Come and sing Matthew Coleridge's intensely beautiful and deeply moving REQUIEM in the incredible Pershore Abbey.
Spend the day learning this exquisite piece of music, before giving an atmospheric evening performance in the Abbey's glorious acoustics.
Matthew Coleridge
Maxim Calver
Join composer Matthew Coleridge for what is bound to be one of the highlights of his 2020 requiem in a Day Tour! We'll be working with cello soloist Maxim Calver - a grand finalist in BBC Young Musician 2018 - in the spectacular medieval Pershore Abbey.
We'll also be joined by The Real String Orchestra and soprano soloist Emily Hicks as we give an atmospheric evening performance in this astonishing building!
Book now for an unforgettable day of music-making.
Details of the day
09:00 singer registration and distribution of music (music loan is included in the workshop fee). At ST ANDREW'S CENTRE (adjacent to Pershore Abbey)
09:30 intros and warm-ups.
10:00 move to Pershore Abbey for morning workshop, led by Matthew and accompanied by Laurence Caldecote.
12:45 break for lunch. You'll find a wide selection of cafés and coffee shops nearby.
14:00 - 16:45 afternoon rehearsal, with cellist Maxim Calver and The Real String Orchestra.
19:00 - 20:00 concert performance. You'll sing Matthew's Requiem in an atmospheric concert at Pershore Abbey. Our soloists will perform items during the first half hour of the concert
Booking info
Workshop tickets (£20) includes all music hire for the day.
Audience tickets (£10) for the evening concert can also be purchased using the booking link below.
Vocal scores will available to borrow on the day, or can be purchased for £7 in advance.
Under 18s welcome, but must be accompanied by an adult chaperone.
Booking form
All day parking (£4) is available at Abbey Park, a couple of minutes' walk from the Abbey.
X50 and 53 buses run a regular service to the centre of Pershore from Worcester and Evesham.
Pershore railway station 1.6 miles from the Abbey (on Worcester - Oxford line; 10min bus ride to the Abbey).
The triumphant remnant of a Mediaeval Benedictine Monastery. Rebuilding and remodelling have produced a mixture of Norman, Early English, Decorated Gothic and Victorian architecture. The Abbey is one of the Midlands' finest venues for choral music, with a truly sublime acoustic.
Matt is rapidly gaining a reputation as an inspiring and energetic workshop leader. His Requiem-in-a-Day workshops are led with "humour, skill and encouragement" (Buckfast Abbey workshop 2019), gathering momentum through the day before culminating in moving performances of his music. He has "an extraordinary ability to make singers believe they can produce what he has in mind" (SWEMF workshop 2018).
His choral music has been performed around the world, and has been recorded and broadcast by professional ensembles including The Queens Six, Kantos Chamber Choir and RSVP Voices.
Award-winning British Cellist Maxim Calver made his concerto debut in Symphony Hall, Birmingham as part of the Grand Final of BBC Young Musician 2018. His performance of Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and BBC 4, was praised for its ‘natural ease’ and ‘emotional lyricism’. Earlier in the competition he won the Strings Category Final performing works by Lutoslawski, Brahms and Stravinsky.
Throughout his young career Maxim has performed in many prestigious venues, including Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall and Royal Festival Hall. His Concerto highlights have included Brahms' Double Concerto with Tianyou Ma, finalist of the International Menuhin Violin Competition 2018, as well as multiple performances across the UK of Elgar's Cello Concerto and Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations. His solo recitals include appearances at St. James, Piccadilly, Wethersfield Chamber Concert Series, Southwold Arts Festival and Wimbledon International Festival, where his performance of Delius' cello sonata was singled out for its "depth of tone and passionate intensity" (Planet Hugill, 2014). Upcoming highlights include recitals at Woburn Festival and Norwich Assembly House as well as multiple performances of Shostakovich's Cello Concerto no.1. For more information, view his upcoming performances here.
Originally from Gorleston-on-Sea in Norfolk, Maxim currently studies at the Royal College of Music with Professor Melissa Phelps, where he is proud to be the Hargreaves and Ball Trust Scholar supported by a Herbert Howells & Thomas Fielden Scholarship. Maxim is also very grateful to be a Hattori Foundation Junior Award recipient. Previous to his studies at the RCM, Maxim was a pupil at the Yehudi Menuhin School where he studied with Thomas Carroll for ten years. He has also participated in masterclasses with some of the worlds leading cellists including Steven Isserlis, Heinrich Schiff, Julian Lloyd Webber, Paul Katz and Guy Johnston.
Also a committed chamber musician, in 2018 Maxim toured the Netherlands as part of Trio Pantoum, appearing at venues in The Hague, Ede and Amsterdam. Their performance of Ravel’s Piano Trio was broadcast live from the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam on Dutch Radio. Maxim has released a CD of Schoenberg’s String Quartet No.1, recorded with fellow participants of the chamber music course ‘MusicWorks’, with whom he was invited to perform the work at the Lewes Chamber Music Festival.
Maxim is grateful to the Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) for their generous support in their aftercare scheme for BBC Young Musician Finalists.
Maxim plays an Alberto Aloysius Blanchi cello, dated 1906.
The Real String Orchestra, based in Stratford Upon Avon, is a mix of local music teachers, performers, young talents from music schools, conservatoires and adults who play at a high standard. The orchestra was founded by Tori Rushton, a former principal cellist at the Paris Symphony Orchestra.
Organist Laurence Caldecote holds a BA Hons in Music Composition and Professional Practice from Coventry University and studied composition with Robert Ramskill. He was one of the accompanists to the Performing Arts Choir, under Paul Leddington Wright, and gained further experience in choral leadership whilst Director to the Coventry University Performing Arts Chamber Choir.
He currently holds the position Associate Organist at St. Nicolas Parish Church, Nuneaton. He accompanies the choir there for services, concerts, the annual tour to Bridlington Priory and accompanied the service of Lessons and Carols in December 2007 which was broadcast on BBC Coventry and Warwickshire.
As an organ recitalist, Laurence has played many venues around the UK including the Anglican Cathedrals of Bradford, Bristol, Birmingham, Liverpool, Portsmouth, Sheffield and Wakefield as well as Christchurch Priory, St. Bride’s Fleet Street, London, Blenheim Palace, and the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow.
Come and sing Matthew Coleridge's Requiem in Portsmouth's 'Cathedral by the Sea', with an atmospheric evening performance conducted by the composer. With cello soloist Sarah Gait, soprano Emily Hicks and organist David Price.
Come and sing Matthew Coleridge's Requiem in one of London's most beautiful Victorian Gothic churches - St James, Sussex Gardens, Paddington. We'll be working with cello soloist Olivia da Costa and organist George de Voil.
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. With cello soloist George Owen, and Gloucester Cathedral organist Jonathan Hope.
Come and sing Matthew Coleridge's Requiem in the wonderful acoustics of Pershore's Medieval Abbey, with an evening performance conducted by the composer. With cello soloist Maxim Calver (BBC Young Musician finalist 2018) and The Real String Orchestra.
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! With cellist Sarah Gait and organist Laurence Caldecote.
Join 250 singers to perform Matthew Coleridge's Requiem, and experience the rapture of singing in one of England's finest Medieval Cathedrals. With cello soloist Jamal Aliyev, acclaimed soprano Karin Dahlberg, and Exeter Cathedral's organist Timothy Noon.
