THE Toshiba Philharmonic Chorus will be the guest choir at a concert at St Andrew?s Church, Plymouth, tonight (Thursday).
They will perform in a combined concert with the University of Plymouth Choral Society with the proceeds in aid of the Children?s Hospice South West.
The Toshiba choir will perform two sets of contemporary Japanese pieces by the composers Kosaku Yamada and Toru Takemitsu and six short sacred pieces by the English composer John Rutter.
The Yamada songs are tales of nature and the dawning of spring and the Takemitsu pieces include ?All that the man left behind when he died?, written for a 1965 ?Citizens wishing for peace in Vietnam? meeting. The song asks ?What did the war leave behind?? The answer is ?nothing?. The choir?s musical director is Yoshinori Kawachi.
The University of Plymouth Choir will start the concert with choruses from Handel?s Coronation Anthem ?The King Shall Rejoice?. The choir will also sing a selection of traditional British folk-song arrangements and part-songs by Pearsall and Sullivan and the very beautiful Cantique de Jean Racine by Faure. The performance will end with the two choirs combining for Mozart?s Ave Verum Corpus, Bruckner?s Locus Iste and, for the grand finale, the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel?s Messiah. The organ accompanist for the concert is Jonathan Watts.
University of Plymouth Musical Director, Simon Ible, said: ?We are pleased to welcome the Toshiba Choir. It is always exciting to meet singers from around the world.
?The passion for making music provides an opportunity for the world community to unite. The combined forces of the two choirs should exceed 200 voices. Singing Handel?s Hallelujah Chorus is going to be really exhilarating for performers and listeners and I think the warmth and breadth of such a large ensemble is going to make Mozart?s Ave Verum Corpus very moving.
?I hope the event is well supported ? we should like to feel we have raised both funds and the profile of the Children?s Hospice South West.?
The concert begins at 7.30pm.
Tickets priced £3.50 unreserved are available from Plymouth Music Shop, 35/37 Mayflower Street, Plymouth. Tel: 01752 670403..