THE City of Derry International Choral Festival kicks off next month for a third year of choral celebration.
It runs from Wednesday 21st to Sunday 25th October and, as part of the festival programme, will feature the world premiere of 3 new pieces as part of the Singing Shakespeare project.
On Friday 23rd October local chamber choir Codetta will join with international chamber choir and guest artists Utopia & Reality for the world premiere performances of 3 new works by composer Gary Carpenter, each set to the words of Shakespeare.
Singing Shakespeare is a three-year project (2014 – 2016) from the Shakespeare Trust that aims to inspire choirs, composers and music lovers of all abilities to perform and create musical settings of Shakespeare’s work in celebration of the 450th and 400th anniversaries of the playwright’s birth and death.
The concert will also feature a varied programme of contemporary choral music by Utopia & Reality, as returning guest artists to the festival.
U&R is an international chamber choir established in 2011 by conductors Ragnar Rasmussen (Norway) and Urša Lah (Slovenia), who have brought together talented young singers from Norway, Slovenia, Serbia, Italy and Iceland to perform contemporary choral music.
The aim of the choir is to perform at a high artistic level and to explore different ways of affecting audiences with their music.
Fiona Crosbie, Festival Manager, says, “We are delighted to be welcoming Utopia & Reality back to the festival for a second year and even more delighted that they will join Codetta for the world premiere performance of Gary Carpenter’s new Shakespeare settings.
“The choir’s concert at last year’s festival was one of the highlights for many of our audience members – an experience like nothing they had seen before!”
Tickets are now on sale for all festival events via Millennium Forum on +44 2871 264 455 or online atwww.millenniumforum.co.uk.
For more information visit the festival website at www.codichoral.com.
