Information for singers

Festival rehearsals fall into two groups:

For the Spring concert in March, weekly rehearsals are held in the period leading up to the concert on Saturday / Sunday afternoons. It is expected that all singers will attend most of these rehearsals, which are taken by our Chorus Master and accompanied by our Festival Accompanist. The Festival Conductor usually attends one or two, as well as taking the final mandatory rehearsals on Saturday / Sunday afternoon immediately before the concert.

For the main two-day Festival in April, choirs rehearse and prepare independently for the most part. However, any choir member wishing to participate in a Festival concert must have sung in the combined rehearsals for that concert (below). There are three combined rehearsals lasting two hours for each choir group, each accompanied by the Festival Accompanist. The final afternoon rehearsal on the day of each concert is also mandatory. These rehearsals are the opportunity for the Festival Conductor to prepare the combined choirs for their performances at the evening concerts.

Rehearsal schedule

Festival: Friday

Will Todd's Passion Music and Jazz Missa Brevis

Choirs: Beare Green & Newdigate, Bookham, Buckland & Betchworth, Holmbury St. Mary, Horsley and Mickleham

Concert on Friday April 11th 2025 19:30 in the Grand Hall, Dorking Halls, Reigate Road, Dorking, RH4 1SG

  • Music for choirs

    Each choir will present an ‘own-choice’ recital (max. 15 mins), to include:

    i. A piece with accompaniment

    ii. A piece sung unaccompanied (a cappella)

    iii. A piece written by a living composer

    Ensemble

    There will be an optional Ensemble Competition each day where groups of between 4-12 singers will perform a piece, selected by the Music Committee.

    SATB: Rebecca Clarke - A lover’s dirge (Unaccompanied)

    Lower Voices: Amy Beach - Sea Fever (Accompanied)

    Upper Voices: Elizabeth Poston - The Water of Tyne (Unaccompanied).

    The rules for the Ensemble category:

    A choir can choose to perform up to two pieces out of the three options available.

    Each ensemble doesn't need to be unique, e.g. if a choir chooses to enter more than one ensemble then their tenors could sing in both ensembles

    Seating plan

  • Beare Green and Newdigate                                                       

    Accompanied                My bonnie lies over the ocean - Folk song Arr. Peter White    

    Unaccompanied           Cantate Domino - Giuseppe Pitoni (1657-1741)          

    Living Composer          Thy perfect love - John Rutter (b1945) 

                                                                                                                                                   

    Bookham                  

    Accompanied                Who is Sylvia? - George Shearing (1919-2011)

    Unaccompanied           Time and Concord - Benjamin Britten (1913-76)          

    Living Composer          Wild forces - Jake Runestad (b1986)    

                                                                                                                                                        

    Buckland and Betchworth

    Accompanied                Ave verum - Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934)       

    Unaccompanied           God so loved the world - John Stainer (1840-1901)     

    Living Composer          For the beauty of the Earth - John Rutter (b1945)       

     

    Holmbury St Mary                                                                          

    Accompanied                Wie der Hirsch schreit nach frischen Wasser  - Felix Mendelssohn (1809-47)

    Unaccompanied           Kyrie  (Mass for four voices) - William Byrd (1540-1623)         

    Living Composer          Give all to love - Alec Roth (b 1948) (from ‘A time to dance’)  

     

    Horsley

    Accompanied                Sure on this shining night - Samuel Barber (1910-81)  

    Unaccompanied           Come live with me - Sir W Sterndale Bennett (1816-75)          

    Living Composer          The lily and the rose - Bob Chilcott (b1955)

     

    Mickleham

    Accompanied                Yesterday - Lennon & McCartney, arr.Chilcott)

    Unaccompanied           Linden Lea - Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)    

    Living Composer              Hal’lu Alleluia - Roxanna Panufnik (b1968)   

  • Festival Adjudicator

    We are delighted to announce that Joanna Forbes L’estrange will be our adjudicator for both days of the Festival

    Morning

    09:30 - Choirs to be ready in the Grand Hall

    9:40 - Choirs on the stage for a warm up and the draw for the order for choir recitals and ensembles

