Season Overview
A short but most enjoyable and successful tour to Siena, in the heart of Tuscany, kicked off our 39th season. We sang two concerts and, in the opinion of conductor Leslie Olive, gave possibly the best performance of Paul Carr's Stabat Mater the EAC has ever given.
Our Messiah Singing Day (see below) raised £500 for Coram, the successor to the childeren's charity that Handel himself supported, and in October we travelled to Suffolk for a concert in St Edmundsbury Cathedral, with Savitri Grier playing and directing Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Then we moved on to Ely the following day for a concert in the Lady Chapel of Ely Cathedral. Both these concerts featured the Chorale singing Paul Carr's Stabat Mater, commissioned and recently recorded by the EAC. You can buy your copy of the CD here ►
Our December concert in Reigate featured the World Pemière of Paul Carr's Gloria, commissioned by the EAC. Also in the programme were the Mozart Flute & Harp Concerto and Britten's Ceremony of Carols, and then we had our traditional Christmas concert of festive music and readings in Bletchingley.
In 2019 we held another well-attended open singing day, this time exploring John Rutter's Requiem and Requiem for an Angel by Paul Carr, directed by Leslie Olive.
Our 40th season celebrations were anticipated in April with a performance of Handel's Messiah in St Mary's Church, Reigate. Four gifted young soloists and the highly-professional English Arts Orchestra (drawn chiefly from the membership of the Philarmonia Orchestra) combined with the Chorale to give a memorable performance to the packed church.
In May we made our first appearance at the Festival of English Music in Dorchester Abbey, Oxfordshire. This festival, which was established in 2006, was founded to promote English music, in particular works of contemporary composers and works which are seldom performed. Our programme, in the presence of the composer Paul Carr, included his Stabat mater, commissioned by the EAC, and the Oboe Concerto of Ralph Vaughan Williams, with the eminent Nicholas Daniel as soloist.
The season came to a close with our summer concert in St Mary's Church, Reigate, with a programme based around John Rutter's collection of folk-song arrangements, Sprig of Thyme.
Open Singing Day
Handel's Messiah
Leslie Olive, EAC founder and artistic director, leads this singing day exploring the choral singers' and concert-goers' perennial favourite, Messiah. The day is in aid of Coram, the children's charity, which has evolved from the pioneering work of Thomas Coram, who established the Foundling Hospital in 1741. Handel was one of Thomas Coram's first supporters.
Proceeds from the Singing Day, including fund-raising activities and a retiring collection, a total of £500, were donated to Coram.
St Mary's Church, Reigate RH2 7RN
Saturday September 22nd, 2018 10am - 4pm
Ticket Prices: £20, £5 (Students)
Project Manager Christine Arnold said:
"Thanks to everyone who made this such a special occasion, and particularly to Coram, Cullenders Delicatessen, La Barbe Restaurant, Priory Garden Centre, Art of Living, and Gedo Clothing, who all donated generous raffle prizes. We raised £500 for Coram, the children's charity whose fore-runner Handel supported."
Paul Carr Ubi Caritas
Vivaldi Four Seasons (soloist and director : Savitri Grier)
Interval
Paul Carr Stabat mater
Suffolk Philharmonic Ensemble
Conducted by Leslie Olive
Saturday October 27th, 2018 7.30pm
Ticket Prices £22, £18, £15, U18s/full-time students £4. Carer for disabled - no charge.
Project Manager: Nyren Scott-Malden
Paul Carr Ubi Caritas
Paul Carr Stabat mater
Chilcott Irish Blessing
Chilcott Londonderrière
Lauridsen Sure on this shining night
Whitacre This marriage
Gjeilo The Ground
Conducted by Leslie Olive
Keyboard James Gough
Sunday October 28th, 2018 5.30pm
Ticket Prices: £8, U18s/full-time students £4. Carer for disabled - no charge.
Click here to check accessibility ►
Project Manager: Nyren Scott-Malden
Paul Carr Ubi caritas
Mozart Flute & Harp Concerto
Vaughan Williams Greensleeves
Britten Ceremony of Christmas Carols
Interval
Paul Carr Gloria (World Première)
Hope Lavelle soprano
Elizabeth Green harp
Gareth Hanson flute
Conducted by Leslie Olive
St Mary's Church, Chart Lane, Reigate RH2 7RN
Saturday December 1st, 2018 7.30pm
Ticket Prices: £22 (Front Nave), £17 (Rear Nave), £12, U18s/full-time students £6. Disabled and carer - two tickets at half-price.
More details about the venue, including Accessibility ►
Project Manager: Nyren Scott-Malden
The Chorale's traditional Christmas celebration, with a new programme of carols, festive songs and readings.
Conductor: Leslie Olive
Keyboard: James Gough
St Mary's Church, Church Lane, Bletchingley RH1 4PD
Saturday December 15th, 2018
Ticket Prices: £14 (Nave), £10 (Aisles). Usual concessions.
Leslie Olive will guide us through Paul Carr's Requiem for an Angel and the Requiem of John Rutter.
St Mary's Church, Chart Lane, Reigate RH2 7RN
Saturday February 9th, 2019 10am - 4pm
Ticket Prices: £20, £5 (Students)
This performance of Handel's Messiah is taking place exactly 260 years since the last performance that Handel himself attended, in Covent Garden in 1759, just 8 days before he died.
And more recently, in 1980, Messiah was the first work performed by the English Arts Chorale, then in its first incarnation as the St Mary's Chorus, also in St Mary's Church.
English Arts Orchestra
Conducted by Leslie Olive
Soprano - Hope Lavelle
Alto - Florence Pettet
Tenor - James Edgeler
Bass - Jamie Wright
SCHOOL GROUPS - for each group of 5 school-children, one adult is eligible for a free £12 ticket (side aisles only). Call our Schools Group Ticket Order Hotline on 07783 536174.
The Festival of English Music was established to give a platform to those many powerful and lovely works by British composers – primarily of the late-nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries – that for so many years were all-too-rarely heard. The EAC has been invited to contribute a concert to the 2019 Oxfordshire festival, featuring Paul Carr's Stabat mater, commissioned and recently recorded by the EAC and published by EM Records, the recording arm of the Festival.
Carr Ubi caritas
Carr The Lamb
Bliss Birthday Song for a Royal Child
Bliss Cradle Song for a Newborn Child
Gjeilo Ubi caritas
Vaughan Williams Oboe Concerto
Finzi Prelude
Carr Oboe Concerto (2nd Mvt) - "The unusual quietness of snow"
Carr Stabat Mater
English Arts Orchestra
Leader: Peter Nall
Conductor: Leslie Olive
Oboe: Nicholas Daniel
Dorchester Abbey, High Street, Dorchester-on-Thames OX10 7HH
Saturday May 25th, 2019 7.00pm
Project Manager: English Music Festival
Music for a summer afternoon, followed by prosecco and cake
A concert in a lighter mood, to suit the season, followed by prosecco and cake.
Vaughan Williams Linden Lea
Bliss Birthday Song for a Royal Child
Bliss Cradle Song for a Newborn Child
Scarborough Fair
Londonderry Air
Rutter Look to the Day
Mendelssohn Verleih uns Frieden
Whitacre This Marriage
Roberton All in the April Evening
Chilcott Irish Blessing
Rutter The Sprig of Thyme
Piazzolla Oblivion (oboe : Greg Ardan)
Douglas Tang piano
Leslie Olive conductor
St Mary's Church, Chart Lane, Reigate RH2 7RN
Saturday July 13th, 2019 4pm
Ticket Prices: £12, £5 (U18s & full-time students)