A Saturday morning event in Fulwell Methodist Church from 10.00 a.m. till 12 m.d.

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

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

Tickets £14.00 for Nave (£8 concessions for full-time students and on income related benefits) or £8.00 (Gallery – limited view). Accompanied under 16s free. Tickets are available from members of the Society, at the door, or on-line from http://www.wegottickets.com/BCS – who also have a direct link on the home page of this website.

Soloists :- Anne Marie Owens, Laurie Ashworth and Adrian Powter.    Narrator :- David Timson.

Side by Side by Sondheim is a musical revue featuring the songs of the Broadway and film composer Stephen Sondheim. Its title is derived from the song “Side by Side by Side” from Company. The musical had its origins when David Kernan was asked by Cleo Lane and her husband John Dankworth to put together a revue as a benefit for The Stables, a theatre they owned in Wavendon. Kernan contacted director Ned Sherrin and suggested that they do a review of Sondheim material. The producer Cameron Mackintosh saw the benefit revue, which featured Millicent Martin, Julia McKenzie, Kernan, and Ned Sherrin as the narrator, and agreed to produce it.

The music is in the form of a revue, with various sections tied together by being from a particular Sondheim musical, or having a common theme, and all tied together by the Narrator. He explains what show the songs are from, and in some cases provides background on why a song was written.

A Saturday morning event in Fulwell Methodist Church, from 10.00 a.m. till 12.00 m.d.

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

A Saturday evening concert, starting at 7.30 p.m, in Sunderland Minster, conducted by David Murray, in association with Bishopwearmouth Young Singers.

Tickets £15.00 for Nave (£8 concessions for full-time students and on  income related benefits) or £8.00 (Gallery – limited view). Accompanied under 16s free.  Tickets are available from members of the Society, at the door, or on-line from http://www.wegottickets.com/BCS – who also have a direct link on the home page of this website.

Our Christmas concert features Handel’s ‘Messiah’ Part 1 (the Christmas section) and ‘A Christmas Carol’ – music by David Murray and libretto by Tony Rudham – a seasonal musical for children and adult choir.

It was devised by David and his friend Tony for primary school children, back in the 1970s. More recently David has added parts that involve an adult choir and so this piece will be a combined concert by the main Society with Bishopwearmouth Young Singers.

The Christmas section of Handel’s ‘Messiah’ will need no introduction and will complete a performance for all tastes.

Hall One at The Sage, Gateshead

Sunday June 14^th 2015 at 7.30. p.m.

Verdi comes to the North East….

Orchestra North East

Bishopwearmouth Choral Society

Ryton Choral Society

Soloists: Claire Rutter (Soprano), Deborah Humble (Mezzo-soprano), James Edwards (Tenor), Michael Druiett (Bass).

Conductor: David Murray.

A Concert of music by Giuseppe Verdi:

• Overture: The Force of Destiny.
• Messa da Requiem.

Leading North East musicians are to bring Giuseppe Verdi’s spectacular and dramatic Messa da Requiem to Hall One. The operatic style of the Requiem has always both excited and moved audiences, and the overture has that same vivid and emotional style. Orchestra North East, the two choral societies and David Murray each have a strong reputation for giving first-rate performances in their concerts and as many will remember, their acclaimed performance of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana in 2013 in Hall One was one of the highlights of that summer season. Now the same forces, joined by a team of rising young singers, re-unite to give what they intend to be an equally memorable performance of Verdi’s choral masterpiece.

Tickets: Adults £18; Students (16+) £8; under 16 £4 but FREE with paying Adult.

From Sage Box Office: 0191 443 4661

This will replace the originally planned BCS concert on June 20th 2015.

A Saturday morning event in Fulwell Methodist Church from 10.00 a.m. till 12 m.d.

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

Bishopwearmouth Young Singers invite you to ‘Music for a Summer Evening’ on Friday 3rd July 2015 at 7.30 p.m. in Ewesley Road Methodist Church, Chester Road, Sunderland.

