Sincere thanks for a remarkable and memorable evening. It was evident that the audience thoroughly enjoyed our evening of Gilbert & Sullivan, and we all found it to be an enjoyable experience as well. Plus, we successfully achieved our annual target to donate £2K to the Barts Cancer Unit!
Rehearsals for the Autumn term will begin again on Friday 4th September. We will be preparing Elijah for our Come & Sing event in November. And we eagerly anticipate the final act of Parsifal at the beginning of November.
I don’t think we’ve had a year quite like this one. It all started with our Come & Sing event in February, where we performed Brahms Requiem, followed by Joanna Forbes L’Estrange’s commission of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons re-imagined, with Joanna herself in attendance. In May, we had our Verdi Opera Day, so the year got off to a busy and lively start.
Our Summer Concert, featuring Haydn’s “La Reine” and CPE Bach’s Magnificat, was a lovely way to mark the end of the season. Then, in Autumn, our concert with a double helping of Dvorak was a joyful return to singing and playing together.
We were thrilled to see so many people turn up for our Come & Sing on Saturday 23rd November of Mozart’s Requiem, Fauré’s Requiem and Haydn’s Nelson Mass – we were struggling to find enough seats! We are thankful to all our soloists and to the orchestra for leading us through a packed programme. Singing in a relaxed setting on a Saturday afternoon was just what was needed, and it was clear that everyone knew the Nelson Mass really well; there were many beautiful moments.
In December, we returned to The Great Hall in Barts North Wing following its two-year restoration programme. Beautifully refreshed and impressive as ever, The Hall sparkled as talented musicians performed concertos featuring lead instruments by Mozart and Albinoni. In the second half, the programme was filled with festive favourites, including the Three Kings with a brave baritone singing a counter-melody solo, and much-loved choruses from Handel’s Messiah. Many thanks to the staff and event attendants who were on hand to ensure the smooth running of the evening.
BAFCO CHRISTMAS CONCERT 2025 – ORCHESTRA & CHOIR
And now…
With the arrival of January, choir rehearsals begin again on Friday 9th at 7 pm in Barts-the-Less Church. This term, we’ll be looking at Wagner’s Parsifal for the Opera Days (one each term) and revisiting well-known pieces like Verdi’s Requiem for the Come & Sing in February, as well as Puccini’s Messa di Gloria for our Easter Concert.
If you’d be interested in singing with us, please get in touch through our Contact Us page or give us a call.
SAVE THE DATE Saturday 24th January – we’ll need an audience for Wagner’s Parsifal! If you would like to sing in the chorus, join the rehearsal the evening before. Saturday 21st February – Come & Sing… Verdi’s Requiem at Holy Sepulchre Monday 23rd March – Easter Concert in The Great Hall, Barts North Wing
Thanks to all the musicians and singers on Monday night at our Dvorak Autumn Concert. And to our helpers for organising and serving refreshments at our penultimate event in the National Musicians’ Church.
We have appreciated the incredible support and friendship of Holy Sepulchre during the closure of the Great Hall at Barts. Last season, we raised £2,000 for the Cancer Unit at Barts – to be used for improving facilities for patients and staff. We also donated to Holy Sepulchre from our Come & Sing events.
Thank you all for your continued support and donations, we know it will make a difference to the Cancer Unit.
Come and sing… No need to book – listeners welcome too!
We continue this term preparing for our next event, an instant performance of MozartRequiem, FauréRequiem and Haydn NelsonMass – favourites and well-known repertoire for seasoned singers.
Join us on Saturday 22nd November at Holy Sepulchre, find your voice section and take a seat.
Baton down at 2 pm, when we will be joined by soloists and the orchestra. Refreshment will be available during the breaks and the afternoon’s event is expected to finish by 5 pm.
Entry is free! Donations to Barts Cancer Unit and Holy Sepulchre are welcome (cash only).
Venue
Holy Sepulchre, Holborn Viaduct, London, EC1A 2DQ
Nearest public transport
Train – City Thameslink (Holborn Viaduct) Tube – St Paul’s, Barbican, Farringdon Bus – 8, 25, 46, 56, 59, 133
Do send a message via our Contact Us page if you have any queries.
Thank you to everyone involved in our Summer Concert, it was a delightful evening.
After a summer break, rehearsals begin again on Friday 5th September when we’ll continue rehearsing Dvorak’s Mass in D major for our Autumn Concert, joined by the orchestra playing Dvorak’s Symphony No 6.
In November, there will be a ‘Come & Sing‘ event of Mozart Requiem, Fauré Requiem & Haydn Nelson Mass, following which we’ll be preparing for our Christmas Concert.
Enjoy Singing?
Join our choir, a small Barts choir with orchestra
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Joanna Forbes L’Estrange for attending our Easter Concert to hear us perform her new work, A Season to Sing – a re-imagining of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. Having Joanna in the audience and engaging in conversation with her was a truly wonderful experience.
After a well-deserved break, choir rehearsals commence on Friday 9th May at 7 pm in Barts-the-Less Church in preparation for our Opera Day taking place on Saturday 10th May of Verdi’s Il Trovadore, 2-5 pm at Holy Sepulchre Church on Holborn Viaduct.
And starting on Friday 16th May, the choir will be rehearsing CPE Bach’s Magnificat for soloists, choir and chamber orchestra, to be performed as part of our Summer Concert.
SAVE THE DATE
Friday 9th May – rehearsal of Verdi’s Il Trovatore
Saturday 10th May – Opera Performance Day, 2-5 pm at Holy Sepulchre
Friday 16th May – start rehearsing CPE Bach’s Magnificat
Monday 7th July – Summer Concert, 7.30 pm at Holy Sepulchre
Season’s greetings and a big thank you to musicians, singers, helpers and, of course, audience for making our Christmas Concert such a success. We raised a considerable amount for Barts Cancer Unit and had an enjoyable evening ahead of the festive season.
Choir rehearsals restart at 7 pm on Friday 10th January in Barts-the-Less Church, in the grounds of Barts Hospital. And we are looking forward to:
Our ‘Come & Sing’ instant concert of Brahms Requiem in German on Saturday 22nd February at 2pm.
And we will be one of the choirs performing the new composition of ‘A Season to Sing’ by Joanna Forbes L’Estrange, a choral re-imagining of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, on Monday 14th April at 7.30 pm.
Then in May, there will be an opera performance of Il Trovatore on Saturday 10th May at 2pm.
If you enjoy singing and would like to take part in these events, please send us a message via our Contact Us page.
Barts Academic Festival Choir & Orchestra 
You must be logged in to post a comment.