The Choir of St John’s College to embark on Far East tour

The Choir will be performing at the Hong Kong City Concert Hall and the Singapore Esplanade

Published: 23/03/2018

The St John’s College Choir is in the Far East to perform concerts in Hong Kong and Singapore.

The Choir will be performing at the Hong Kong City Concert Hall on 27 March, and the Singapore Esplanade on 30 March. The programme is entitled 'Faire is the Heaven' and will include a selection of choral works from the 16th Century to the present, from composers such as Britten, Poulenc, Rachmaninoff, and Parry. Glen Dempsey and James Anderson-Besant will be playing the organ, and the Choir will be directed by Andrew Nethsingha, Director of Music at St John’s.

Choir

The Choir of St John's. Credit: Nick Rutter

"It is a joy for St John’s College Choir to be able to share this with others around the world, acting as ambassadors for the great tradition."

 

As well as performing the two concerts, the Choir will also be collaborating with the Raffles Girls' School Choir in a workshop at their school, and they will also perform at special recitals for St John's College alumni based in Hong Kong and Singapore. The Choir and the Master will meet alumni as well as several scholarship winners whilst in the Far East, including winners of the new Hong Kong Scholarship Programme.

The Choir last toured to Singapore and Hong Kong in 2015 where they performed concerts at Hong Kong City Hall and Singapore Esplanade, and collaborated with choirs from Hong Kong University and the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, National University of Singapore. The Choir also sang at the Lying in State of Mr Lee Kuan Yew, the founding Prime Minister of Singapore and an alumnus of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. Lee Kuan Yew is the father of the current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, whom the Choir met during the tour and who is also a Cambridge alumnus (Trinity College).

Andrew Nethsingha, Director of Music at St John’s, said: "It is a great pleasure to be returning to Singapore and Hong Kong, two places which I love! The Anglican choral tradition is one of the jewels in our country’s cultural crown. It is a joy for St John’s College Choir to be able to share this with others around the world, acting as ambassadors for the great tradition. Our programme includes a couple of short pieces dating from early in our College’s 500 year history. However the majority of the programme is music written since our Chapel was built 150 years ago. Much of the programme is British, but we include French, Russian and American pieces as a sample of our wide-ranging repertoire."

Tickets for the performance on 27 March at Hong Kong City Hall are available at www.urbtix.hk and for the concert at the Singapore Esplanade on 30 March from www.sistic.com.sg .