Conductor seeks summertime singers
A Suffolk orchestra conductor is on the lookout for confident, experienced choral singers from all over Suffolk for a one-off celebratory event in August when most amateur choirs are having a break.
Conductor Leslie Olive (pictured above) wants 100 singers to perform alongside the fully professional Suffolk Philharmonic Orchestra and four great soloists in a dramatised performance of Elijah, by Felix Mendelssohn.
Elijah is the story of one man who continued to stand up for what he knew to be right even when everyone else turned against him.
The story, from the Bible, is about an actual person who lived around 900BC.
In the Bible story, Elijah never died. Instead, he was taken by “a fiery chariot” into heaven.
Felix Mendelssohn was a gifted composer who died at the age of just 38 having written some of the best-loved classical pieces of today, such as “Fingal’s Cave”, a musical picture of in island in the Hebrides.
Conductor Leslie Olive says: “This performance of Elijah will be one of the great highlights of my year.
“I just need 100 really good choral singers to give it enough punch.
“They need to be good because there are only five rehearsals.
“Anyone signing up won’t be alone because I already have 50 singers, so there are only 50 places left.
“Anyone interested can find out all the details by going to www.suffolkphil.org/sing-elijah and signing up if they like the sound of it.
The concert is on Saturday, August 22, at 7pm at St Mary’s Church, in Bury St Edmunds.
Tickets to be in the audience for Elijah are available now from the website of the Bury St Edmunds Theatre Royal: booking@theatreroyal.org
For further information please contact Leslie Olive leslie.olive@suffolkphil.org
This sounds like a wonderful opportunity! I’m glad to see the Bury St Edmunds summer concert series is continuing, and the prospect of a performance in the Abbey Gardens is particularly appealing. I might just dust off my vocal cords and give it a try.
Hi hairtypes!
Thanks for your lovely comment on the Elijah project. We’re nearly there now. The choir is going to be about 80 people from all over Suffolk and even one or two from beyond, rather than the 100 I had dreamed of. But boy, are they good! Hope you’ll come and hear us! Our bright yellow ELIJAH banner went up over Abbeygate Street this morning, I believe (I haven’t had a chance to look at it yet!), so more fun to come!
This sounds like a wonderful opportunity! I love the idea of focusing on shorter, accessible pieces like folk songs, and the mention of performing at local care homes and community events really warms my heart. It’s fantastic to see such an inclusive approach to sharing music, and I hope many singers sign up!
Hi markdown viewer
Thanks for your lovely comment on the Elijah project. It looks like I’m going to have just over 80 singers rather than the full 100 I had dreamt of, but we are having a GREAT time mastering the fabulous music for Saturday week, 22nd August at St Mary’s Church in Bury St Edmunds, when we will have four fabulous solo singers, plus Suffolk Philharmonic Orchestra, plus this big big choir. Do come and experience ELIJAH with a “hint of theatre!”
It’s wonderful to see a conductor inviting singers to come together for summertime music-making. I hope the group attracts a diverse mix of voices and creates a welcoming experience for everyone involved.
Hi online clipboard!
Love your kind remark about the conductor inviting singers for summertime singing. I’ve been inviting people to sing for a very very long time, and there must have been many thousands by now. The gang we’ve got for ELIJAH are great to work with and we are having a lot of fun! Do come and hear us at St Mary’s Church in Bury St Edmunds on Saturday week (22nd August) at 7.0 if you can. The Elijah story is a great story and full of human feeling both sad and happy, and it has a really great ending!