The Elgar Festival Gala Concert will take place on Saturday 3 June at Worcester Cathedral |
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A ‘spirit of celebration’ is set to take Worcester Cathedral by storm at a very special performance next month. The Elgar Festival’s Gala Concert – widely acknowledged as the heart of the festival – will take place on Saturday 3 June at 7.30pm in Worcester Cathedral. The concert will be performed by the English Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Kenneth Woods, with special guests, featured composer Michael Berkeley, and contralto Jess Dandy. The Elgar Festival Chorus, an amalgamation of singers from choirs across Elgar country, will make their second appearance at the Festival following their debut last year. The programme will include Michael Berkeley’s Secret Garden, Elgar’s The Music Makers, and his Symphony No 1 in A flat major. Kenneth Woods, Artistic Director at the Elgar Festival said: “Perhaps no work in musical history was as eagerly awaited as Elgar’s First Symphony. Music lovers across Europe and the British Empire were all waiting to see if Elgar could produce a symphony worthy of comparison with those of Beethoven and Brahms. Ahead of its London premiere, the great conductor, Hans Richter called it ‘the greatest symphony of modern times, written by the greatest modern composer.’ “Elgar’s choral masterpiece, The Music Makers, was completed only four years later, but sees its composer in a more reflective mood, with touching musical reminders of his earlier works sprinkled throughout, sung here by our Elgar Festival Chorus, with Jess Dandy as contralto soloist.” Ken concluded : “The words of the opening lines, ‘We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams’ encapsulate the festival’s spirit of community and celebration – we are all the music makers. The spirit of celebration is further heightened by the inclusion of featured composer Michael Berkeley’s Secret Garden, one of his most colourful and ebullient works.” Tickets cost from £5.00 to £28.00. The Elgar Festival – which runs from Tuesday 30 May until Sunday 4 June this year – is one of the county’s most successful festivals. Launched in 2018, the Elgar Festival was established by decree of Worcester City Council and is traditionally held on the weekend closest to Elgar’s birthday, 2 June 1857. Since it began – lauded as ‘Critic’s Pick’ in both The Guardian and The Times – the Festival has doubled in size and scale and championed Sir Edward to as wide an audience as possible.
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