    9:50 - Warm up including Song for a Spring Festival

    10:00 - LHMF Competition begins

    c.12:00 - Recitals competition finishes

    c.12:05 - Ensembles competition begins

    c.12:30 - Adjudication

    12:45 - LHMF Competition ends

    Afternoon

    14:15 Singers assemble on to stage

    14.30 Rehearsal Starts - Jazz Missa Brevis

    15.10 Passion Music 

    16.00 Break

    16.15 Passion Music continued

    17.00 Choir finished

    17.30 Band finished

    Evening

    19:15 Choir on stage

    19:30 Concert start Missa Brevis, Jazz set

    20.10 Prize Giving

    20.25 Interval start

    20.45 Interval end

    21.30 Concert ends

    Dress Code for Competition

    Choirs are free to choose their own dress code (if any)

    Dress Code for Concert

    • Black suit trousers/long skirt

    • Black long sleeved shirt/top

    • Black shoes

    • No tie

    • No jacket

    • Small black bag if required

Festival: Saturday

Elgar: Dream of Gerontius

Choirs: Capel, Dorking, Epsom, Leatherhead and Oxshott

Concert on Saturday 12th Apr 2025, 19:30 in the Grand Hall, Dorking Halls, Reigate Road, Dorking, RH4 1SG

  • Music for choirs

    Each choir will present an ‘own-choice’ recital (max. 15 mins), to include:

    i. A piece with accompaniment

    ii. A piece sung unaccompanied (a cappella)

    iii. A piece written by a living composer

    Ensemble

    There will be an optional Ensemble Competition each day where groups of between 4-12 singers will perform a piece, selected by the Music Committee.

    SATB: Rebecca Clarke - A lover’s dirge (Unaccompanied)

    Lower Voices: Amy Beach - Sea Fever (Accompanied)

    Upper Voices: Elizabeth Poston - The Water of Tyne (Unaccompanied).

    The rules for the Ensemble category:

    A choir can choose to perform up to two pieces out of the three options available.

    Each ensemble doesn't need to be unique, e.g. if a choir chooses to enter more than one ensemble then their tenors could sing in both ensembles

    Seating plan

  • Capel

    Accompanied                   The Dance (der Tanz) - Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
    Unaccompanied              Ubi Caritas - Ola Gjeilo (b1978)
    Living Composer              I know a ban - Sarah Quartel (b1982)

    Dorking

    Accompanied                   News from New England - Cecilia McDowall (b1951)

    Unaccompanied              Northern lights - Ola Gjeilo (b1978)
    Living Composer              When love speaks - Owain Park (b1993)        

    Epsom

    Accompanied                   Supercallifragilisticexpialidociou - Mac Huff (b1958)

    Unaccompanied              God so loved the World - John Stainer (1840-1901) (from The Crucifixion)  

    Living Composer              De Profundis - Russell Hepplewhite   

    Leatherhead

    Accompanied                   Cantique de Jean Racine - Gabriel Faure (1845-1924)

    Unaccompanied              The Isle is full of noises - Bob Chilcott (b1955)           

    Living Composer              Ndikhokhele Bawo - Trad. Arr. Michael Barrett        

    Oxshott

    Accompanied                   The shepherd’s song - Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934)

    Unaccompanied              Abendlied - Josef Rheinberger (1839-1901)

    Living Composer              The seal lullaby - Eric Whitacre (b1970)         

  • Festival Adjudicator

    We are delighted to announce that Joanna Forbes L’estrange will be our adjudicator for both days of the Festival

    Morning

    09:50 - Choirs to be ready in the Grand Hall

    10.00 - Choirs on the stage for a warm up and the draw for the order for choir recitals and ensembles

    10:10 - Warm up including Song for a Spring Festival

    10:20 - LHMF Competition begins

    c.12:00 - Recitals competition finishes

    c.12:05 - Ensembles competition begins

    c.12:30 - Adjudication

    12:45 - LHMF Competition ends

    Afternoon

    14:10 Singers assemble on stage

    14.30 Part 1 (all), and Part 2 all choruses

    16.00/16.10 approx Break - choir finished

    16.15/16.25 rehearsal continues with orchestra and soloists

    17.30 Rehearsal finishes

    Evening

    19:15 Choir on stage

    19:30 Prize Giving (allow 20 minutes)

    19:50 Concerts stars – Part 1

    20.20 Interval start

    20.40 Interval end - Part 2

    21.50 Concert ends

    Dress Code for Competition

    Choirs are free to choose their own dress code (if any)

    Dress Code for Concert

    • