The Sixteen's Blog

Guitars, Manila

Lots to catch up on.  We had another successful visit to the Bath Mozartfest last weekend; we have been rehearsing for Handel’s Saul at the Barbican next Tuesday 22 November at 6.30pm (there are still just a few tickets available); and on Friday we are off to the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester for the first of two concerts there as part of our residency this season.  It’s another great programme: Purcell’s Come ye sons of Art celebrates the birthday of Queen Mary and includes the duet Sound the Trumpet. Handel’s Eternal Source of Light comes from another Birthday Ode to an English Queen, while Dixit Dominus dates from his Italian period, characterised by its virtuoso voice-parts. Tickets for this are available here (again, not too many left) and tickets for our Choral Pilgrimage concert there on 5 June next year are also on sale.  The second part of our Genesis Sixteen project is also taking place in Manchester over the weekend, so we are looking forward to seeing the members again (watch the Genesis Sixteen ‘behind the scenes’ video).

I am recently back from the Federation of Asian Cultural Promotion conference in Manila. You can obviously only get a passing impression in the course of a short visit, but the Spanish music influence is still evident (hence the photo); I heard some brilliant guitar playing and also enjoyed a concert by the visiting Taipei Symphony Orchestra, which has a remarkable woodwind section; I heard a remarkable young Japanese pianist, Fuyuko Nakamura; but best of all was the FEU Bamboo Band. The interest in choral singing is huge in the Philippines, so we are working hard to get our CORO CDs distributed there. Some interesting points from discussions during the conference sessions: at the rate China is building concert halls (2137 already, 4000 within 5 years) The Sixteen could do a 50-concert Choral Pilgrimage tour every year for 80 years and still not visit them all; restrictions on performing Western/Christian choral musics are easing at present; and why did no Koreans turn up this year?

The Old Town, Manila

Kirsty and Harry prepare for the pre-concert talk

The Sixteen was in Manchester last Friday evening when the Choral Pilgrimage headed for Bridgewater Hall.  A busy day, with a pre-concert talk, the concert, various receptions for our local corporate partners, a CD-signing and a welcome boost to the membership of our Patrons’ Circles.  On Saturday, Eamonn and Sally led a choral workshop for just under 70 singers from all over the North West, many of whom had attended the concert the night before.

I had to miss the Manchester visit as I was speaking at a conference of managers of professional choirs from throughout Europe.  The main topic was non-concert activity, so I was describing how we founded and run our own label, CORO.  It is intriguing to compare UK choirs, which don’t receive any significant public funding, with the choirs in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany and Denmark which are having to manage with dwindling public funding and have not yet (on the whole) developed the flexible and highly creative funding model which supports The Sixteen.  Anyway, the conference was at the  Cité de la Musique in Paris (where The Sixteen performed Messiah last September), so I can’t complain: there was time to pop into one of my favourite restaurants opposite the Gare du Nord.

Cité de la Musique, Paris