“Can You Hear Me?” – Mental health at heart of new single from the Choir of Royal Holloway

Rupert Gough and The Choir of Royal Holloway have released CAN YOU HEAR ME? a new single with soprano Laura Wright, raising awareness of mental health and encouraging people to seek support and donate to mental health charities. The track, written by composer Thomas Hewitt Jones and lyricist Matt Harvey, speaks of the loneliness and despair felt by many around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. Released by Signum Records, proceeds from the single will be donated to a number of UK-based mental health charities.

With the aim to guide people to seek help, the accompanying music video provides links to staystrong.org.uk. The #StayStrong campaign provides invaluable links to numerous mental health charities around the UK.

Listen to the track from your favourite provider here.

Watch the glorious video here.

Rupert Gough, Director of The Choir of Royal Holloway, says “All the musicians involved hope that the music will bring comfort and strength to many. They have enjoyed creating this single but they themselves face loneliness and despair as our singers are unlikely to be able to unite and sing together as a musical family for some time to come. Mental health was already an ever-increasing problem amongst university students and now, more than ever, we need to Stay Strong”.

Composer Thomas Hewitt Jones says “It was an absolute pleasure to be asked by Rupert Gough to compose and produce a lockdown single for him and the Royal Holloway choir together with eminent singer Laura Wright. For the lyrics I turned to my long-term collaborator Matt Harvey and we are so delighted to have written and recorded this to spread awareness of the fact that we all have mental health, and that there is no shame in anyone asking for help in difficult times.”

During the lockdown, Laura Wright has been working for a variety of organisations, charities and vulnerable individuals in her fight to address both the short and long term mental challenges of enforced isolation. Laura says, “I was so honoured to be invited to be part of this beautiful message. So many people are currently suffering in silence with loneliness and are showing signs of depression. The first step to healing is to open up and talk to someone about the thoughts in your head. We must look out for people around us asking “Can You Hear Me?” We mustn’t stop showing kindness. Kindness is key.”

Choir of Royal Holloway sing at China-UK International Music Festival

The Choir of Royal Holloway, conducted by Rupert Gough, has given a stunning recital at the China-UK International Music Festival, in the Octagon Building of Queen Mary University of London. CUIMF was founded in early 2018, and is co-hosted by the China-UK International Music Festival Organising Committee, the Music Department of Queen Mary University of London, the London Confucius Institute at SOAS, and the Chinese Classical Instruments Studio (CCIS). Cultural exchange is very much to the fore, with the choir’s programme containing a mix of music from both China and the UK. Many of the Chinese songs came from Half Moon Rising, published by Edition Peters.

Pictured below are members of the choir with Chinese musicians.

New album for Choir of Royal Holloway

Premiere recordings of James Francis Brown

The Choir of Royal Holloway is the choir on “The Heavens and the Heart”, the new album from Resonus Classics featuring the music of contemporary British composer James Francis Brown.

Under conductor George Vass, Catriona Scott and the choir vividly bring to life Brown’s Clarinet Concerto (Lost Lanes – Shallow Groves) and his inspired trio of psalm settings The Heavens and the Heart.

James Francis Brown studied composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He has made significant contributions to chamber music, and has arranged several well-known pieces for the Royal Opera House and the City of London Festival. He has held multiple fellowships and composer-in-residence titles, including at the International Musicians Seminar, Prussia Cove, and Ulverston Festival.

You can buy the album direct from Resonus Classics here.

Or stream on Spotify here

Choir of Royal Holloway tour Canada and USA

Following the successful 2016 tour the Choir of Royal Holloway is once again touring Canada and the USA. The repertoire ranges from Europe, the Baltic States and the USA with composers such as William Byrd, Ola Gjeilo, Eriks Esenvalds, René Clausen and Daniel Knaggs.

8th April Winspear Centre, University of Alberta, EDMONTON – 3:00pm
10th April Christ Church Cathedral, VICTORIA – 7:30pm
11th April St James’ Anglican Church, VANCOUVER – 7:30pm
13th April St Mark’s Episcopal Church, SAN ANTONIO – 7:00pm
15th April Church of the Incarnation, DALLAS – Concert – 4:00pm
17th April St. Martha’s Church, Porter, HOUSTON – 7:30pm

Follow everything the choir posts at its Facebook page.

Choir of Royal Holloway perform at Holy Week Festival

Monday 26th March at 6pm Saint John’s Smith Square, London

Monday 26th March at 6pm

St John’s Smith Square, London

As part of the Holy Week Festival curated by the choir Tenebrae, the Choir of Royal Holloway under the direction of Rupert Gough will give an hour’s recital at London’s St John’s Smith Square in March 26th. Called “Into the Night”, the programme is an exotic mix of sacred and secular music features composers from the USA, Lithuania and Latvia. The opening works by Ēriks Ešenvalds and René Clausen set evocative American poetry by Sara Teasdale and Walt Whitman. Appropriately for Holy Week the images of night and death are intertwined as the programme moves from Morton Lauridsen’s three Nocturnes to a setting of the Tenebrae responsory by Lithuanian Vytautas Miškinis and concludes with settings of contemporary Latvian poetry.

Ēriks Ešenvalds Evening
René Clausen A clear midnight
Morton Lauridsen Nocturnes
Vytautas Miškinis Dum medium silentium
Vytautas Miškinis Tenebrae
Arturs Maskats Lugums naktij ‘Prayer to the night’
Ēriks Ešenvalds Long Road

See more about the concert and book tickets here.

The choir’s website is www.chapelchoir.co.uk

The Choir of Royal Holloway’s new album release

Ola Gjeilo’s “Winter Songs” for Decca Classics

High summer saw Ola Gjeilo in London recording his new album for Decca Classics – “Winter Songs”. Rupert Gough conducted the Royal Holloway Choir, the Twelve Ensemble and Ola on piano in a set of beautiful tracks reflecting the winter season, in which Christmas tracks mix with original compositions.

Following on from Ola’s first Decca Classics album, which included tracks performed by VOCES8, this new album release is sure to be just as popular.

You can see more about the release at the Decca Classics website here, and on YouTube here and here.

Most importantly, you can pre-order the album here.

Choir of Royal Holloway records with Ola Gjeilo and Decca Classics

Seasonal pieces for a cosy wintertide

Under the hot summer sun The Choir of Holloway has been recording seasonal winter and Christmas songs this month by the composer and pianist Ola Gjeilo. Destined to be a release from Decca Classics this December, the playlist features Ola’s arrangements of well-known traditional carols as well as some of his original compositions for choir, piano and strings (the superb 12 Ensemble), all conducted by Rupert Gough. The album is the follow-up to Ola’s first Decca album.

This summer the choir will give concerts in France. See the details here.