Local choir to sing at Elgar Festival

The ever popular local choir named after Sir Edward Elgar will perform at this month’s Elgar Festival.

The Elgar Chorale will present a varied programme of works under the baton of their director, Piers Maxim.

Taking place on Saturday 31 May at 11.00am at St Martin in the Cornmarket in Worcester, the choir will sing pieces from British composer Hubert Parry, Britain’s most famous living composer Ian Venables, the church music of Charles Stanford, as well as a piece from British composer and conductor Samuel Coleridge-Taylor as well as from Edward Elgar himself, Worcester’s most famous son.

Tickets cost £10 each and can be booked at www.elgarfestival.org/elgar-chorale.

The Elgar Chorale is a mixed voice choir of up to 40 singers, many of whom are professional musicians; the choir runs a busy programme of concerts in Worcestershire and beyond.  Its Director of Music is Piers Maxim; he has worked with many choirs as conductor, assistant conductor and chorus master during his career, while singing, organ playing, composing and teaching play a large part in his life too.  He is also Organist and Director of Music of Malvern Priory and Conductor of EC4 Orchestra based in London.

Kenneth Woods, Artistic Director of the Elgar Festival said: “We are delighted to welcome back the Elgar Chorale to this year’s event; not only does it participate in leading roles in some of the region’s premier music festivals it has also performed in Germany, France and South Africa.  Under the guidance of Piers, the choir’s extensive repertoire is ever expanding and it is proud to curate one of the largest music libraries in the region. Do come along!”

The 2025 Elgar Festival event takes place between Saturday 24 May until Sunday 1 June.

The festival – which was launched in 2018 – was established by decree of Worcester City Council and is traditionally held on the weekend closest to Elgar’s birthday, 2 June 1857.

Themed ‘Celebrate with Elgar’, this year’s Festival will bring together world-class professional musicians and artists alongside local choirs and ensembles placing the music of Worcester’s most famous son alongside that of his contemporaries and some of today’s leading composers and arrangers.

Set in the composer’s hometown and surrounding areas, the festival is an annual celebration of Elgar’s music spanning symphonic and string orchestra concerts.

Highlights this year include Elgar’s Symphony No. 2 and John Ireland’s oratorio ‘These Things Shall Be’ performed by the ESO and joined by the 2025 Festival Chorus on Saturday 31 May in Worcester Cathedral. There are further performances by Chamber Orchestras, recitals by world renowned performers Raphael Wallfisch, David Briggs and April Fredrick, several participatory events including ‘Come and Play Elgar 1’ and a Young Singers Masterclass.

There are several free events, relaxed concerts, an exhibition, choral events, a film screening, Q and As, a guided walk and a new performance partnership with students from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

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. It continues to grow annually through an innovative development programme of appealing and accessible events, working with hundreds of both internationally renowned professional artists and amateur musicians and performers of all ages to ensure Elgar really is for everyone.

For a full list of events, costs and booking information, please visit www.elgarfestival.org.