Chantry Quire embark on their 25th anniversary season

Exciting times for the Chantry Quire as they embark on their 25th anniversary season, 2024-25.

Transcript

00:00Good morning, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers. Really lovely

00:06to speak to Peter Orwood now. It's a very significant year for Chantry Choir, celebrating

00:12its 25th anniversary. And you came to the Choir, what, eight years ago? And the Choir

00:17is in a fantastic place, isn't it, by all the sound of it, as you celebrate this anniversary.

00:24It's a great year for the Choir. Yes, they're singing well. We've drawn together some strong

00:33singers from Sussex who really enjoy getting into some quite challenging music. And so

00:45we're able to put on some fairly enterprising... And you talk so enthusiastically about the

00:50Choir. What is it that you enjoy so very much about working with them?

00:54I love working with them because they're such enthusiastic singers. There are some super

00:58voices there. If they aren't quick sight readers, they are quick learners. And they take the

01:06music away and make sure that they do know the dots, so that when we arrive at rehearsal,

01:12we don't have to be note bashing. We can really be shaping the music. And that's a great

01:20advantage. And it means you can take on some really interesting pieces. So we're able to

01:26do some great programmes with this group. That's lovely. And when you think about the

01:30last few years we've had, then this anniversary becomes all the more significant, doesn't

01:35it? Choir's had a torrid time with the pandemic, but you've survived and you're flourishing.

01:40How did you manage to do that? How did you survive?

01:43The Choir were just so eager to come back after the pandemic. And it's not been the

01:49case with all Choirs, but they were so eager to come back and get singing again. And being

01:55a small Choir, we were able to fit into a large venue and work together at the earliest

02:02opportunity. And so I think that we picked up the cudgels pretty swiftly and got underway

02:09again. And the anniversary itself is a lovely opportunity

02:12to take stock, but also to look forward, isn't it?

02:15An anniversary is pretty random, really, isn't it, Phil? You pluck these things out of the

02:22air. All anniversaries are birthdays and so on. But nonetheless, it is a great opportunity,

02:28as you say, and it's a great chance just to bring people together. So we've invited former

02:35members of the Choir to come and join us for our special anniversary concert in March 2025,

02:41which is going to be held at Boxgrove Priory. And this is a performance of Monteverdi's

02:48amazing piece, The Vespers, which a lot of singers love but don't actually get much opportunity

02:57to sing. And so if we can bring together a group, we normally work with about 26 singers,

03:04but on this occasion, I'm hoping that we'll be working with well over 40, 40 to 50 singers.

03:11That's because it's a big piece, but it's also quite intricate at times and needs a good high

03:19level of musical understanding and appreciation to perform well.

03:23Absolutely. They enjoy the challenge, don't they?

03:27They do, they do. And we've got a great band together for this. I mean, the instrumental

03:32side of this, as you know, is not easy, the Monteverdi. And we've actually got the best

03:39cornet player, cornet with a double T, in the land, Jeremy West, to come and play for us. And

03:47he's bringing the band together. So he tells me he's got some very exciting players of national

03:53standing to come and join us on that occasion. And we'll have some very fine solos too. So

03:58I'm really hoping that this will be a great focus of the Choir's work.

04:03It sounds a lovely celebration. Congratulations on the anniversary and all good wishes for the

04:09season ahead. Lovely to speak to you. Thank you.

04:11Thank you. Thank you, Phil.