A stirring choral concert reminding us of the importance of peace in our time is coming to Port Macquarie on Sunday, June 9 at 7pm.
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The musical director of Hastings Choristers Robyn Ryan OAM and her dedicated team are very excited to bring this special event to the Hastings community.
One hundred and twenty choristers from all over Australia will perform Karl Jenkins' choral work The Peacemakers, with orchestral accompaniment, on the stage of Port Macquarie's beautiful Glasshouse Theatre.
This powerful music is set to the words of renowned world peacemakers such as Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, the Dalai Lama and Mother Theresa, among others.
Karl Jenkins, the composer, said "The Peacemakers is dedicated to the memory of all those who lost their lives during armed conflict. ... [it] is a work extolling peace: All religions, all singing one song: Peace be with you.''
Considering the number of recent tragic world events, such as the Christchurch and Sri Lanka massacres, this concert is a very timely reminder of the need for peace and understanding in our world.
The concert is the culmination of a weekend workshop during which participants learn the choral piece, under the direction of the very talented conductor Paul Holley. These types of choral weekends are very popular.
Last year, Hastings Choristers organised Handel's Messiah weekend to huge acclaim. In these workshops, singers and musicians enjoy a wonderful weekend of music, then perform the concert.
The audience is amazed at the professional standard achieved by choristers working together over two days to produce such a superb performance. The concert will also include a set by Hastings Choristers Cantorus choir to further delight the audience.
A big coup for this event is that the highly-regarded choral conductor Paul Holley OAM will teach the workshops and conduct the concert.
Paul Holley has worked with the Hastings Choristers previously during a similar weekend, presenting another Karl Jenkin's work The Armed Man in 2013. He has inspired many singers to discover and develop their skills as choral musicians.
Paul has served on both the Queensland and National Councils for ANCA and he was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in January 2016 for his services to choral music.
Presently, Paul is the Associate Director of Voices of Birralee and conducts two ensembles within this organisation, touring nationally and internationally, most recently to France for Anzac commemorations.
Paul is also the principal conductor of the Australian national youth choir Gondwana Chorale, who also regularly tour internationally.
If you love choral music, this concert performance of The Peacemakers by a massed choir of choristers conducted by Paul Holley, will be the experience of a lifetime.
Tickets are available at the Glasshouse box office.