Come launch your singing career with the international, award winning Christchurch City Chorus. ‘Enriching voices, enriching lives’.
Do you love to sing? Is the performer in you ready to emerge?
Do you want a musical escape where you can make friends with other diverse, dynamic women?
Christchurch City Chorus is New Zealand's premier chorus of dynamic, vital and exciting female performers. Our members enjoy our Wednesday evening rehearsals because they are all about musical fun and achievement. You’ll find we’ll change your life, so come and join us at our rehearsals.
You now have the opportunity to experience this first hand at one of our open nights.
We rehearse every Wednesday evening from 7pm to 10pm at McCombs Performing Arts Centre, Cashmere High School, 61 Barrington Street.
To join our chorus you do not need to read music or have a trained singing voice. You only need to be able to sing in tune. Ongoing training is provided in vocal, breathing and visual performance skills.
If you are interested in joining the Chorus, you will be placed in one of four voice parts – tenor, lead, baritone or bass. The Chorus will provide you with music and learning tracks to take home. What could be easier?
OPEN NIGHTS:
16, 23 November 7-9.30pm
1, 8 February 2023 7-9.30pm
Come and enjoy the beautiful, colourful, diverse voices of community choirs from around Nelson.
The St John and St Matthew Passions are Bach's most famous pieces of sacred music and are regarded as major pillars of Western culture.
The St John Passion is a haunting and dramatic musical depiction of the Passion of Christ, as told in the Gospel of John. The story of Jesus’ capture, judgment, and crucifixion are presented by the solo tenor (the Evangelist). A cast of other singers perform the roles of Jesus, Pilate, and the disciples, while the four-part choir represents the people at large. Chorales interrupt the flow of the plot at significant moments and allow for reverent reflection.
The St John Passion was first performed in 1724 but was revised and changed for subsequent performances in 1725, 1732, and 1749. The latter version will be performed by Bach Musica NZ.
The Passion’s final chorus, Ruht wohl, ihr heiligen Gebeine, bids farewell to all lament and suffering and drifts off into a lasting, celestial peace. The closing chorale speaks of angels, sleep “without any anguish or pain,” and eternal praise.
‘Music for the soul’, as needed now in our troubled world!
International star guitarist Barkin Sertkaya will perform Vivaldi’s Guitar Concerto followed by Rodrigo’s most famous Concierto de Aranjuez.
At this concert, Bach Musica NZ also presents the world premiere of Kaí Pothío, Kaí Máomai by young award-winning NZ composer Oliver Bramah. The title poetically translates from ancient Greek as "I miss and yearn after." Sappho's fragmented love poems are performed in their original Greek with modern pronunciation.
Lastly, Poulenc’s Gloria will be performed and features a large symphony orchestra, choir, and solo soprano. Composed in 1961, this masterpiece delights with beautiful harmonies, tricky rhythms, sumptuous melodies and is regarded as one of the outstanding choral works of the 20th century.
Bach Musica NZ proudly presents the New Zealand premiere of Schumann’s Requiem, op148, a 45-minute work composed in 1852 for four vocal soloists, a choir and a symphony orchestra.
The concert will open with the Bassoon Concerto in C Major, by Czech composer Johann Baptist Vanhal. His music was well respected by Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven and Schubert.
Also included in this concert is “Unfinished” Symphony No 8 in B Minor, D 759. Sadly, Schubert never finished this work, yet this outstanding composition has risen to be one of the most popular compositions in the early romantic period.
The Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248, was written in 1734 and incorporates music from earlier compositions, including three secular cantatas written during 1733 and 1734 and a largely lost church cantata, BWV 248a.
In Europe and the United States, it is as popular as Handel’s Messiah is in New Zealand and can be heard everywhere during the Christmas season.
The composition is in six parts, of which Bach Musica NZ will perform the first three in this concert.
Three majestic trumpets, virtuoso choruses and colourful solo arias for vocal and instrumental soloists alike are abundant in this fantastic composition.
Enjoy a true Christmas spirit!
