On 15th and 29th June 2013 I will appear as guest conductor with Castaway Goole Accessible Music Theatre in the premiere of Emily Crossland’s Fairies Sing. The new work, commissioned through the BBC Performing Arts Fund, will be performed by Castaway Sing and Band and the East Yorkshire Federation of Women’s Institutes Sing for Pleasure choir, in a joint concert of vocal music at two Yorkshire venues.
Castaway provides performing, leisure, and training opportunities for adults and young people with learning and physical disabilities and autistic spectrum conditions. Emily has been working with Castaway Sing and Band and the WI Sing for Pleasure choir since the beginning of the year to compose a new work with and for the groups.
The result is Fairies Sing, which sets text from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream to tell the tale of the fairies who ward off evil spirits to protect their Fairy Queen, Titania. The piece combines large-scale choral forces with vocal and instrumental soundscapes, in textures that range from harrowing clusters to serene ebbing and flowing.
It has been a real pleasure and inspiration to work with the Castaway and WI groups, who have a fantastic energy and take such delight in music-making and performing. Through collaborating with Emily in developing the theatre of the performance, I have also been fortunate to apply my music theatre experience in a new context.
The two concerts will take place on:
Saturday 15 June, 7.30pm, Toll Gavel United Reform Church, Beverley
Saturday 29 June, 7.30pm, St John’s Parish Church, Goole
Tickets for either concert are just £5: please call Castaway Goole on 01405 761423 or email info@castaway-goole.co.uk to reserve.
With each choir performing a range of songs from their repertoire, the concerts are sure to be wonderful opportunities to hear some of the great community music-making that there is in North Yorkshire.
On 29th June, Castaway and the WI choir are also joined by Rawcliffe Harmonics. As well as conducting Fairies Sing, I am also quite excited and privileged to be leading all the performers in singing ‘Jerusalem’ together at the end!
Pingback: Conducting Castaway’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ – James Whittle