Come and Sing!

REQUIEM - choral workshop & concert

ST WILFRID'S CHURCH, HARROGATE, NORTH YORKS HG1 2EY • 17th APRIL 2021

Join composer & conductor Matthew Coleridge and organist Anthony Gray for a glorious day of music-making in the Gothic Revival masterpiece of St Wilfrid's Church, Harrogate. Spend the day learning Matthew's "exquisitely beautiful" REQUIEM, before singing in an atmospheric evening performance, conducted by the composer.

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

Teresa Stubbs - Buckfast Abbey workshop 2019

St Wilfrid's Harrogate

Hailed by the late Sir Neville Marriner as "a valuable contribution to 21st Century choral repertoire", Requiem is an uplifting and deeply moving piece to sing. Its young composer is an engaging and charismatic conductor, bringing out the best in singers with enthusiasm and warm encouragement.

Don't miss this opportunity to perform the Yorkshire premiere of this remarkable piece of music!

St Wilfrid's Harrogate
St Wilfrid's Harrogate

"This was no ordinary come and sing... informal and relaxed, led with humour and encouragement. As a singer, it felt like a big achievement spend one day learning and performing one splendid work"

Simon O'Hea - Portsmouth Cathedral workshop, 2020

Booking info

Workshop ticket £20

Singer ticket with loan of vocal score on the day

Workshop ticket + vocal score £27

Singer ticket with advance purchase of vocal score (includes p&p)

Audience tickets

Audience ticket for the evening concert performance

On the day

St Wilfrid's, Harrogate

Duchy Rd, Harrogate HG1 2EY

One of England's great new parish churches, St Wilfrid's is a Gothic Revival masterpiece built in the early 20th century by renowned architect Temple Moore. Described by Betjeman as "vast in every direction", it is a terrific space to fill with wonderful choral music!

  • by road

    By Car

    Close to the A61 and A59, and a short stroll from Harrogate's elegant historic centre, there is plentiful free parking on the surrounding residential streets.

  • by bus

    By Bus

    The X12 bus route stops a few hundred yards from the church.

  • by rail

    By Rail

    Harrogate's railway station is a 15-20 minute walk from the church. There are regular, direct trains from Leeds (30 mins) and York (40 mins).

St Wilfrid's Harrogate
St Wilfrid's Harrogate
St Wilfrid's Harrogate
St Wilfrid's Harrogate
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.

Anthony Gray

Anthony Gray

St Wilfrid's Director of Music, Anthony was an organ scholar at Bradford Cathedral and later at Southwell Minster, where he regularly directed and accompanied the Cathedral’s three choirs as well as assisting in the training of the young choristers in the music foundation.

In 2018, he graduated from Robinson College Cambridge where held the Basil Shone Organ Scholarship. He was also the organist for St. John’s Voices and the accompanist for the Cambridgeshire Choral Society. He undertook a number of major tours with Robinson College Choir, St. John’s Voices and The Robinson Consort, a group of 16 singers focussing on contemporary repertoire which he co-founded and directed, to destinations including East Asia, Switzerland, Portugal and the Opera Festival in St-Remy-En-Provence, as well as a number of domestic locations and Cathedrals.

Anthony is also a fine composer, reaching the finals of the BBC Radio 3 Carol Competition, 2019.

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.

St Wilfrid's Harrogate

Harrogate - St Wilfrid's
Apr 17th 2021

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



All Saints Clifton © Chris Guy

Bristol - All Saints, Clifton
May 22nd 2021

[Rescheduled event from May 9th 2020]

Come and sing Matthew Coleridge's Requiem in the excellent acoustics of one of Britain's most striking modernist churches - the spectacular All Saints, Clifton.



Blackburn Cathedral © David Iliff

Blackburn Cathedral
Jul 10th 2021

One of the best places to sing in the North West, Blackburn Cathedral possesses one of the best pipe organs in the country, and a six-second reverb. Come and join in the fun!



Milton Abbey © flickr/johnelamper

Milton Abbey
Aug 12th 2021

New music workshop on Matthew's latest major choral work. There are few better places to be in August than this spectacular Abbey set amongst Dorset's rolling hills.



Dorchester Abbey © Peter Chapman

Dorchester Abbey
Aug 19th 2021

Come and sing Matthew Coleridge's Requiem in the picture postcard village of Dorchester-on-Thames, with an evening performance conducted by the composer. Bring a picnic and enjoy the sunshine!



Romsey Abbey © Jack Pease

Romsey Abbey
Sept 4th 2021

Come and sing Matthew Coleridge's Requiem in the Romsey's spectacular Norman abbey, near Southampton.



Exeter Cathedral © Jack Pease

Exeter Cathedral
Sept 25th 2021

[Rescheduled event from Sept 19th 2020]

Come and sing Matthew Coleridge's Requiem with over 200 singers in one of Europe's most spectacular Medieval cathedrals.



St Mary's Warwick © flickr/jpguffogg

Warwick - St Mary's
Oct 2nd 2021

Come and sing in one of England's finest parish churches - the Collegiate Church of St Mary in Warwick. With Oliver Hancock (organ)



Newport Cathedral

Newport Cathedral
Oct 9th 2021

Join Matthew and professional orchestra the St Woolos Sinfonia, for the Welsh premiere of Requiem, in the wonderful Cathderal of St Woolos Newport, South Wales.



Pershore Abbey © J. Hannan-Briggs

Pershore Abbey
June 18th 2022

[Rescheduled event from June 20th 2020]

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



StBarnabas Ealing © Roger Green

London

Originally scheduled for March 2020; awaiting a rescheduled date



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