Huddersfield Choral Society opens the 2024-25 season on November 2 with Let All The World In Every Corner Sing!
HCS welcomes back internationally-renowned baritone Roderick Williams OBE for the opening concert of the season.
This is a rare opportunity to hear Roderick in live performance with a repertoire designed to showcase the unique quality of a singer who has appeared in all the world’s leading opera houses and concert halls without ever losing touch with grassroots music.
The 24-25 choral season is made up of four concerts. On December 6 is the Christmas Concert. Step into the true spirit of Christmas with the traditional opening to the festive season, this year featuring the British Sinfonietta, the mighty Father Willis organ, and the massed ranks of HCS and the award-winning HCS Youth Choirs.
If you’ve never been to an HCS concert before, this is the perfect introduction to the ‘Huddersfield Sound.’
Expect to be blown away by the power of the choir, serenaded by its sensitivity and charmed by its artistry.
On December 21 is G.F. Handel’s Messiah. This is the most celebrated choral work and the Hallelujah Chorus is instantly recognisable.
The HCS annual Christmas Messiah performance is a Huddersfield tradition, broken only once since 1864 when concert halls closed in the 2020 Covid pandemic.
It is also the Choral’s signature piece, with a number of notable recordings beginning with Sir Malcolm Sargent in the 1950s and most recently with Jane Glover (now Dame Jane Glover) in 2010. This concert will have British Sign Language interpretation.
Finally on April 5 2025 is The Dream of Gerontius, which is reckoned by many to be the Great English Oratorio. It will be conducted by Martyn Brabbins and accompanied by the Orchestra of Opera North.
The Spring 2025 concert will be recorded live for the Hyperion label which has been so important to the emergence of HCS as champions of Elgar’s music; one that will stand alongside those historic performances.
HCS are delighted to be working with the Hyperion Label, which does not yet have a Gerontius in its catalogue.
Tickets for all four concerts are already selling fast and both the Christmas Concert and the Messiah concert completely sold out last year.
Huddersfield Choral Society, or Huddersfield Choral as they’re known today, was established in 1836 and is one of the oldest established large choirs in the world. The choir performed at the BBC Proms in 2023.
Tickets can be booked at www.huddersfieldchoral.com/whats-on/
