West Midlands choir announces student bursary scheme

Applications are now sought for Birmingham Bach Choir.

Aspiring tenors will have the opportunity to work with Birmingham’s leading large chamber choir and benefit from the training given by internationally renowned conductor, tutor, composer and author Paul Spicer.

The bursaries are open to tenors under the age of 30 who have student status. They run from September 2015 to July 2016 and are for £500 each.

Birmingham Bach Choir is one of the UK’s most distinguished chamber choirs, with members based across the West Midlands region. They perform regularly at such venues as Birmingham Symphony Hall, Birmingham Cathedral, the CBSO Centre and Tewkesbury Abbey. Their forthcoming programme includes concerts in Malvern and Stratford-upon-Avon.

Successful applicants will be required to participate in the choir’s major concerts, and will also be required to attend a minimum of 75% of regular Wednesday evening rehearsals (in Birmingham), to include the final rehearsal prior to a major concert, and additionally the pre-concert rehearsal on performance day.

This is the second year the choir has offered the bursaries to young tenors. Recipients of the 2014-2015 scheme were James Beddoe, Richard James and Tom Dalton.

Final deadline for 2015-2016 bursary applications is 12 noon, Wednesday 23 September 2015. Interested singers are invited to attend rehearsals starting on Wednesday 9 September to experience rehearsing with the choir and sample the repertoire.

Sarah Platt, Birmingham Bach Choir Chair, said: “We’re very pleased to continue to support new talent in the area with this scheme. For applicants it represents a unique opportunity to rehearse and perform with a much respected choir, performing works by Rossini and JS Bach, as well as more contemporary repertoire, over the coming year.”

For more details on the choir, and how to apply, see: www.birmingham.bachchoir.com