Music fit for a Queen

Young musicians from all over Sussex will compete for a prestigious music bursary next month, as part of the Coro Nuovo ‘Music & Monarchy’ concert.

The choir, founded five years ago by Kate Kent and international tenor Andrew Rees, has selected four aspiring musicians to vie for its Young Musician of the Year Competition following auditions in early June.

Ayla Sahin (violin), Claire Ward (soprano), Gideon Brooks (trumpet) and Rebekah Smith (soprano) will all battle for a £1000 bursary designed to support their musical studies, as well as the chance to perform with the choir at future concerts.

‘Music & Monarchy’ marks the second time that Coro Nuovo has awarded the bursary to an up-and-coming musician, after saxophonist Hannah Corcoran was selected by judges last year.

The evening will also commemorate the 65th Anniversary of the Accession of Queen Elizabeth II with a programme that includes British and royalty-themed classics such as ‘Zadok the Priest’, performed at every monarch’s coronation, ‘Greensleeves’ and the ‘Triumphal Chorus’ from Aida.

‘I love all beauteous things’, which was composed for the Queen’s 90th birthday by Judith Weir, will also be performed on the night, along with a special tribute to Dame Vera Lynn.

Coro Nuovo’s Royal-themed Summer Concert will take place on Sunday 16th July 2017 – 7.30 pm at the Ascension Church, Vale Road, Haywards Heath. Book tickets online: coronuovo.org.uk/tickets or by phone: 07740 946276.

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Note to editors:

Coro Nuovo is a choir consisting of more than 50 singers, started in 2012 by Kate Kent and international tenor Andrew Rees.  The choir only meets occasionally, in preparation for four concerts each year.

The Young Musician of the Year competition began in 2016. The bursary is intended for a young musician aged 18 to 25 with a Sussex connection, to help fund their musical studies.  The bursary winner will also be invited to perform with Coro Nuovo at future concerts. Auditions were held on 4 June 2017 and the final will be judged by David Angus, conductor of the Boston Lyric Opera.

Songs at the ‘Music & Monarchy’ concert will include: the ‘Triumphal Chorus’ from Aida, ‘I love all beauteous things’, ‘Zadok the Priest’, ‘The Old Hundreth Psalm’, Benjamin Britten’s arrangement of the National Anthem, ‘I was glad when they said unto me’ by C. Hubert H. Parry, Orlando Gibbons’s ‘Silver Swan’, ‘Sing a song of sixpence’ by Michael Diack, Bob Chilcott’s arrangement of ‘Greensleeves’, and a tribute to Dame Vera Lynn.