The Edinburgh Festival Chorus will perform with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in Glasgow and Edinburgh in March 2024 to mark the 150th anniversary of Verdi’s Requiem
This will be the final chance to catch them before their performance at the Edinburgh International Festival in August
The performances also mark their first appearances since the appointment of their new Choral Director, James Grossmith, in 2023
The Edinburgh Festival Chorus are set to perform Verdi’s Requiem this month in Glasgow and Edinburgh, 150 years after its premiere in Milan in 1874. These performances also mark their first public performances since the appointment of James Grossmith as Choral Director in September 2023.
The performances, which take place on the 21st of March at Glasgow City Halls and the 24th of March at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh, will see the Chorus performing the Verdi’s highly operatic funeral mass with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the orchestra’s Chief Conductor, Ryan Wigglesworth.
Verdi’s Requiem is a highly theatrical and epic Catholic funeral mass which was written following the death of Verdi’s Italian poet, philosopher and novelist, Alessandro Manzoni.
The Edinburgh Festival Chorus are often credited as being the “choral backbone” of the Edinburgh International Festival’s programme. The chorus was founded in 1965 and has run continually since then. It’s comprised of 130 singers from all walks of life from all around Scotland who are selected through an auditions process and rehearse weekly.
Since the creation of the Chorus, its singers have had the opportunity to perform alongside the likes of Leonard Bernstein and the London Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop and the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan’s Berlin Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
This is the last chance to see The Edinburgh Festival Chorus in concert before the Edinburgh International Festival in August, where the Chorus will perform Alexander Grechaninov’s Passion Week.
A unique group to help blind and partially sighted people find work in the performing arts has been launched in Edinburgh.
Visually Impaired Creators Scotland (VICS) will inspire established and aspiring artists with sight loss through sharing ideas, collaborative performances, workshops and supportive monthly meetings.
It’s founder Kirin Saeed, a trained professional actor who lives in Leith, was partially sighted until the age of eleven when she then lost most of her remaining vision. “I can just about make out a bit of light and dark now,” she says.
Kirin, herself, was inspired by Extant, a theatre company for people with sight loss that she worked with for six years in London.
“I don’t think there are really any major barriers to actors and performers with a visual impairment apart from the ones that other people create,” she says. “I don’t think memorising a script is a barrier. I don’t think getting around the stage is a barrier. The biggest one is just getting opportunities to perform, trying to infiltrate the industry.
“But how do you communicate the message to theatrical agents, the musical companies? How do you push the message out that people with a vision impairment can still have talent? That’s what our group wants to try and open up. To create a network where we can support each other and promote the work we do when we can get it.”
VICS will run a series of exciting and fun taster-workshops in February open to all visually impaired people aged 18 and over to improve performance-skills and develop new ones.
The workshops will take place at Crannie Community Centre, 9 Cranston Street, Edinburgh on February 18th and 25th and Match 11th from 11am to 3pm. Transport expenses and lunch will be provided.
“Places are limited so first come, first serve,” emphasises Kirin. “You are the performers of the future and we would be delighted to meet you! Come along to try out exercises that explore sound, movement, music and your own experiences in a safe and warm environment.”
You can also call VICS on 07770614747 and they’ll call you back to chat.
And before then you can enjoy a ‘Cabaret In The Dark’ by VICS, with songs, comedy and activities, all in complete darkness! The one-hour entertainment is taking place on Friday, February 10th, at 4 Duncan Place, Edinburgh EH6 8HW.
In just two weeks leaders from almost every country on earth will gather in Glasgow for COP26 to negotiate how the world can come together to tackle the threat of climate change.
Alongside, the COP26 Green Zone will shine a light on the amazing and diverse world of climate action from 1st November.
From all over the globe, youth activists, Indigenous Peoples, small and large businesses and grass roots communities will be bringing COP26 to life with cultural performances, exhibitions, talks, film screenings and technical demonstrations.
Over 200 events will take place in the Green Zone over the 12 days of the summit. Hosted in the iconic Glasgow Science Centre, it will welcome visitors from 9am – 6pm each day.
Tickets are available free of charge, and most of the events will also be streamed live on the COP26 YouTube channel where people can access content for free and from anywhere in the UK or around the world.
