culminate in a performance, where participants will not only get to hear Sonoro perform but will also have the chance to perform with them.
To be involved in the Choral Inspirations project, we are asked to contribute £2000 towards the costs of Sonoro for day. This contribution includes fees for the artistic directors, a core group of professional singers, all scores and relevant artwork and publicity. It is this amount of £2000 that I would like to apply for from The Friends of the University of Reading to assist with and contribute towards the associated costs of hosting such a workshop. The proposed date of the event is Saturday 11th March 2023.
I envisage this workshop will be the first of many such exciting and interesting choral days at UoR in the future. As a conductor and choral specialist, my vision is to develop UoR Music into a buzzing hive of choral music; not only for the choirs and singers at the university but also as a gateway to connect with the local community through singing. A helping hand in launching this vision would make a significant impact at this point in time, especially as we rebuild our musical lives after the pandemic.
With very best wishes
Victoria
Choral Inspirations – Repertoire List
Mozart/Errollyn Wallen, Ave verum corpus
Brahms/Michael Higgins, Geistliches Lied/See that I am God
Franck/Rebecca Dale, Panis Angelicus
Bach/Gareth Treseder, Jesu, Joy of our desiring
Lotti/Cecilia McDowall, Crucifixus a 8/Crucifixus Reimagined
Elgar/Oliver Tarney, The Spirit of the Lord
Victoria Ely
MMus (Dist) | BMus | BCom
Artistic Director
University of Reading Music