chorus rehearsal

tonight was one of the last rehearsals for the inaugural Lichfield Festival Chorus' performance of The Traveller on 8 July. Only two more rehearsals left before we sing in front of Alec Roth, the composer, then a rehearsal with the Britten Sinfonia, then a performance recorded live by BBC Radio 3. The Festival Chorus had been talked about for years before I even started at the Festival, but for me it was key that we didn't start by doing standard repertoire. This perhaps is why we waited so long before starting a choir, and why the four-year Confluences project was the perfect outlet. We chose Jeffrey Skidmore as our first Chorus Director, mainly to strengthen the connection the Confluences project had with Ex Cathedra (who performed A New Song last year) but also because Jeffrey has lived in Lichfield for decades.
Lichfield is blessed with both wonderful choral conductors and excellent choirs, and I felt it was crucial that the Festival Chorus did repertoire that was new or unfamiliar, and was very much the cherry on top of the choirs that people sang in every week. Another key factor was to start a choir that was not based in the cathedral close, and we have achieved a fantastic choir from all corners and pockets of Lichfield District and South Staffordshire and we have yet to step foot anywhere near the cathedral (making the performance day much more powerful). There is a mix of people that sing regularly and people who have not sang for many, many years. Our ages range from 6 to over 80. A true community choir. I am still slightly alarmed that I find myself singing (having not sung properly for nearly 18 years) but the music is so addictive that I found myself singing at the back during the rehearsals I was looking after, and we needed as many men as possible...