Spotlight | Summer 2024

THREE CHOIRS

FESTIVAL

SPOTLIGHT

@3choirs

3ChoirsFestival

3ChoirsFestival

@3choirsfestival

s I type, the first hints of summer are finally here. Roses are in full bloom, the sun is high in the sky, twice a week the sound of rehearsals from our three cities fills the air, and the Worcester Festival is finally looming large on our horizon. This festival will be the second for me as Chair, as well as for Samuel Hudson as Artistic Director. Fortunately, the memories of Covid are fading fast and Sam and I can look forward to our first ‘full’ festival. I may be slightly biased, but I always look forward to Worcester, with the festival village in College Green and its intimate atmosphere. Let’s just hope the sun shines!

As with every year, there is a wide array of concerts and services to whet the appetite of each festival goer. As a member of the Chorus, it is wonderful when rehearsals start and we get the first taste of the headline choral evenings. A personal favourite of mine this year is Holst’s The Hymn of Jesus, which I first sang in Gloucester 2010 under

the baton of Adrian Partington, and I have relished the chance to it sing again. On the same evening is Stanford’s rarely performed Stabat Mater. Previously unknown to me, it has all the melodic warmth associated with the composer but on a large and impressive scale, with moments of intensity subsiding into calm and beauty.

The Youth Choir concert is an evening I am greatly looking forward to. I’m always impressed with how adaptable the young voices are at a variety of works and this year Worcester’s own composer, Ian Venables, will have his beautiful Requiem performed. I first heard it a year ago as part of the 2023 Elgar Festival, and was delighted when it was programmed for this year. In the first half of the concert the choir will perform Cecilia McDowall’s Shipping Forecast, during which I will be the narrator. I think that this will be the first time that the City Chair will not only be singing in the Chorus but also have a starring role!

We also have a wonderful array of daytime events, whether for the youngest of audiences with Singing in the Rain on Friday 2 August, ideal for babies and toddlers, or for those of us keen to hear recently uncovered masterpieces, with The Forgotten Scarlatti on Monday 29 July.

As we all know, the festival could not happen without close cooperation with our host cathedrals. Opening the week will be a similar celebration to last year bringing the festival, city and cathedral together, with the cathedral choir coming in from the river and the Chorus from the Guildhall prior to the civic procession. The cathedral services continue throughout the week, and as usual BBC Radio 3 will broadcast Wednesday’s Evensong. If you want to see the clergy in another light, the three Deans will have their annual afternoon Sporting Event – what will they play and who will win? Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the American Friends of the Three Choirs Festival, there

will be a ‘Come and Sing’ Evensong on Thursday 1 August, which I know will be a fantastic event.

We are all passionate about the festival, and for me it really is a highlight of my year, meeting friends from the past whilst also making friends for the future. Many of you, I know, have been loyal supporters for decades, and that support does not go unnoticed. At the musical heart of the festival is the Festival Chorus, and at the heart of the audience are you, the members. I do hope that many of you will find time to say hello and meet other Board members and staff, particularly at the Breakfast Forum on Saturday 3 August.

There are so many tantalising events during the week, I’m sure you will find it hard to choose which to go to – it’s certainly difficult for me! It’s not long now until the red lorry of the Philharmonia arrives, and we will know the festival is here with us once again.

Ben Cooper, Worcester City Chair

At the time of going to press we learnt of the death of David Wright, former Worcester Three Choirs Secretary. We will acknowledge his contribution to the festival more fully in a future edition.

THE MUSIC OF NOW SINCE 1715

From the earliest days of Three Choirs, new music and commissions have been at the heart of the festival experience. Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, Elgar’s Light of Life and Howell’s Hymnus Paradisi were all Three Choirs Festival commissions, and this year sees three exciting new works join their ranks.

Paul Mealor is one of the world’s most ‘performed’ living composers and has written music for some of the most important UK state, national and Royal occasions of the last ten years, including the wedding of The Prince and Princess of Wales, King Charles’s 65th, 70th and 75th birthdays, two works for the late Queen Elizabeth II’s national Services of Thanksgiving, two works for the Coronation – including the first ever setting of the Welsh Language at a Coronation, and three works for The Honours of Scotland Service.

He has received many awards and honours for his work, including honorary degrees and fellowships, and in January 2024 was appointed to The Royal Victorian Order (LVO) by HM King Charles III for his outstanding contribution to Royal Music. He is the first composer to receive this accolade since Sir Arthur Bliss in 1969 and, before him, Sir Arnold Bax and Sir Edward Elgar.

The festival is delighted that Paul has written a new work for us to be performed this year: Ringed with the Azure World is a set of four short madrigals on texts about birds. Paul imagined this work as a companion piece to his other madrigal set Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal (four madrigals on rose texts). Ringed with the Azure World sets Tennyson’s The Eagle, the poems The Silver Swan and The Nightingale, and Mary Coleridge’s The Blue Bird. Frank Daykin of the New York Concert Review writes ‘If there is a heaven, I want it to sound like the music of Paul Mealor’, and this beautiful festival commission is sure to be no exception to that sentiment.

