Venue: St Mary’s Church

Time: 8pm

Details:

Brian Lavender musical director
Stephanie Smith soprano
Natalie Gunner alto
Phylip Nichols tenor
Meic Morgan bass



I was glad C.Hubert H. Parry (1848 - 1918)
Orchestral arrangement by Peter Lawson

The Armed Man (Choral suite) Karl Jenkins (b. 1944)
Kyrie - Sanctus - Benedictus - Agnus Dei - God shall wipe away all tears

Interval

Requiem Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791)
Completed by F.X.Sussmayer
Introitus - Kyrie - Sequenz - Offertorium - Sanctus - Benedictus - Agnus Dei - Communio


The choir was originally formed at the request of the Pembroke & Pembroke Dock Joint Twinning committee with the express purpose of visiting the twinned town of Pembroke in Malta. This very successful visit took place in October 2007 and during the weeks stay performed 5 concerts. The first concert in Malta was in the Church adjacent to the Town Hall of Pembroke where a welcoming reception was held. Thereafter concerts were performed in churches in Siggiewi, Valletta and Gozo. Another experience was to perform before invited dignitaries at the Residence of the British High Commissioner to Malta; this being held in the open air floodlit tennis court.

On their return the members of the choir agreed to continue the operation of the choir and seek other opportunities for travel. The current membership is about 60 choristers, they are directed by Brian Lavender who is well known in musical circles as an Organist and Choirmaster in local churches. Because most of the members are also members of other choirs in the Pembrokeshire area the choir does not rehearse regularly and meets before specifically arranged events, usually in the summer.
In October 2008 the choir travelled to Northampton and performed at Mount Pleasant Baptist church in order to raise funds for a Residential Care Home and also sang Mass in the Roman Catholic Cathedral. This visit was arranged by Rev. Paul Lavender, who is the senior minister at Mount Pleasant and now lives in Northampton.

The choir has recently returned from a visit to Poland where they sang in The Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw. They also visited the concentration camp at Auschwitz where they sang the Lords Prayer and God so loved the World adjacent to the Memorial Wall. During a visit to the Wieliczka Salt Mine the choir sang in the largest chapel in the complex almost 350ft underground having descended in miner’s cages and many stairs. On the final night of the stay in Krakow the choir sang to a capacity audience in the Philharmonic Hall sharing the stage with the local University choir. The evening culminated with a meal in a cellar restaurant to the accompaniment of a Polish folk group.

In January 2010 the choir continued their travels when they sang in the foyer of the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff. They have also received an invitation to visit Germany in 2011.

For this special concert the choir will be accompanied by an orchestra for the first time; the orchestra having been formed especially for this event by Melanie Walker. The leader is Rebecca Whitehurst.