The Serlo Consort » News

Workshop a great success!

Kit — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 23:04:47 +0000

Dr David Allinson, a renowned expert in the field of choral music and in particular, Renaissance music, accompanied by? Kit Perona-Wright, gave a workshop to members of various choirs in Carshalton. Humour was mixed in with a lot of hard work (!), and the 60 participants were put through their paces in the fields of ensemble singing, vocal technique and the music of Henry Purcell - who is one of the composers celebrating a major anniversary this year.

Great fun was had by all, and many were asking straight away when the next one would be arranged. Watch this space….!

A welcome return to Grantham…

Kit — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 20:00:44 +0000

10 singers making up a small group from The Serlo Consort were delighted to perform for a receptive and full audience in Grantham. It is the 3rd time the group has performed in the local area for music societies and festivals, and many of the audience had heard us before. We were invited by the Grantham Music Society, and after a succesful concert - are hoping to be invited back to perform again!

Members of Serlo perform in ‘Credo’

Kit — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 17:35:29 +0000

Three members of The Serlo Consort perform in a short tour of the modern oratorio ‘Credo’ by John Featherstone. This took in concerts in Cambridge, Oakham and Paris over 10 days in November 2008. John Featherstone is a Christian musician and composer based in France, and is? supported by a charitable trust, Powerline, and he performs and writes music for bands and choirs alike.

His modern oratorio ‘Credo’, is set for orchestra, gospel singers/soloists and a quartert of ‘classical’ singers. Several members of Serlo took part in the original recording of the work some years ago, and three members were invited to make up the classical quartet alongside the composer for this current tour.

Find out more about John via his website: www.johnfeatherstone.com

Read the review of our recent Bristol concert…!

Kit — Fri, 30 May 2008 13:45:06 +0000

We performed the second of our two concerts in association with the MBF at the end of May. The first was in Norwich (which you can read about in a previous post), and this one was in Bristol at the beautiful Lord Mayor’s Chapel. We sang to a large and appreciative audience, and we received a good review from the Bristol ‘Evening Post’: -

…they presented a varied programme, starting with music from Latin America, in which they sang three contrasting numbers and the harmony was brilliantly controlled….Three arrangements of well-known songs really showed their versatility. The Billy Joel number was followed by an exquisite performance of Eric Clapton’s ‘Tears in Heaven’, in which all the pathos was cleverly presented. musical Director Kit Perona-Wright gave us several little-known facts about the music, and had complete control of the singers. 8 out of 10

Norwich workshop for GCSE/A-level students

Kit — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:06:31 +0000

David McKee, alongside other members of The Serlo Consort, led an afternoon workshop for students working towards their music GCSE & A-levels. In addition to vocal technique, the students worked through a series of pieces in different styles related to their exams with some even on the listening papers.

They managed to sing in parts both accompanied and unaccompanied, and we finished off the session by performing in the Cathedral itself. It was a fun day for everyone involved - so look out for more workshops in the future!

Norwich concert receives critical acclaim…!

Kit — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:43:19 +0000

Our concert, in association with the MBF, held in Norwich Cathedral last Saturday was extremely well received by the audience. The critic from the Eastern Daily Press wrote: -

Here was a mixed vocal group it is a pity to miss….it was an entertaining hour of high-class singing. Conducted by their founder, Kit Perona-Wright, who also accompanied many items, the programme - in neatly defined sections - moved from finely balanced sounds of Latin American Music and joyfully rhythmic pieces, to the master of polyphony, William Byrd.

A lighter section emphasised the group’s versatility, brilliantly showing that The Serlo Consort can relax into a song. I’m so glad I was aware of their visit!

We repeat the concert at the Lord Mayor’s Chapel (Park Street), Bristol, and hope to see many of you there. Tickets available on the door, or from us directly.

Praise for our ‘St. John Passion’ performance…

Kit — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:20:52 +0000

Many favourable comments have been received since our performance of the brilliant work, ‘The Passion according to St. John’ by J. S. Bach.

Our major sponsor, Elphick Estate Agents, wrote to say “Congratulations on the concert last Saturday, it was much appreciated and very well received on the evening, and I wish you all the best for the future.”

Other audience comments include: “Words cannot express how much we enjoyed the performance of ‘The Passion’ in Ashtead. You are all to be congratulated on a first-class concert!” Mr J. Dix

“Once again, my thanks to you for another wonderful concert. Yesterday was a great success: an excellent choir, excellently conducted with excellent accompaniment!” Mr P. Hudson

“The concert was absolutely fabulous! I don’t know what my husband and I were expecting, but we left feeling in awe.” Mrs S. Whitehead

” I felt the need to drop you a line to congratulate you and the choir for a finely tuned & evocative performance on Saturday. From the build-up of the opening chorus to the final chorale, the superb musicianship of all concerned shone through. Your inspired direction of the performers makes the group excel, and it has (and will continue to be) a privilege to listen to your performances.” Mr P. Abnett

Venue changed for Norwich concert…

Kit — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 16:29:30 +0000

We are pleased to announce that we have secured the use of Norwich Cathedral to use for our concert in April. This is a change from using the church of St. Peter Mancroft.

We are delighted to be able to use such a magnificent building for our concert, and hope to see many of you there on Saturday 26th April as possible!

‘St. John Passion’ publicity

Kit — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 16:26:42 +0000

The publicity for the ‘St. John Passion’ taking place on Saturday 8th March, 2008 in Ashtead (Surrey) has unfortunately been printed with one digit missing from the contact telephone number.

We apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause you, and urge you to use the number from this website - which? IS correct!

0208 7611565 (it is a number 1 that is missing from the publicity). Obviously the e-mail address, the websiter address, and the postal address are correct.?

Serlo returns to the studio…

Kit — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 17:26:29 +0000

A year after The Serlo Consort was asked to work with Robin Gibb on his Christmas Carol Album, the choir is going to make its first CD recording. It will contain a mixture of items of a ‘reflective’ nature, and will be available for purchase at some stage from February/March 2008.

We are going to record the album in the glorious acoustic of St. John the Evangelist (by kind permission of the Vicar and PCC), Upper Norwood, and will be joined by Stephen Farr on the organ. Stephen is one of our Honorary Patrons and Director of Music at St. Paul’s Church, Knightsbridge (until recently, Director of Music at Guildford Cathedral).

Please look on this website in the New Year for more details……