Ringed with the Azure World will be sung by the Three Cathedral Choirs in the evening concert on Thursday 1 August. Tickets available at 3choirs.org or on 01452 768928

Nathan James Dearden is an award-winning Welsh composer, conductor, and educator. He has been performed and featured by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales among many others. His music regularly features in concerts across the UK and overseas, including at the Cheltenham Music Festival and Dartington International Summer Festival, and is broadcast regularly on national radio, including on BBC Radio 3. A champion for diverse and exciting programming, Nathan is also a soughtafter conductor, arts advisor, event curator and educator. He is currently Lecturer in Music Composition and Music Performance Manager at Royal Holloway University of London, Conductor of the New Voices Consort and New Music Collective, and holds arts advisory roles with several international organisations.

Nathan’s festival commission, messages, is an exciting work inspired by the message of love in Gustav Holst’s The Cloud Messenger. Nathan writes that his piece examines our reactions to some of life’s startling and poignant events, and the lessons gleaned from them. His set texts include the Mayan

Account of the Spanish Conquest, a moving letter to a refugee child going to ‘a better place’, and Psalms 46:6 and 53 from the Clementine Vulgate. Described by Media Wales as ‘hauntingly beautiful’, Dearden’s music will be a wonderful opening to Sunday evening’s concert. messages will be sung by the Three Choirs Festival Voices in the evening concert on Sunday 28 July. Tickets available at 3choirs.org or on 01452 768928

Luke Lewi s is a composer, arranger and conductor. Mainly instrumental, sometimes electronic, and occasionally both, his music has been performed internationally by ensembles such as the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Athelas Sinfonietta Copenhagen, Esbjerg Ensemble and Orkest de Ereprijs. As an arranger and orchestrator in the pop world, he has worked with artists like Gaz Coombes, Clean Bandit, Jane Weaver, Richard Walters and Oly Ralfe in collaboration with everything from bespoke chamber ensembles to the BBC Philharmonic and London Symphony Orchestras.

He studied composition at the University of Salford under Joe Duddell, and later under Hans Abrahamsen at the Royal Danish Academy of Music. He also holds a doctorate from the University of Oxford. For a time mentored by the late Steve Martland, he made the composer the focus of his doctoral work. Alongside this, he is Stipendiary Lecturer in Music at New College, University of Oxford teaching primarily composition, orchestration, and music analysis, and is an Associate Lecturer at Oxford Brookes University.

In what would have been Steve Martland’s 70th birthday year, the festival commission from Luke Lewis, O Dreamland, honours his legacy and includes samples of Martland himself speaking in an interview from 2011. Recorded not long before his death, Martland speaks of his frustrations with the world, the value of Grade 5 music theory, and his hopes for the future.

O Dreamland will be performed by the GBSR Duo in the late-night concert on Sunday 28 July and during the morning recital on Monday 29 July. Tickets available at 3choirs.org or on 01452 768928

AMERICAN FRIENDS CELEBRATE A DECADE WITH THE THREE CHOIRS FESTIVAL

ure, I’d love to meet you,ʼ I said to Debbie Liggins, then the Director of Development for the Three Choirs Festival. In 2013 I was one of the few Americans who came to the festival. I imagined that she would be appreciative of any amount of support. We sat down, I paused and asked: ʻHow much to sponsor an evening concert in the cathedral?ʼ Her teacup (and her composure) momentarily wobbled. ʻAn entire performance – the whole thing?ʼ she responded. ʻUhmm, yep. Remember, I’m American and I live in Texas, where, the bigger the idea, the more people want to fund it.ʼ Thus began our philanthropic journey to the American Friends.

All the world’s great music festivals have American affinity groups – Salzburg, Edinburgh, Glyndebourne – each benefitting from transatlantic patronage, so why not Three Choirs?

The summer of 2014 – our first meeting in a sweltering conference room. The Brits in attendance commenced with their proverbial prologue: ʻWhen the organisation was formed 300 years ago…ʼ Sensing an impending (and lengthy) narrative, I hastily interjected: ʻWe have an hour to get this thing off the ground, let’s get to work.ʼ And so we did.

Stacks of forms and countless emails ensued. Then, on 14 October 2014, we received our official notice of Nonprofit Status as The American Friends of the Three Choirs Festival. We knew what we needed to accomplish and the tasks ahead of us.  However, we were completely surprised at the unexpected repercussions (and subsequent rewards) we would soon receive.