No ticket required but donations would be gratefully received.

A Saturday evening concert in Sunderland Minster, starting at 7.30 p.m., conducted by David Murray featuring Sarah Pring (Mezzo-Soprano) and three pieces by Edward Elgar :

The Music Makers

Sea Pictures

From the Bavarian Highlands

Tickets £14.00 for Nave (£8 concessions for full-time students and on income related benefits) or £8.00 (Gallery – limited view). Accompanied under 16s free. Tickets are available from members of the Society, at the door, or on-line from http://www.wegottickets.com/BCS – who also have a direct link on the home page of this website.

Sarah Pring (Mezzo-Soprano) studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the National Opera Studio. She began her career at Glyndebourne, gaining the Sir John Christie Award and the ESSO Touring Award and went on to other roles with the Glyndebourne Tour. Following appearances at the Royal Opera House, she has performed in Japan and extensively for English National Opera. Concert engagements have taken her to the Netherlands as well as across this country with broadcasts on BBC 2. Her recent and current engagements include Mrs Grose The Turn of the Screw for Nevill Holt Opera and Northern Ireland Opera, Mrs Alexander Satyagraha for English National Opera, Marthe Faust at the Birgitta Festival, Tallinn, Nurse Boris Godunov and further performances as Annina La traviata for the Royal Opera, London, La Frugola Il tabarro and Zita Gianni Schicchi for Opera Holland Park, and Waltraute Die Walküre for Welsh National Opera. She also covers Mary The Gospel According to the Other Mary for English National Opera, the Kostelnicka Jenufa for Opera North, Mère Marie Dialogues des Carmelites for the Royal Opera, London, and Eduige Guillaume Tell for the Royal Opera, London, and Welsh National Opera.

The Music Makers, Op. 69, is a work for contralto or mezzo-soprano, chorus and orchestra composed by Edward Elgar. It was dedicated to “my friend Nicholas Kilburn“. It was first performed at the Birmingham Festival on 1 October 1912, conducted by the composer, with Muriel Foster as the soloist.

The text of the work is the 1874 poem Ode by Arthur O’Shaughnessy, which Elgar set in its entirety. He had been working on the music intermittently since 1903, without a specific commission.

The words of the poem no doubt appealed to Elgar’s nature, as it celebrates the dreaming artist — by 1912, he was established as part of British artistic society, but was ambivalent at best about that society. The mood of the Ode is clear in the first lines, which depict the isolation of the creative artist:

We are the music makers,

 And we are the dreamers of dreams,

Wandering by lone sea-breakers,

 And sitting by desolate streams…

Later verses celebrate the importance of the artist to his society.

The music is for the most part reserved and personal, and Elgar quotes his own music several times. Sometimes there is a specific verbal cue: for example, the word “dreams” is accompanied by a theme from The Dream of Gerontius, and “sea-breakers” by the opening of Sea Pictures.  The music also quotes the first and second symphonies, the Violin Concerto, “Nimrod” (from the Enigma Variations), Rule, Britannia and La Marseillaise.

A Wednesday evening performance in Sunderland Minster starting at 7.30 p.m.

Bishopwearmouth Young Singers, plus invited young guest musicians, are offering this concert to delight you. Entry is free – but any donations would be gratefully received. There will be a raffle and wine and nibbles afterwards to complete the evening.

We look forward to seeing you there.

The Choral Society are holding their Dinner on Friday 6th June 2014, at 7.00 for 7.30 p.m. in the Restaurant of The Rosedene, Queen Alexandra Road, Sunderland, SR2 9BT, to which all members and their families, patrons and their friends are cordially invited.

The cost of the dinner will be £20.00 which excludes all drinks but the restaurant has a licensed bar offering a full range of wines and drinks.

Bookings need to be submitted, with the appropriate payment, before Wednesday 21st May with the choices for your party. booking forms with full details and the menu on offer are obtainable from the Secretary or Society members.

We look forward to seeing you there.