Season Overview
In October 2024, we performed Haydn's Harmoniemesse and Mozart's Solemn Vespers, both choral favourites, with organ accompaniment.
Our Christmas offering was "Christmas through the Ages", a selection of seasonal celebrations from the last millennium.
And in March we performed Bach's magnificent St Matthew Passion, in Chichester Cathedral, an event that was open to visiting singers.
Our summer concert features Rossini's Petite Messe Solenelle, which, as many of you will know, is neither petite nor solemn.
For singers we have a programme of workshops - in September the well-known choir trainer and director Jeff Stewart ran a vocal technique day, and in the New Year we spent a day exploring the great Requiem by Verdi. This will be the start of our preparations for a performance, from memory, of the Requiem, which will be open to visiting singers. This performance is scheduled for September 2025 in the Congress Theatre, Eastbourne, and you can see details of how to join in as a visiting singer here. Ahead of our concert in November in the Dorking Halls, we are holding a workshop in Reigate on Karl Jenkins' The Armed Man, on June 7th.
Scheduled Events
| Date | Event | Venue | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 9th | Open Rehearsal | Wray Common Primary School | |
| Sep 28th | Vocal Technique Workshop | St Mary's Church, Reigate | |
| Oct 19th | Haydn & Mozart | St Mary's Church, Reigate | |
| Dec 7th | Christmas through the Ages | St Mary's Church, Reigate | |
| Jan 11th | Open Workshop - Verdi Requiem | St Mary's Church, Reigate | |
| Mar 29th | Bach St Matthew Passion | Chichester Cathedral | |
| Jun 7th | Open Workshop - The Armed Man | St Mary's Church, Reigate | |
| Jun 28th | Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle | St Mary's Church, Reigate | |
| Sep 21st | Verdi Requiem, Beethoven Triple Concerto | Congress Theatre, Eastbourne | Buy Tickets Now ► |
| All Tickets ► | |||
Saturday September 28th, 2024 11am - 4pm
St Mary's Church, Reigate RH2 7RN
Find your choral voice! - An Open Workshop
with Jeff Stewart
Jeff Stewart is a professional singer, voice coach and choir trainer.
In this workshop Jeff will focus on singing with confidence, working on ensemble, tuning and intonation using a variety of vocal coaching techniques, with a special emphasis on Bach's St Matthew Passion.
St Mary's Church, Reigate RH2 7RN
Saturday October 19th, 2024 7.30pm
Haydn & Mozart
Haydn Harmoniemesse
Mozart Solemn Vespers
Grace Wexler soprano
Rachael Best-Babayeju alto
Matthew Pinto tenor
Alex Yehorychev baritone
Leslie Olive conductor
Jonathan Lilley organ
£20, £16, £12, £6 (Child/student)
Carer for Disabled no charge
St Mary's Church, Reigate RH2 7RN
Saturday December 7th, 2024 7.30pm
Christmas Through the Ages
Christmas music from the 10th Century through to the 21st, from plainchant to Rutter.
Music list ►
Leslie Olive conductor
Jonathan Lilley organ
with mulled wine and mince pies!
£20, £16, £12, £6 (Child/student)
Carer for Disabled no charge
St Mary's Church, Reigate RH2 7RN
Saturday January 11th, 2025 11am - 4pm
Open Singing Day - Verdi Requiem
Join us for a rewarding and enjoyable workshop exploring Verdi's masterpiece with Leslie Olive, the EAC's founder and artistic director. This will be the start of our preparations for a performance, from memory, of the great Requiem by Verdi in September 2025, which will be open to visiting singers.
There will be refreshments including delicious home-made cakes, and the day will conclude with an informal sing-through.
Leslie Olive director
Jonathan Lilley accompanist
£25 (including music hire)
Full-time students (aged over 17 years) £5
Chichester Cathedral, Chichester PO19 1PX
Saturday March 29th, 2025 7.15pm
Bach St Matthew Passion
With six solo singers, two choirs, two orchestras and a children’s choir, JS Bach’s telling of the passion of Jesus through the eyes of St Matthew is one of the greatest masterpieces of music. Composed almost three hundred years ago, it tracks the events of Jesus’s final days until his death on the Cross, culminating in the heart-rending chorus ‘In Tears of Grief’.
Leslie Olive conductor
Jonathan Lilley continuo
English Arts Orchestra
Tickets £35, £25, £15, £6 (students). Carer for a disabled person - no charge.
Saturday June 7th, 2025 11am - 4pm
St Mary's Church, Reigate RH2 7RN
Singing Day - The Armed Man
Join us for an exhilarating day singing Karl Jenkins' popular The Armed Man, under the inspiring leadership of the EAC's Founding Director Leslie Olive, in the eightieth anniversary year of the ending of World War 2.
St Mary's Church, Reigate RH2 7RN
Saturday June 28th, 2025 6pm
Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle
Katherine Gregory soprano
Clover Kayne mezzo soprano
James Hutchings tenor
Theo Nisbett bass-baritone
Leslie Olive conductor
Jonathan Lilley piano
Ian le Grice harmonium
Tickets £20, £16, £12, £6 (students). Carer for a disabled person - no charge.
Online Booking Now Closed - Tickets Available on the Door