As always, individuals are the catalyst for wondrous things. Fast forward a bit: I meet my new Three Choirs Festival colleague, Genie Dyke, a Brit (née) California transplant who helped actualise our creation. ʻWhere can we get people together with a glass of wine and a piece of cheese?ʼ I asked.  Wheels turned, calls were made, and the (then) Dean of Gloucester, Stephen Lake, granted us a gathering in the Whispering Gallery, a venue unparalleled and unique in the world.

Party invitees ascended the spiral staircase, alighting into the triforium and unexpectedly gazing down the entire length of the cathedral. Americans, unaccustomed to such ecclesiastical grandeur, were slack jawed. The American Friends was conceived around a conference table but came to life that evening, in Gloucester’s ancient aerial ambulatory. Thus began the tradition of ‘Americans Hosting Parties’ at Three Choirs. From Conference Table to King’s College:

Interest and support increased in subsequent years, resulting in notable sponsorships including Carmina Burana, Stephen Cleobury and the choir of King’s College, Cambridge, performances of The Planets, A Sea Symphony, Scheherazade, and Roddy Williams giving us Sancta Civitas.

As often happens at Three Choirs, music is a mere side note to other, more significant happenings. Unimagined was the way in which this band of musical patriots would be enhanced through befriending not only each other but also our various hosts throughout the Three Counties. Most of our donors and attendees have been with us since inception – Dr Paul Ellison (Vice-Chair), Bruce Maza, and James Janossy chief among them. Who could have forecast then how our lives (and indeed the entire endeavor) would be mutually enriched in such an enduring manner?

This year, the American Friends will attempt to reciprocate the decade of grace bestowed upon us by the Three Choirs Festival. Please join us, Festival Artistic Director Samuel Hudson, Cathedral Organist Nicholas Freestone, the Flowers Brass Band, and the newly created Festival Chorus Descant Singers for a rousing (yes, rousing) Come and SING Evensong in Worcester Cathedral on Thursday 1 August at 5.30 pm.

Looking forward to seeing (and hearing) you soon, friends.

How often, making music, we have found, a new dimension in the world of sound…

Rich Arenschieldt Chair of the American Friends of the Three Choirs Festival

FREE ENTRY

HIS HONOUR ROGER THORN KC

23 March 1948 – 15 January 2024

Roger Thorn first held stewardship at the Three Choirs Festival at Worcester in 1978, when he and his twin brother Jeremy attended every event on offer. Roger became hooked, and never then missed a festival until cancer took hold last year. He was fully engaged for every moment of each festival, be it listening to concerts and lectures, engaging passers-by in conversation, or welcoming unknown audience members to join him.

With his ever-ready wit and joy of good company which he contributed so liberally

and freely, Roger knew that, like any home or holiday, it isn’t so much about the ‘place’ or the ‘event’ but about the people one meets and the like-minded spirits happily congregated, in a way that only a true ‘festival’ can offer.

Wearing his later senior judicial appointments lightly, Roger made a vast number of friends at the Three Choirs Festival who were equally as important to him as the great music and the memorable performances he heard. Like few others, he was able to gather many a festival star, a wounded pigeon, or puncture any bubble of presumed pomposity to find the good in those he met without fear or favour. He would happily build a relationship and argue the toss with those who wanted to engage, buying another round or meal so that a late-comer could feel included, and being amazingly loyal and generous to any who might choose to spend their free time with him.

Roger would go to hear anything to find out if he liked it (and indeed found occasionally he didn’t, which he found a sadness), but he always kept an open mind. Likewise, as a very bright lawyer with a keen eye on organisational practice and a love of constitutional matters, he was probably a pain for those whom he felt were breaching their democratic or constitutional duties in almost every organisation he belonged to. Many Three Choirs Festival Society members appreciated his incisive contributions to the merger debate.

To Roger, the Three Choirs Festival was uniquely special, and indeed he became one of the festival characters who make it so. He will be sorely missed.

Katharine O’Carroll, mostly quoting Jeremy Thorn’s words at Roger’s Memorial Service on 23 March 2024

CHIEF EXECUTIVE

ALEXIS PATERSON

As you may have heard, Alexis Paterson will be leaving Three Choirs after this summer’s festival to become the Senior Music Programme Producer with Oxford University’s Cultural Programme ahead of the opening of the new Schwarzman Centre in 2025.

Alexis became Chief Executive in 2016 and has overseen significant changes, including the mergers of the Three Choirs Festival Foundation and Society and the Friends of Hereford Three Choirs Festival with Three Choirs Festival Limited. Committed to broadening the appeal of the festival and extending a warm welcome to communities across the festival cities, Alexis has introduced a strand of family events, open-access cathedral rehearsals, an opening celebration on the streets of the host city, and a regular free stage for community performers. In 2019, she established a permanent community and participation role within the organisation, leading to the delivery of exciting intergenerational projects such as Bach Reimagined (2022), What the

Lark Saw (2023), and this year’s Nature Sings.

