Choir of Royal Holloway release “The Hours” – choral music by Ben Parry

The new recording from the Royal Holloway Choir and conducted by Rupert Gough celebrates the music of Ben Parry.  Ben’s diverse compositions and arrangements include the popular Faber Carol Book and a burgeoning catalogue of choral music for Edition Peters and Oxford University Press.  Many pieces on this recording set the words of poems by Garth Bardsley, who says about Ben’s work “all of my poems stand alone but given the Parry treatment, I know that they take flight.”

1. Sun Soul
2. Early one morning
3. First Day
4. My heart’s in the Highlands
5. Music: An Ode
6. Spring Sonnet I
7. Spring Sonnet II
8. Ye banks and braes o’ bonnie Doon
9. Snow
10. New Year Carol
11. My spirit sang all day (watch on YouTube here)
12. O nata lux de lumine
13. Ave verum corpus
14. God be in my head
15. The Lord’s Prayer
16. Sonnet XXVII
17. Ar hyd a nos
18. Nunc Dimittis
19. Golden slumbers
20. Eclipse
21. Lighten our darkness

Listen to the album from your preferred source from this link.

More info is available from Signum Records here.

Apollo5 winners at The Music Teacher awards 2018

Best Classical Music Education Initiative at the Music Teacher awards 2018

In partnership with United Learning and long term friend and collaborator Alexander L’Estrange, Apollo5has been awarded Best Classical Music Education Initiative 2018 at the UK Music Teacher Awards. ‘Wassail’, a new work commissioned by United Learning was performed in London’s Southwark Cathedral and at the RNCM in Manchester in November 2017.

The VCM Foundation team delivered the majority of the workshops in United Learning Schools, and formed the professional choir for the two concerts, which included nearly 1,000 children from schools all across the UK.

The team members who were involved in making this project a success were Clare Stewart (Apollo5), Greg Link (Apollo5), Oliver Martin-Smith (Apollo5), Penny Appleyard (Apollo5), Lizzie Humphries (VOCES8 Scholar), Katie Jeffries-Harris (VOCES8 Scholar), Rebekah Jones (VCM Foundation), Laurel Neighbour (VOCES8 Scholar), Charlotte Brosnan (Apollo5 alumna) Charles MacDougall (VOCES8 alumnus), Harry Bennett (Apollo5 alumnus) Ann Wright (VCM Foundation), Paul Smith (VOCES8 alumnus).

‘Supporting schools with learning and performing “Wassail” took our team to rural Lancashire, Salford, Northamptonshire, South London and West Sussex to name just a few of the places. In many cases the schools had never worked with professional singers before. In some, “Wassail” was the catalyst to starting a school choir. It was such a pleasure to support so many teachers and pupils.’ (Ann Wright, VCM Education Manager)