Roar Evolve: Christmas Tours
ROAR EVOLVE: we run a biennial Christmas project, touring many of the country’s finest cathedrals, connecting thousands of young singers across the UK. Participation at every level is encouraged, from year 7 to sixth form, from massed voices singing simpler music to the more experienced singing alongside our professional Gabrieli musicians. We also offer smaller-scale, bespoke programmes for individual choirs, based around simpler choral/ensemble works, and enabling young singers to take part in professional performances, often within their own community. We provide digital resources to support the learning of the repertoire, and our artistic team work in partnership with music teachers and choir directors in delivering preparation during the choirs’ own rehearsal time. This strand of our work reaches 4-5000 young people per year.
‘A Grand Georgian Christmas’: Christmas Tour 2024
Want to learn more about the project’s impact? Click hereA Grand Georgian Christmas was Gabrieli Roar’s most ambitious tour yet. The project offered over 3,000 10-18 year-olds – with some limited experience of singing – the opportunity to workshop repertoire with expert vocal coaches then rehearse and perform with Gabrieli’s professional musicians and singers.
The project built musical skills & confidence through a deep dive into Christmas choral traditions from the 18th/19th centuries of Christian, Pagan, German & English influences. Our learning approach encouraged exploration of the beauty & history of shared cultural traditions in a way that was welcoming to people of all faiths & none.
“I’m gonna use a big word for this, which is ‘overwhelming’. I was literally having goosebumps when I was singing…I could just hear the music in my ears and it was angelic.”
The programme: A Grand Georgian Christmas
The programme explored the tradition of “Psalmody” or “(West) Gallery Music”: the music written for English parish churches in the Georgian period (c. 1740-1850). The project engaged 111 partners from a range of schools, Multi Academy Trusts, community youth choirs and Music Hubs – we worked with venues and lead partners to identify those schools and choirs whose members would most benefit from the project.
Digital resources were provided to all partners, which enabled local choir leaders to prepare the repertoire with their students at the level which suited their experience. In-person preparation workshops were then delivered by our Creative Directors Charles Béquignon-MacDougall and Emily Dickens to 2,075 young people. These provided more support for schools and hubs where this was needed, and offered participation benefits to additional young people who could not take part in the performances.
The full choirs came together for the first time on the performance day. Choir sizes ranged from 100 to nearly 500 singers, each comprising singers from 3-15 individual choirs, depending on the venue. All participants rehearsed with Artistic Director Paul McCreesh and the Gabrieli Consort & Players.
3,095 young people and 315 teachers from 111 school, Hub and church choirs performed A Grand Georgian Christmas across 11 performances:
27 November Portsmouth Cathedral
28 November Norwich Cathedral
29 November Ely Cathedral
2 December Coventry Cathedral
3 December Blackburn Cathedral
4 December Carlisle Cathedral
5 December Hull Minster
6 December York Minster
9 December Exeter Cathedral
10 December Truro Cathedral
11 December St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol
“Such opportunities are rare in our part of the world, and we are hoping that as many people as possible can experience and celebrate their fantastic work.”