Come and Sing 2011 - Verdi Requiem

On Saturday, 21st May 2011, over 150 singers gathered in the Baptist Church to work on the Verdi Requiem with Andrew Parnell. Some of these were members of Choir 2000 but many others came from near and far (St Albans, Birmingham, Sheffield...) having heard about the event through our publicity, friends and relations and/or our mailing lists.

The day was led by Andrew Parnell with great enthusiasm and energy. After 25 years based at St Albans Cathedral, St Albans School and with the St Albans Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Parnell established a freelance career as an organist, composer and conductor. His compositions have been performed in the UK and abroad. Andrew conducts the Ely and the Cambridgeshire Choral Societies, the Wymondham Symphony Orchestra and, annually, the St Albans-based chamber choir, Carillon.

At lunchtime many of the singers took part in a hog roast at the Red Lion Pub in Histon, sitting in the garden on a glorious sunny day. After lunch, we were then treated to rehearsals with the 'Choir 2000 Orchestra' (many of whom are members of the K239 Orchestra), put together for the day by our Musical Director, Peter Britton, before performing the entire Requiem with soloists Milena Dobryzcka (soprano), Melanie Sanders (mezzo soprano), Nicholas Bewes (tenor) and Sean Webster (bass). One of our tenors was also spotted, moonlighting with a bass drum! It was a long sing - but a superb day!

As always this year we had many willing helpers to enrol the singers, provide refreshments all day, sort out the car parking, dish out the scores, distribute tickets for the hog roasts - the list goes on! Many thanks indeed to all those who helped this year.

Note: pictures are all hosted on flickr.com - click on any picture to go there to view or download larger versions.

www.flickr.com choir2000pix's Come and Sing 2011 photoset

If you have any suggestions for works for future Choral Days, please send to info2000@choir2000.org.

The event was organised by Choir2000 .

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