To help raise fund for vital repairs to the roof of the church, the acclaimed international chamber choir, Sharcott Chamber Group on Saturday 1 June at 6:30pm will be holding a choral music evening at the church – St Peter’s in Manningford.
Rachel McCorry will be leading the group in ‘My Spirit Sang All Day’, and will feature a selection of timeless, sacred and secular choral music from across the centuries, including works by Finzi, Mozart, Mendelssohn and Bruckner.
The choir is a tightly-knit ensemble based in Wiltshire who have shared years of musical experiences including tours in the US, the Netherlands, France and Belgium. They have chosen St Peter’s Church because of its excellent acoustic and are kindly donating their services in return for using the space for a recording earlier this month.
The group of nineteen singers who will sing in Manningford Church were an auditioned subset of ‘The Village Singers’. Founded by Rachel, the choir is an ensemble of around seventy musicians, although only nineteen will be singing in Manningford on 1 June, and they range in age from teenage to 80 year olds, and all from around Wiltshire. The group began singing in the pub at Sutton Benger but quickly grew and relocated to a village school before moving to St. Andrew’s, Chippenham under the musical directorship of Rachel McCorry. The choir’s repertoire includes sacred and choral pieces, classical and opera, spirituals, folk, pop and show tunes.
In 2014 the choir sang in Ypres Cathedral and at the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing in Bruges. Three years later in 2017 they performed in three stunning Paris venues – Eglise de la Madeleine, Eglise St Louis en l’Ile and Eglise St Germain l’Auxerrois. In January 2019 they performed the US Premier of Symphonic Adiemus, in Carnegie Hall, New York, as part of an international choir with composer, Sir Karl Jenkins Jenkins in residence. Earlier this year, Rachel took a small group for a return trip to Carnegie Hall and to celebrate the end of her time with The Village Singers, they have very recently completed a tour in Amsterdam.
And on Saturday 1 June, it will be St Peter’s, Manningford.
For information and tickets, e-mail Genevieve Clarke at: genevieve.clarke@btinternet.com
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