Chester Bach Singers
Chester Bach Singers, conducted by Martin Bussey, and accompanied by Catherine Barnett is one of the finest chamber choirs in the North West of England. Established in September 1976, the choir is about to embark on its 49th year.
Our 2024-25 season will be both poignant and memorable, as Martin Bussey’s distinguished role as musical director draws to a close in March 2025. However, before that, we have an exciting programme of concerts and a workshop, reflecting on the theme of 'Journeying on Together'.
October 19th was a late afternoon concert at Wesley Methodist Centre, where we presented Vaughan Williams’ "Toward the Unknown Region". Also in the mix were references to pilgrimage, seeking and searching in songs from Tannhauser, Nabucco, Cavilleiro Rusticana and Hildegard Von Bingen. As always, our wonderful collaborative pianist, Catherine Barnett held us all in check.
Our much loved annual Christmas carol concert took place on the afternoon of December 14th, featuring a mix of the old and the contemporary, the well-known and less familiar. We performed works by Jonathan Dove and Will Todd, alongside "White Christmas" and "Santa Claus Coming to Town", with our usual invitation to our audience to join us in singing traditional seasonal carols. Tom Coxhead brought festive flair to the organ of St Werburgh’s Church.
There were also further opportunities to hear the choir at Chester’s Abode Hotel, on 8th and 15th December.
In January held our annual workshop - this year exploring Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle. And, for our final work under Martin in March we honoured our namesake with a no-holds-barred performance of Bach’s Mass in B Minor featuring fabulous soloists and the 18th Century Sinfonia at St John the Baptist Church in Chester.
