A READING music group is planning a concert to celebrate King Charles’ ascension to the throne.
Reading Phoenix Choir will perform Majesty! Music For A King And More.
It promises to be filled with coronation classics and well known British choral music, including works written for previous coronations.
Zadok The Priest, and I Was Glad, will be performed along with Stanford’s Coronation Gloria.
And work by British composers Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, Samuel Wesley and Ralph Vaughan Williams will also be heard.
“We wanted something a bit different, and that’s when we had the idea of the coronation,” says Rosie Macmillan, chair of Reading Phoenix Choir.
“It gives us an opportunity to perform some wonderful classics.
“Chris Hann, our musical director, decided the concert would work well as a collection of all British composers, and the whole programme now has a celebratory feel.
“It’s uplifting and joyful, and the choir is enjoying rehearsing the pieces – we love singing them.
“The Stanford Gloria, for example, is a bit of a romp – it’s difficult, but great fun to sing.
“There are some quieter moments too, though, and of course the Great Hall has a lovely accoustic.”
The choir is pleased to welcome Welsh organist Christopher Enston, who will play William Walton’s coronation piece, Crown Imperial, as well as supporting the choral pieces.
A royally good evening of music is promised, in advance of the King’s coronation in May.
The event takes place at The Great Hall, University of Reading, on Saturday, March 4.
Doors open at 7.30pm, and tickets cost £15, or £3 for under 16s.
Concessions for families are: £16 for a small family (one adult, one child) and £30 for a larger family (two adults and up to two children).
For tickets and more information, visit: www.readingphoenixchoir.com
