Cheltenham Bach Choir
Events
Spring Festival of the Baroque
Friday 23 March - Sunday 25 March 2018
Launched in 2017, the second Spring Festival of the Baroque was held during the last weekend in March and hosted by Cheltenham Bach Choir.
The festival provides a showcase of Baroque music and is also the platform for Cedric Virgin Memorial Prize Singing Competition held at the Prince Michael Hall at Dean Close. The winner of last year’s competition, Lauren Lodge-Campbell, was the soprano soloist at the festival performance of Bach’s B minor Mass on the Saturday evening.
Tim Lowe
Bach Cello Suites
Venue | Chapel Arts
The festival opened with a selection of Bach Cello Suites performed by the outstanding young British cellist Tim Lowe.
An established recitalist and chamber musician Tim has been hailed as ‘one of the more comprehensively talented of the younger generation of British cellists’. Tim is Guest Principal Cello of the English Chamber Orchestra and Professor of Cello at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
J S Bach
B Minor Mass
Venue | Cheltenham Town Hall
The centrepiece of the 2018 festival was the Bach B Minor Mass performed by Cheltenham Bach Choir with The Musical and Amicable Society Baroque Orchestra. The conductor was David Crown and the soloists were: Lauren Lodge-Campbell (soprano and winner of the 2017 Cedric Virgin Memorial Prize Singing Competition; Angela Simkin (mezzo); David Webb (tenor) and Christopher Cull (baritone).
The Singing Competition 2018
Cedric Virgin Memorial Prize
The aim of this annual competition is to discover and encourage new young singers of talent and provide them with an opportunity to perform before an audience and a panel of renowned professional judges. The winner will also have the opportunity to perform with the Cheltenham Bach Choir and a professional orchestra.
The competition is open to young professional singers from all voice registers who are aged 28 or under on 25th March 2018.
First Prize The Cedric Virgin Memorial Prize: £500 and a performance with the Cheltenham Bach Choir and a professional orchestra.
Second Prize £300
Third Prize £150
Held in the Prince Michael Hall at Dean Close the winner of last year’s competition, Lauren Lodge-Campbell, will be the soprano soloist in the festival performance of Bach’s B minor Mass.
The 2018 competition was judged by Christine Cairns, Russell Smythe and David Crown.
2018 Winners
1st place Felicity Turner
2nd place Davidona Pittock
3rd place Camilla Harris
The 2018 entrants
Other Events
Göttingen Concert Trip
Through the twinning of the town of Cheltenham with Göttingen in Germany, links have been developed with a local choir in the town and the choir regularly exchanges visits with its opposite numbers.
Next trip information here.
Gallery
Cheltenham Bach Choir 
