Manx Festival Chorus

From ManxWiki

St Matthew's Church, where the choir performs in the Isle of Man

The Manx Festival Chorus is an enthusiastic choir of mixed voices based in the Isle of Man, with a membership of over 50.

The Chorus was founded in 1968 and, ever since its creation, John Bethell MBE has been its Artistic Director and Conductor.

Repertoire

The choir's repertoire includes the finest and best-loved works of the great composers, from Bach via Elgar, Handel, Haydn and Mozart, to Williamson. All performances include well-known soloists and a significant number have involved distinguished guest conductors.

The Chorus performs at least two concerts annually at St. Matthew's Church on North Quay, Douglas. The Chorus also travels overseas in most seasons and has given performances in New York, Latour and Uzerche (France), Finland and Malta. During many of these visits the Chorus performs in international music festivals and with other choirs. In 2010 the Chorus will visit Jordan.

Last year was the Chorus's 40th anniversary and we performed Handel's Messiah, as we did in our first season. In May this year, we performed Rossini's Petite Messe Solenelle.

This season we have been working on Haydn's oratorio Creation. We were due to perform this on 10th January, but as a result of adverse weather conditions we postponed it to Sunday 16th May, still at St. Matthew's Church at 2.30pm. Tickets bought for 10th January will be valid for the 16th May.

We are also rehearsing Puccini's Missa di Gloria and Vivaldi's Gloria for a performance later this year.