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Now
in their 39th season, Winchester's Waynflete Singers are a jewel in the crown
of the city's rich musical life. Named after the fifteenth-century Bishop
of Winchester, William of Waynflete, the choir was founded in 1970 to enable
the performance of large-scale choral works in the city's own cathedral. The
Waynflete Singers have enjoyed the privilege of being conducted by Winchester
Cathedral's successive directors of music over the years - Alwyn Surplice, Martin
Neary, David Hill (now Chief Conductor of The BBC Singers and Musical Director
of The Bach Choir) and now Andrew Lumsden who joined
in 2002 and is in fact a former pupil of Winchester College. Andrew
previously achieved great success in the cathedral music sphere at Lichfield.
Our accompanist is Simon Bell whom we welcome from
Southwell Minster.
Choir members are drawn from many walks of life and from all over the region. They are admitted by audition only and number over 120 voices. Weekly rehearsals, under the Director's baton, are held in the magnificent medieval hall in Pilgrim's School in the Cathedral Close. Periodically they also receive training from Hilary Llystyn Jones, a well known voice specialist and resident of the city.
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The
choir performs four or five times a year in the Cathedral and has a
fine reputation for giving concerts of a high standard, using professional
soloists and orchestras. Notably they enjoy a link with the Bournemouth
Symphony Orchestra and Chorus which has flourished over many years.
This has produced a number of memorable performances and recordings,
including a CD of Walton's Belshazzar's Feast which won a Grammy award. In
March 2007 the choir was privileged to be directed by Marin Alsop principal
conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in a memorable performance
of Brahms' Requiem. Belshazzar was again performed by the choir to a packed Cathedral in July 2007 opening the Winchester Festival with great style. Another notable relationship is with Florilegium, one of Britain's most outstanding period instrument ensembles, and they joined the choir most recently performing Bach's mighty Mass in B Minor in March 2008, a memorable musical experience for both the choir and the audience. The Waynflete Singers have acquired an extensive repertoire ranging from early music to challenging twentieth-century works. They regularly commission new works, the latest of which 'Summer', by Roxanna Panufnik, will receive its world premiere in the Cathedral in 2009. On Good Friday 2008the Waynflete Singers were heard at the culmination of the 'Winchester Passion' when a recording was played of a new commission by Sir John Tavener - Adoremus (The Winchester Prayer). |
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have appeared at BBC
Promenade Concerts in the Royal Albert Hall, London: with the Bach Magnificat
under Martin Neary in 1982; in Orff's Carmina Burana, conducted by Richard
Hickox, televised live on BBC2 in 1994; also in John Taverner's Song
of the Cosmos in 2001, conducted by David Hill.
The
Waynflete Singers also performed in front of tens of thousands, both at
the Queen's Official Golden Jubilee Celebrations
in The Mall with the Bach Choir, and at the official 60th anniversary
London commemorations of the ending of World War II [photos].
Other venues have included Music in the Air at the Middle Wallop Airshow,
St Pauls Cathedral for the City of London Festival, The Queen Elizabeth
Hall on the South Bank, Cheltenham Festival, Poole, The Anvil Basingstoke,
Bournemouth, Bristol, Croydon, Portsmouth and Truro Cathedral. In
1994, the choir took part in the celebrations for the 50th anniversary
of D-day, touring eight venues in Normandy singing Brahms's Ein Deutsches
Requiem. >> Past Concerts
. The Waynflete Singers Constitution can be read here. |
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Please
send comments on this website to the Web Manager,
David Reece web@waynfletesingers.org.uk
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This page updated 15 September 2008The Waynflete Singers Registered Charity no. 285107
