Autumn Newsletter

Dear Singers

Welcome to our Autumn newsletter. Please feel free to forward it to other good singers you know - especially as it contains a sneak preview of our 2019 programme!

2018 Roundup

This has been a great year for Runbysingers with lots of new faces and some new destinations - as well as a welcome return to some hardy annuals - Venice and Assisi. Our Avila visit allowed us the privilege of singing Victoria's Requiem in the cathedral where he sang as a boy chorister. And the sun shone throughout the week. Maybe June is the best time to visit? July saw a performance of Brahms Requiem in Dresden and dinner on the Danube prior to a very well-attended concert in Budapest. 

August is the traditional slot for the ever-popular Assisi Summer School. This year it featured a concert in St Peter's Abbey and participation during mass at the Basilica of St Francis. Later that month Nigel Perrin directed our first UK Summer School at Bath Spa University concentrating on the music of Purcell and his contemporaries. Another jam-packed concert !

Portuguese Polyphony dominated September - with a splendid week in Evora - and Sherry - with a week of Andalusian decadence concluding with a cabaret dinner in a bodega and a concert featuring a specially commissioned anthem in praise of sherry. Then, earlier this month, a long warm weekend in Venice in the company of David Ogden and trumpeter Crispian Steele-Perkins.

Pictures of all these weeks can be found here

RBS now part of AITO

RBS has recently joined Inntravel, Martin Randall and many other leading specialist Tour Operators as a member of AITO - the Association of Independent Tour Operators. Acceptance by this prestigious organisation is only possible after intensive due diligence inspection. Membership is a guarantee of high ethical standards and requires that all holiday money is properly protected in the event of failure. This is a link to our page on the AITO website.


The 2019 Programme

Now the part you have all been waiting for... We are very pleased with next year's programme which should offer something to suit all musical tastes and aspirations. We offer a mix of early and later music, a capella and accompanied, familiar and new. We also aim to give a clearer idea of the standard of singing required which does vary from week to week.

Health Warning: Booking for the main programme will not start until January and these are all the details we have at this early stage. They are accurate at time of writing. You will be given advance notice of when booking starts and you will have priority over the general public for a limited period when full details are published on the Runbysingers website.


A Week in Toledo
2 June - 9 June   Directed by Peter North

Toledo is the undisputed cultural capital of Spain and a great centre of gastronomy and music. Expect a programme which features sacred choral music from England and Spain as well as something a little more contemporary.

 

June Week for Advanced Singers, Regensburg
16 June - 23 June   Directed by David Skinner

We will make our first visit to this historic German city - which has a long association with Early Music - for another week of a capella Renaissance riches with David Skinner. A good standard of sight-reading is required and singers will be asked to complete a more detailed application form.


A Bach Pilgrimage of Thuringia and Saxony
6 July - 14 July   Directed by Jeremy Jackman

And now for something completely different. This is not a 'classic' Runby event with five hours of rehearsals a day: our focus here is on following the footsteps of Bach, staying in four-star hotels in Weimar and Leipzig with visits to Kothen, Eisenach, Muhlhausen and Arnstadt. There will be expert guides in each location and a luxury coach to take us from place to place. We willl sing a short musical tribute in most of the places we visit and there will be two short concerts in Weimar and Leipzig plus an opportunity to sing in the great Thomaskirche - at the tomb of the Master.


Early Music Week in Ghent
28 July - 4 August   Directed by David Allinson

For fans of David Allinson, this week almost speaks for itself. Following the rapidly sold out success of Evora, we continue the Early Music theme with works by the Flemish masters. Plus boat trips, chocolate, beer and other Belgian goodies.


Assisi Summer School
4 August - 11 August   Directed by Nigel Perrin

Nigel Perrin returns to Assisi as a special Guest Conductor - some of you will remember that Nigel was the very first conductor of the Assisi Summer School. The work under consideration is the exquisite - but challenging - Pizzetti Requiem interpolated with appropriate a capella motets by masters of the Italian Renaissance.


English Summer School, Lincoln
18 August - 23 August   Directed by Nigel Perrin and Jeremy Jackman

Following the popular success of the Bath English Summer School, we move north to the University of Lincoln where we will offer two choral programmes - sacred and secular - which will run during the same week. Some work will take place in smaller groups and singers will be asked to apply in advance for specific modules.


Hereford Cathedral Weekend
29 August - 31 August   Directed by Peter North

2019 sees the welcome return of our traditional cathedral weekend. Learn to sing like a cathedral chorister as we lead the worship in the historic cathedral of Hereford. We expect to sing at least two services during the weekend.


The Glory of Venice
2 October - 6 October   Directed by Colin Durrant

This popular long weekend is always fully booked so stand by in January to apply in good time. We stay in the best part of Venice, near to all the sights but away from the crowds. And we get to sing Venetian music in Venice. No wonder it's so successful. Pictures from last year here .

 

A week in Puglia, Southern Italy
6 October -13 October  Directed by David Ogden             

Could this be the most relaxing week on offer next year? Our week will be in a charming unspoilt fishing town on the coast of Puglia far away from the tourists. Most of the accommodation will be in self-catering apartments and there will be outings to Ostuni and Lecce. Please don't apply if you don't like fish, Italy, or being by the sea!


Spanish Retreat 2, Northern Spain
30 October - 3 November   Directed by Peter North

OK - this could be even more relaxing. Perhaps. There is limited availability at our monastery in the foothills of the Pyrenees. We share our rehearsal space with a community of Benedictine monks who sing Gregorian Chant during six daily services. Meanwhile we shall prepare to sing Durufles Requiem in time for All Souls in an ancient Early Gothic Chapel - and our own
Ely-inspired service of Compline. Pictures of last year's Spanish Retreat here


Return to Barcelona
11 September - 15 September   Directed by David Skinner

Last year's visit to the remarkable city of Barcelona was very special with a performance in the Sagrada Familia cathedral and another benefit concert in a theatre outside the city. We plan a very similar visit for 2019 but with David Skinner wielding the baton. I think you can expect Tallis and Byrd to make their presence felt in Catalonia. Pictures of last year's course here.

 

Mozart at Midnight, Vienna
2 December - 5 December   Directed by Jeremy Jackman

Due to the popularity of this year's event - and the large numbers who couldn't be accommodated we will repeat this very special Mozart Requiem event in 2019. Jeremy Jackman will direct our performance in the Karlskirche on the day and hour of Mozart's death. With full orchestra and soloists. Pictures of the 2018 event here.

 

Thats it for now. Looking forward to another year of splendid music-making in 2019                 


Best wishes

Nick & Jane