Soloists annouced for York Minster Handel's Messiah performance
Saturday 13 December 2014
For many people, listening to a live performance of Handel’s Messiah is an integral part of their preparations for Christmas, and this year, some of the UK’s finest soloists will again join the York Minster Choir for its annual performance of Handel’s Messiah at the cathedral.
Welsh soprano Fflur Wyn has gained wide acclaim for her operatic performances across the world, and was recently elected an Associate to the Royal Academy of Music in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the music profession. Fflur will be joined by counter-tenor, James Neville. The cathedral setting for Messiah will be very familiar to James, who began his musical training as a chorister of Cardiff Metropolitan Cathedral, and has since sung with the renowned King’s College Choir, as well as in his own right as a soloist.
James Oxley has appeared at all the major concert halls in London, at Symphony Hall in Birmingham and Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool, and will be singing the tenor role. Returning for the second year, Benjamin Bevan will sing bass – a performance he has given with The English Concert and at the Sage Gateshead.
The concert will be conducted by York Minster’s own director of music, Robert Sharpe, and accompanied by assistant director of music, David Pipe.
Tickets for Handel’s Messiah at York Minster are available online via the York Minster website (www.yorkminster.org) or from the admissions desk within the Minster itself, priced from £12.00
With the last few tickets available for the forthcoming York Minster Christmas Carol Concerts on Friday 5 and Saturday 6 December, details of the guest readers at the two events have been also been revealed.
On Friday 5 December, TV dramatist and former director Ian Bayley Curteis – whose writing credits include The Onedin Line and Crown Court – will be joined by actress Clare Clifford, whose roles have been as diverse as Miss Potter and Doctor Who, and is known on the stand-up comedy circuit following her popular ‘Not the Olympics’ show in 2012.
On Saturday 6 December, BBC journalist and author Hugh Pym – one of the leading media commentators on the banking crisis – will be joined by actress Cherie Lunghi, fresh from the West End where she has been performing in The Importance of Being Earnest.
For more information, or to book tickets, please visit www.yorkminster.org. Tickets are also available from the ticket desks within York Minster.
ENDS
For further media information or photographs, please contact:
Jay Commins
Pyper York Limited
Tel: 01904 500698
Email: jay@pyperyork.co.uk