Alexis says: ʻIt’s been a huge privilege to lead the Three Choirs Festival through such a dynamic time in its history. There are far too many people to thank individually in what is such a complex and interconnected organisation, but they include all my colleagues, the Board, Artistic Directors and collaborators at our host cathedrals, the Philharmonia, our volunteers and singers, our passionate audiences and supporters, and all the other wonderful performers, composers, agents and freelancers I’ve had the pleasure to work with. I know the festival will continue to go from strength to strength because it’s valued by so many.ʼ

Look out for an in-depth farewell interview with Alexis in our next edition of Spotlight. If you have any questions you would be interested in hearing Alexis answer about her time with the festival, please do send them to info@3choirs.org by Monday 5 August and we will do our best to include them.

THE THREE CHOIRS FESTIVAL IN TEN CONCERTS

Friday 26 July 4.30–5.30 pm

£15 to include book; £5 event only

The Festival Marquee, College Green, Worcester

The festival bar will be open from 4.30 pm for ticket holders to buy drinks, with the Q&A starting at 4.45 pm

Tickets available at 3choirs.org or on 01452 768928

Come along to an exclusive event at the start of this year’s festival week for the launch of Festival Archivist Simon Carpenter’s new book examining the history of the festival in ten concerts, in a fascinating Q&A chaired by Worcester Festival Chair Ben Cooper.

The book offers an illustrated history of the festival through ten landmark concerts – from the first performance of Handel’s Messiah in 1757 through appearances of major musical figures and pioneering female composers to the first concert to be applauded by the audience in 1969. The context and significance of each concert is examined in detail, offering fascinating insights into this historic and much-loved musical institution.

Book a ticket at £15 to include a copy of Simon’s book at a discounted rate, or at £5 for entry to the event only. The book will also be available to pre-order for £10 and for sale in the festival shop at the RRP of £12.99.

NATURE SINGS SPRING SHOWCASE

The Festival’s participation project for 2024, Nature Sings, draws on the natural world to bring people together in an exploration of stirring music. Throughout the year leading up to the festival, schoolchildren and care home residents have been exploring the seasons and nature more broadly through listening and responding to Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons and other seasonal-themed music in workshops with local practitioners and musicians from the Philharmonia Orchestra. On 1 August all the threads of the wider project will be brought together in a showcase supported by members of the Philharmonia.

From winter to spring, the project got Worcestershire children singing, with pupils aged 9–13 from Worcester schools taking part in workshops with Simon Taranczuk (Director

of Music at The King’s School, Worcester). Children learnt songs with a ‘nature’ theme, which they then performed as a massed choir in a special spring showcase in Worcester Cathedral on 14 March to a large, supportive audience – who even got the chance to join in! The Festival has been working in direct partnership with The King’s School, Worcester, to nurture young talent and provide more singing opportunities to local children, with rousing results. It was fantastic to see so many young people buzzing with excitement to perform to a packed cathedral, and they really did themselves proud. Huge congratulations to all involved, and it will be wonderful to see them again with even more musicians in the Festival Showcase on 1 August.

Tickets for the Festival Showcase are available at 3choirs.org or on 01452 768928

Dear Editor,

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

One of the joys of coming to Three Choirs, as long term festival goers will know, is bumping into old friends, acquaintances and familiar faces. It matters not that one doesn’t see them in between festivals, or that one doesn’t have any contact details for them, or even that, in some cases, one doesn’t know (or can’t remember!) the names of the people one greets so enthusiastically; there is simply a reassurance upon seeing them again that all is well with the world. Sadly this year there will be three people who won’t be seen again. They were people (listed in alphabetical order of given name!) who each attended the festival for well over forty years and who, helping to contribute in different ways to its uniqueness, were well known to regular festival goers.

David Hawkins, with his impeccable and courteous manners, was always willing to stop and have a chat and to share his knowledge on a wide range of subjects.

Pam Spencer, so calm when helping to usher in cathedral audiences, and who kindly helped stewarding newbies, always enjoyed talking to people, remembering details from year to year to personalise the conversation.

Ruth Massey, whose rare and dry wit enlivened any meal or pre-concert conversation, brought immense pleasure to all who met her.

Much of the character of the Three Choirs Festival comes from stalwarts such as these, and we owe them a debt for enriching our festival experience.

With regards, Katharine O’Carroll

COULD YOU BE AN AMBASSADOR FOR THE THREE CHOIRS FESTIVAL?

‘The music brought me here but the people keep me coming back.’

This year in Worcester, we are planning to gather together some regular festival attendees who have never become members of Three Choirs to encourage them to join our festival family. It would be wonderful if some of you were able to come along to chat and share why being a member of the festival is important to you. If you would like to be an Ambassador for the festival at this gathering or for further information, please contact info@3choirs.org or 01452 768928.