This concert by the Bishopwearmouth Young Singers, with the Bishopwearmouth Chamber Choir, will take place in Ewesley Road Methodist Church. Tickets are £5.00 and there will be refreshments, a raffle, and some very good singing to enliven a summer’s evening. We look forward to seeing you there.

A Saturday evening concert in Sunderland Minster.

A Saturday evening concert in Sunderland Minster.

A Saturday morning event in the Restaurant of Sunderland Minster.

Why not join the Society in a social event which comes with a raffle and stalls while enjoying the tea/coffee and a chat.

A Saturday evening concert in Sunderland Minster, conducted by David Murray.

Tickets £12.00 (£10 concessions) or £6.00 in Gallery with limited view.

Soloist – James Geer – tenor

 Britten’s cantata, St.Nicolas,was commissioned to celebrate the centenary of Lancing College, Sussex, where its first official performance took place in July 1948. However it had already received an unofficial premiere six weeks earlier at the first Aldenburgh Festival with Britten himself conducting both performances. It tells the story, some of it real but mostly legendary, of Nicolas the 4^th century bishop of Myra.

Nicholas is immortalised in legends that tell of his care of  the poor and oppressed. The miracle which confirmed his position was his restoration to life of three small boys who at the time of a famine had been pickled in brine by a wicked butcher. From this macabre tale emerged the practice of giving presents to deserving children. This and the fact that the Feast of St.Nicolas falls on the 6^th of December, meant that his popular image evolved into the figure of Santa Claus.

Monteverdi was perhaps one of the greatest Italian Renaissance composers and he revolutionised the music of the theatre and the church with his dramatic use of instruments and voices. Beatus Vir, which was probably composed in 1630, was published as part of a collection Selva Morale e Spirituali in 1641. A setting of Psalm 112 it is a fine example of his dramatic style, contrasting pairs or small groups of voices with the weight of the full chorus.

James Geer

Hailing from Sussex, James studied at Magdalen College, Oxford University, where he sang as an Academical Clerk in the College Choir, Trinity College of Music and on the Opera Course at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, graduating in 2008. While at College James won numerous scholarships and competitions including the Morag Noble Award, the Catto Scholarship and the Principal’s Award for the outstanding student performance of the year.

After graduating James was invited to become a Britten/Pears Scholar and has appeared in numerous performances at the Snape Maltings, notably as Male Chorus in The Rape of Lucretia, conducted by David Parry and Mathan in Athalia, conducted by Richard Egarr. He has also appeared at the Snape Easter Festival in Mozart’s Requiem conducted by Bernard Labadie and at the Aldeburgh Festival where he performed Britten’s Sech Holderlin Fragmente with Malcolm Martineau. This concert was recently broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

James’ operatic roles performed while at college include Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Monsieur Triquet (Eugene Onegin), Gonzalves (L’Heure Espagnol), L’Aumonier (Les Dialogues des Carmelites), Duncan (The Albatross), The Singer (Beatrice Cenci) and Le Berger (Oedipus Rex). Roles elsewhere include Male Chorus (The Rape of Lucretia) at the Snape Maltings, Acis (Acis and Galatea) with Edinburgh Studio Opera and Frederic (The Pirates of Penzance) for Haddo House Opera.

Concert appearances have included L’Aumonier in Les Dialogues des Carmelites with Stephane Deneve and the RSNO, The Sailor in Dido and Aeneas with Nicholas McGeegan and the ECO, both at the Edinburgh International Festival as well as a wide range of performances with choral societies throughout the UK.

James is currently a member of the Glyndebourne Chorus, the Dunedin Consort, the Academy of Ancient Music, London Voices and the Geoffrey Mitchell Choir, and will be a Samling Scholar in 2010.

A Saturday evening event in Whitburn Parish Church Hall.

Following the success of the Ceilidh held as part of the 60th Anniversary season, this is another opportunity for everyone to get up and dance the night away to a live band.

Tickets are £8.00 – including a pie & pea supper, with roast potatoes and gravy (vegetarian option is available if booked when buying ticket). They are available through Society members or the website.

Bring your own choice of drinks (glasses provided) and enjoy the music, dancing, raffle and good company.

Everyone can ceilidh!

A concert in the City Hall, Newcastle.

This will be the 21st North East Promenaders Against Cancer (NEPAC) concert to raise funds for cancer research and patient support. Although the content of the programme is not yet finalised, it is likely that members of Bishopwearmouth Choral Society will be making a significant contribution to the choral content.

A Wednesday evening event by Bishopwearmouth Young Singers and Bishopwearmouth Choral Society Chamber Choir to be held in St.Chad’s Church, East Herrington, Sunderland.

Ticket details to follow.

A Saturday morning event in the Restaurant of Sunderland Minster.

Why not join the Society in a social event which comes with a raffle and stalls selling crafts and home-baked cakes, while enjoying the tea/coffee and a chat.

Once again, Bishopwearmouth Choral Society is taking part in this Saturday evening concert at the City Hall, Newcastle.

Organised by North East Promenaders Against Cancer (NEPAC) this now annual charity concert is in its 20th year and will feature singers, including Janice Cairns, Suzanne Manuell, Blake Fischer, James Cleverton and Grame Danby, and Bradley Creswick and his violin.

The programme will include some of the best of the previous 19 Proms, many audience participation pieces – hopefully the 1812 Overture with paper bags – along with popular arias and light music.

Tickets are £13 to £27, obtainable from the City Hall Box Office (Tel: 2612606)