As Edinburgh’s summer festivals begin in the Capital, the City of Edinburgh Council’s Culture Leaders have welcomed their return, though urge everyone to play their part for a safe, enjoyable August.
In preparation for the launch of the Art, Book, Fringe, Film and International Festivals, robust plans have been drawn up to allow their safe return. Council officers have worked closely with Festivals Edinburgh, the Summer Festivals, the Scottish Government, Event Scotland and other stakeholders to support the staging of programmes within the latest safety guidance.
Culture Leaders have also thanked all those who have made Edinburgh’s festivals possible in 2021, recognising teams from across the Council, from licensing, events, environmental health and public safety to roads teams, noise and waste services.
This is in close partnership with festival operators, the Scottish Government, NHS, Essential Edinburgh and the Emergency Services, who have collaborated to bring festivals back safely and with a new emphasis on outdoor venues.
Citywide planning began in February with the approach continuously updated and adapted to remain up to date with the latest clinical advice and guidance from the Scottish Government.
While Scotland will move out of COVID level 0 on Monday, festival-goers are being reminded that for this first weekend of celebrations level 0 restrictions will remain in place, and that they should continue to follow the guidance.
From Monday, everyone is still encouraged to take care, practice hand hygiene and give one another space, as well as observing mask-wearing rules.
While delighted to welcome the festivals back, safety has remained a priority for the Council. A wider, more detailed planning process has involved different Event Planning and Operation Group meetings for each festival, all feeding into a citywide forum for overview. This year venues will be spread throughout the city and while traditional venues are being used again, a range of exciting new settings will be brought to life this year.
As in previous years, joint inspections between the Council and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service are now underway ensuring safety at all venues. Throughout the festivals, spot checks will take place as well as daily multi-agency meetings to ensure the safe continued running of the festival.
In addition to safety plans the Council is working with Fringe organisers, as always, to make sure the High Street is kept clean and well managed and would remind everyone that when they’re out and about to always bin litter or take it home.
This summer the Council has added 30 additional litter bins to parks and open spaces across the city, including BBQ bins at Inverleith, Portobello Beach and Leith Links. Additional public toilets have also been installed in six parks and new signage placed on 90+ litter bins in hotspot parks and waterside locations.
Culture and Communities Convener Cllr Donald Wilson said: “We’re incredibly proud to be known as the world’s Festival City and recognise the extremely positive contribution our festivals make to our lives, bringing the arts to Edinburgh in a way no other city on the planet enjoys.
“We are delighted see their return this year but want to assure citizens that public health remains a priority and all the Festivals have planned with this in mind. We’ve been working closely with all the organisers and our partners to ensure they can be enjoyed safely and would remind everyone to follow health advice and keep everyone safe. Please remember that for the first weekend of the festivals, we’re still in level 0 of the restrictions framework, so please observe the guidance in place.
“The city and events sector has responded to the crisis with determination and innovation with either hybrid models of delivery or the creation of outdoor/online programmes and whilst this year sees a much smaller offering it will be fantastic to see some of the buzz return to the city.”
Councillor Amy McNeese-Mechan, the City of Edinburgh Council’s Culture and Communities Vice Convener, said: “The return of live August festivals events and performances truly reflects our city’s ongoing recovery and, of course, our cultural DNA.
“There’s no doubt our festivals were greatly missed last year and it’s going to be fantastic to welcome back audiences and to those visiting we ask them to continue to follow the safety guidance and please enjoy this year’s offering safely.
“The planning for the festivals has been an enormous task especially under the ongoing pressures of the pandemic and I would like to thank all the teams and partner organisations who have worked together throughout to bring some of that festival magic back to the city this year.”
Our Cathedral Choir is back this Sunday for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe following summer break!
All are welcome to experience the beauty of St Mary’s and its musicians all year, for free.
Festival Services with the Choir start this Sun 11th Aug; Choral Evensong is at 3.30pm, while the Cathedral Eucharist is at 10.30am.
Full Festival Service details: https://www.cathedral.net/whats-on
The Cathedral Choir also has a concert on Fri 23 Aug at 6pm: https://www.cathedral.net/…/cathedral-choir-classical…
