What’s On: Christchurch Priory Midsummer Arts and Music Festival
Published: 03:00, 03 June 2024
EIGHT days of concerts and workshops will be performed at Christchurch Priory Church as part of the venue’s midsummer Music & Arts Festival.
From 15th to 22nd June, the historic nave will host orchestras, choruses and ensembles in a showcase of classical, choral and jazz music, at the town’s historic Priory church.
The festival opens on Saturday 15th with a large-scale performance of British composer Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius, which will see 90 singers and a professional orchestra perform the powerful piece.
Other musical highlights include Vivaldi’s much-loved Four Seasons on 17th June; Holst’s epic Jupiter from The Planets suite on 18th June; and a finale featuring a special 100-year anniversary performance of Gershwin’s masterpiece Rhapsody in Blue followed by anthemic Proms-style favourites on 22nd June.
The Priory will welcome the award-wining celebrity organist Thomas Trotter on 18th June and the internationally acclaimed The Gesualdo Six on 21 June, as well as inviting the public to bring their voices to Hymnfest, an uplifting massed choir celebration of the nation’s favourite hymns on 16th June.
Christchurch Priory’s director of music, Simon Earl, said: “This is a wonderful opportunity for the local community and visitors alike to experience the breath taking 900-year-old venue, with its incredible acoustics and stunning architecture.”
The Priory’s mighty 4,603-pipe Nicholson organ will play a key part in the festival, as the church celebrates 25 years since its rebuild. Considered one of the finest in the UK, the Priory organ will be joined by two other organs in a fun and frenetic free lunchtime recital, Six Hands, Six Feet, Three Organs, Three Organists, featuring the Thunderbirds March and JS Bach’s famously sinister Toccata and Fugue in D Minor on 20th June.
Film fans can enjoy a rare screening of the 1925 silent movie The Phantom of the Opera, with live improvised organ playing by Jonathan Hope bringing the cult classic to life on 20th June.
The festival also offers free events and educational workshops alongside ticketed concerts. For full programme details and tickets, visit christchurchpriory.org/festival2024