Archive for the ‘Events’ Category

June 14th 2025 – Fauré ‘Requiem’ & ‘Cantique de Jean Racine’

A Saturday evening concert in Sunderland Minster, starting at 7.30 p.m., conducted by David Murray.

Requiem – Gabriel Fauré

Cantique de Jean Racine – Gabriel Fauré

Panis Angelicus – César Franck


Tickets – £15.00 for Nave (£8.00 concessions for full-time students and on income related benefits) or Gallery (limited view) £8.00. Accompanied under 16s free. Tickets will be available from members of the Society, at the door (cash or card), or on-line from www.wegottickets.com/BCS – who also have a direct link on the home page of this website.

Doors open from 6.45 p.m. Apart from seats marked for Patrons, there are no allocated seats.

December 13th 2025 – Brahms ‘Requiem’

A Saturday evening concert in Sunderland Minster at 7.30 p.m. conducted by David Murray

Content to be confirmed

March 28th 2026 – Britten ‘St. Nicolas’

A Saturday evening concert in Sunderland Minster, starting at 7.30 p.m., conducted by David Murray.

Content to be confirmed.

June 13th 2026 – Operatic Chorus

A Saturday evening concert in Sunderland Minster, starting at 7.30 p.m., conducted by David Murray.

Content to be confirmed.

Future Programme Proposals

We seek to plan the proposed programme of concerts for the future as far ahead as is feasible. This may mean that the arrangements and contents of concerts listed here may need to be varied later, but each will be confirmed later by posts on this website

All dates are 7.30 p.m. on Saturdays in Sunderland Minster, unless otherwise noted.

June 14th 2025 – Fauré ‘Requiem’ & ‘Cantique de Jean Racine’, and César Franck ‘Panis Angelicus’

December 13th 2025 – Brahms ‘Requiem’

March 28th 2026Britten ‘St. Nicolas’

June 13th 2026Operatic Chorus

December 12th 2026 – Content to be confirmed

April 12th 2025 – Haydn’s ‘The Creation’

A Saturday evening concert in Sunderland Minster, starting at 7.30 p.m., conducted by David Murray.

Soloists : Ana Fernandez Guerra – soprano, Daniel Joy – tenor, Andre Bjorn Robertsson – bass baritone

The Creation is an oratorio written by Joseph Haydn in 1797 and 1798. It is considered by many to be one of his masterpieces. The oratorio depicts and celebrates the creation of the world as described in the Book of Genesis. The Creation is structured in three parts, with the first part dealing with the creation of light, heaven and earth, the sun and moon, the land and water, and plants, and the second part concerning the creation of the animals, man and woman.

Haydn was inspired to create The Creation following his trips to the UK, where he heard the oratorios of Handel still being performed with massive choirs.

Tickets – £15.00 for Nave (£8.00 concessions for full-time students and on income related benefits) or Gallery (limited view) £8.00. Accompanied under 16s free. Tickets will be available from members of the Society, at the door (cash or card), or on-line from www.wegottickets.com/BCS – who also have a direct link on the home page of this website.

Doors open from 6.45 p.m. Apart from seats marked for Patrons, there are no allocated seats.

December 14th 2024 – Celebration of Christmas

A Saturday evening concert in Sunderland Minster, starting at 7.30 p.m., conducted by David Murray.

The concert will consist of the Christmas section of Handel’s Messiah and a mix of lovely Chilcott and Rutter favourites. A feature of the concert will be a newly composed item by Lucy Walker commissioned by Bishopwearmouth Choral Society

Soloists : Alexandra Lee – soprano, Davina Halford-McLeod – mezzo soprano, Archie Inns – tenor & Patrick Owston – bass.

Tickets – £15.00 for Nave (£8.00 concessions for full-time students and on income related benefits) or Gallery (limited view) £8.00. Accompanied under 16s free. Tickets will be available from members of the Society, at the door (cash or card), or on-line from www.wegottickets.com/BCS – who also have a direct link on the home page of this website.

Doors open from 6.45 p.m. Apart from seats marked for Patrons, there are no allocated seats.

Date and content to be confirmed

Come and Sing Haydn’s Creation with David Lawrence – Saturday March 29th 2025

Sunderland Minster – 10.30 a.m. till 4.30 p.m. Cost £10.00 – vocal scores available on the day free of charge, but if you have your own copy (old version of Novello score) please bring it with you.

You are invited to join us in our exploration of this great work at a session led by David Lawrence, who is one of the UK’s most versatile conductors, working with orchestra, symphony choruses and national youth choirs. He has conducted in more than 25 countries including Canada, Colombia, India, Singapore, the USA, and has worked regularly in Australia since 2005.

Full details are available via this link :

March 16th 2024 -‘We are the Music Makers’

A Saturday evening concert in Sunderland Minster, starting at 7.30 p.m., conducted by David Murray.

This concert will be the second in our 75th Anniversary season and will feature Edward Elgar’s ‘The Music Makersand Sea Pictures’ with Hubert Parry’s ‘I was glad

Tickets – £15.00 for Nave (£8.00 concessions for full-time students and on income related benefits) or Gallery (limited view) £8.00. Accompanied under 16s free. Tickets will be available from members of the Society, at the door (cash only), or on-line from www.wegottickets.com/BCS – who also have a direct link on the home page of this website.

Doors open from 6.45 p.m. Apart from seats marked for Patrons, there are no allocated seats.

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the foundation of the choral society, David Murray will conduct the choir, world recognised mezzo-soprano Sarah Pring, and the orchestra in Elgar’s iconic cantata.

The libretto is the ode by Arthur O’Shaunessy. Elgar identified himself as the ‘dreamer of dreams’ in the opening lines of the poem and the work as being semi-autobiographical. In doing so he referenced a number of his earlier works – the Enigma Variations, Land of Hope and Glory to mention just two.