16 January 2018
The Chorus is thrilled to have been invited to join the world famous Black Dyke Band in the world premiere of a new work by Paul Mealor, who sprang to fame in 2011 when his Ubi Caritas was featured at the wedding of His Royal Highness Prince William to Catherine Middleton, now TRH The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge.
The new piece is called Paradise, and features two elements to be sung by the chorus alongside the band, sandwiching a central section of fiendish difficulty that the band will use to showcase their virtuosity at the forthcoming Brass Band Festival. Brass band players, teachers and fans from across the country gather at this annual Festival, to be held at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester from Friday 26th to Sunday 28th January 2018, with the Paradise premiere on Saturday 27th.
The Saturday concert will be recorded by BBC Radio 3 and broadcast on the following Wednesday 31 January 2018. From then it will be available on the Radio 3 website.
Chorus and band come together again a couple of weeks later to record the work for a new CD to be released by the band later in the year. ‘We are thrilled to be collaborating with our friends the Black Dyke Band‘ said Chorus Chair Paul Henstridge, ‘We are really enjoying rehearsing the work, which is very beautiful, and we can’t wait to hear it with the brass accompaniment.’
Born in North Wales in 1975, Paul Mealor studied composition privately as a boy and then at the University of York and in Copenhagen. His music has been commissioned and performed at many festivals and by numerous orchestras and choruses and has been broadcast on TV and radio throughout the world.
The Royal Northern College of Music has hosted an annual Brass Band Festival for 28 years, and this year’s Festival features no fewer than 16 world and UK premières as well as discussions and workshops hosted by Brass Bands England. Further information and ticket purchase.