WESTMINSTER - 11 October 2006 - 318 words
Westminster
Cathedral Choir begins US tour
The world famous Westminster Cathedral Choir flew to Atlanta,
Georgia yesterday for the start a fortnight-long tour of the United
States. The first concert of the tour is at the Roman Catholic
Cathedral of Christ the King, Atlanta, on Friday.
The tour will also see the choir performing at: Washington National Cathedral, Washington DC; St Thomas' Church, New York; Cathedral of St. Paul, St Paul, Minnesota; St Louis Cathedral Basilica, St Louis, Missouri; Visitation Catholic Church, Kansas City, Missouri; and the Cathedral of St John the Evangelist, Cleveland, Ohio. The tour concludes with a concert at First Union Methodist Church, Birmingham, Detroit, on 25 October.
All the concert programmes will include a cross-section of the choir's large repertoire from every age of choral music, from Gregorian Chant to the 21st entury, including two American works: the Adagio (Agnus Dei) by Barber, and a new piece by a composer from Minnesota, David Evan Thomas.
Westminster Cathedral Choir is the only professional Catholic choir in the world to sing daily Mass and Vespers. The choir are held in high regard not just in the Roman Catholic Church but in the music world in general. They have recently given premiere performances of Masses by Roxanna Panufnik, James MacMillan, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies and Judith Bingham, in the Cathedral. Their recent tours have taken them to Hungary, Germany, Belgium, Norway and Italy.
"It is tremendously exciting for Westminster Cathedral Choir to be undertaking a tour of the United States," said Westminster Cathedral's Master of Music, Martin Baker. "The choir has an established reputation as one of the world's leading Cathedral choirs, and so it is a great opportunity for our choristers to perform their repertoire to new audiences. I hope that the audiences in the eight cities which we will be visiting will be as captivated by the performances as those in London have been."
Source: Archbishop's House
© Independent Catholic
News 2006
Contact Independent
Catholic News
tel/fax: +44 (0)20 7267 3616 or email
Chaplain • Latest news • Archive • Listings • Pictures •