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Matthew Coleridge choral composer

Requiem Workshops
Come and sing!

Choral Workshop @ Blackburn Cathedral
9th July '22

Join composer & conductor Matthew Coleridge for a glorious day of music-making in the amazing acoustics of Blackburn Cathedral. Spend the day learning his "exquisitely beautiful" music, including movements from his sublime Requiem and a joyous new Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis, before singing in an informal performance, conducted by the composer.

A fantastic opportunity to work with an up-and-coming composer, learning about the creative process, and being the first singers to perform brand new music.



Matthew is a charismatic and engaging workshop leader, whose music has been known to reduce choirs to tears!

"A glorious piece to sing... a lot of us were in tears by the end of it"

Teresa Stubbs - Buckfast Abbey workshop 2019

Blackburn Cathedral Matthew Coleridge
Booking info

Workshop ticket £20

Singer ticket with loan of vocal score on the day

Audience tickets

Audience ticket for the evening concert performance

The workshop fee includes free loan of all vocal scores.

On the day

Getting to Blackburn Cathedral

Cathedral Close, Ewood, Blackburn BB1 5AA

  • One of the UK's newest cathedrals, Blackburn is a vibrant and striking building in the heart of the city. See the sun stream through the 56 different panes of coloured glass in the lantern tower, and enjoy the seven seconds of reverberation! The cathedral is home to one of the country's finest organs, built by JW Walker.

  • By Car

    Blackburn Cathedral is easily accessible by car from the M65, which bypasses the city. Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Preston, Huddersfield, Halifax, Bradford, Bolton, Burnley, Rochdale, Blackpool and Lancaster are all within an hour's drive.

    All day parking is available at The Mall (5 mins walk; £5, 1300 spaces), and at Blackburn Station (7 mins walk, £2) and Eanam Wharf (10 mins walk; £2.50).

  • By Rail

    The Cathedral is directly opposite Blackburn Station, with regular trains from Leeds, Preston, Burnley, Bolton and beyond.

  • By Bus

    The Cathedral is directly opposite Blackburn Interchange for bus travel.

Blackburn Cathedral
Blackburn Cathedral
Blackburn Cathedral
Blackburn Cathedral
The performers
Matthew Coleridge

Matthew Coleridge

Composer and conductor Matthew Coleridge (b.1980) is an exciting voice in the British choral music scene. His first choral composition - the Corpus Christi Carol - was recorded by a cappella group The Queen's Six, appearing on the cover CD of BBC Music Magazine's Christmas edition in 2015.

His highly melodic and very approachable compositional style often blends elements of plainsong and medieval music with shimmering modern harmonies - weaving simple melodic lines into rich tapestries of sound.

Requiem (composed 2014-15) was hailed by the late Sir Neville Marriner as "a valuable addition to the 21st century choral repertoire". Is is regularly performed by choirs across the UK, and overseas.

Matthew's 'Requiem in a Day' choral workshops are very popular amongst choral singers, giving them the opportunity to sing this wonderful piece in some of the UK's most prestigious church buildings.

Choral workshops

Requiem in a Day workshops

Come and sing Matthew Coleridge's Requiem in some of the country's most inspiring cathedrals, abbeys and churches. All events are directed by the composer.

All Saints Clifton © Chris Guy

Bristol - All Saints, Clifton
Nov 20th 2021

Come and sing Requiem in one of Britain's most striking modernist churches, and the amazing acoustics of All Saints, Clifton.



St Wilfrid's Harrogate

Harrogate - St Wilfrid's
Feb 19th 2022

Come and sing Requiem in one of Yorkshire's most spectacular churches, the vast Gothic Revival church of St Wilfrid. With organist Anthony Gray.



Cirencester Church © J. Hannan-Briggs

Cirencester - St John the Baptist
Feb 26th 2022

Come and sing Matthew Coleridge's Requiem in a breathtaking Cotswold church!



St Cuthbert's Earls Court

London
March 12th 2022

Come and sing Matthew Coleridge's Requiem one of London's finest churches - the Victorian masterpiece St Cuthbert's, Earls Court.



Blackburn Cathedral © David Iliff

Blackburn Cathedral
July 9th 2022

Come and sing Matthew Coleridge's Requiem in the wonderful Blackburn Cathedral, home to one of the best acoustics (and pipe organs) in the North!



Pershore Abbey © J. Hannan-Briggs

Pershore Abbey
July 16th 2022

Come and sing Matthew Coleridge's Requiem in the glorious acoustic of Pershore's superlative Abbey church.



Arundel Cathedral

Arundel Cathedral
Sept 17th 2022

Come and sing in the stunning Arundel Cathedral, in one of England's most picturesque towns.



Testimonials

A valuable addition to the 21st century choral repertoire
Sir Neville Marriner

This was no ordinary 'come and sing'! A work of exquisite beauty
Music in Portsmouth review, 2020

You are a true tunesmith - well-crafted and inspiring music!
Dr David Price - Master of the Chorister, Portsmouth Cathedral

Beautiful... I find myself entranced by the openness of this music.
Paul Carr - composer

A glorious piece to sing - a lot of us were in tears by the end of it
Teresa Stubbs - Buckfast Abbey workshop 2019

A singular voice - and that is an exceedingly rare thing!
Michael McGlynn - Anúna

A joy and privilege to sing this most beautiful piece of music under the direction of the composer himself
Heather Harvey - Buckfast Abbey workshop 2019

Thank you for a wonderful day. You were so encouraging and patient. I can't imagine not singing your Requiem again. I absolutely loved the day!
Monica Kent - Louth workshop 2019

We were enthralled by the pure beauty of your Requiem. Parts of it were quite exquisite and we loved the fact that you, the composer, were directing us with such skill and clarity of conducting. Thank you so very much for a phenomenal day
Jeanne Apsland - Buckfast Abbey workshop 2019