Today I had the pleasure of performing as the tenor soloist for the Brandenburg Choral Festival of London’s performance of Handel’s Messiah, conducted by Bob Porter, alongside Isabelle Davis (Soprano) and Conrad Chatterton (Baritone). This was a ‘come and sing’ performance with the chorus coming together on the day of the concert to rehearse together for the first time.

The chosen charity was The Amber Trust, who ‘provide musical opportunities for blind and partially sighted children, and children with more complex needs, via its Music Awards and Music Services’ and there was a retiring collection in aid of the charity.

Tonight I performed with the Choir of Royal Holloway again as one of the step-out soloists. It was fantastic to return to St. George’s, Bristol for what has become a yearly tradition. The concert hall was especially atmospheric as there was dramatic lighting creating the effect of candlelight. Unfortunately, due to illness, there were quite a few members of the choir missing, but we gave a fantastic performance to a packed auditorium nonetheless.

Tonight was another in the series of Messiah concerts of the Winter 2023 season for which I was the tenor soloist. After an earlier lunchtime concert with the Choir of Royal Holloway at St. Martin-in-the-fields, I rushed to Egham to rehearse for Egham Choral‘s winter concert, which featured the first part of Messiah. Conducted by Hugh Beckwith, and singing alongside three other Royal Holloway choral scholars, I found this a particularly interesting performance of Messiah as the movements were interspersed with Christmas pieces by other composers.

Tonight I sang again with Canterbury Cantata, a chamber choir which is part of a larger charitable trust whose aim is to improve health and wellbeing through singing. I enjoyed being conducted by Emily Renshaw-Kidd and singing with Sophie Barker (Soprano), the other vocal soloist.

Here is a small extract from the concert, the ‘Agnus Dei’: