Choirs sing out - and reach out - at Cathedral
20 November 2007
More than 150 singers from local school choirs will gather together at Manchester Cathedral on 22 November for a St Cecilia's Day Concert which begins at 7pm and is open to the public.
It is the culmination of the outreach work being carried out by Manchester Cathedral in partnership with Manchester Music Service.
The North West - and Manchester in particular -has a reputation for the promotion of music and singing. The city is benefiting from £1million of government funding - part of a £10 million nationwide boost for music education.
Included in the government initiative is partnership working between choir schools, local schools and other music providers. Manchester Cathedral wanted to become involved in outreach work and has linked up with Manchester Music Service to work with singers from three schools in the city each term. The schools for this term are St. Wilfrid's RC Primary, Hulme, St. Paul's CE Primary, Withington and Abbott Community Primary School, Collyhurst.
Each week they have been working with a vocal tutor from Manchester Music Service on repertoire for the St Cecilia Concert. They have had a visit from some of the Cathedral Choristers who sang for them and worked with them.
Manchester Music Service also runs district junior choirs in Blackley, Gorton and Wythenshawe, as part of the North West Pathfinder (a partnership between the Halle, Manchester and Salford Music Services and the Greater Manchester Music Action Zone) and they too will perform at the concert. Attending the concert will be pupils from the schoolsl currently benefiting from the outreach work.
Earlier in the day all the children will be involved in a singing workshop at the cathedral. They will be taken on a tour of the cathedral, and will attend evensong before the concert.
St. Cecilia is the patron saint of music. 22 November is also the birth date of composer Sir Benjamin Britten, and his 'Hymn to St. Cecilia' will be sung during evensong on the same day.
The Executive Member for Children's Services, Councillor Sheila Newman, said: "Choral singing is one of the delights of music and it is good to see so much work going on among our schools to promote this art form. The concert is a great opportunity for everyone to gather together to enjoy their singing."
Anyone with children who are interested in singing can contact Manchester Music Service on (0161) 226 4422.
Media contacts:
Jane Lemon, tel 0161 234 3179 or Dave Hulme, 0161 234 4610
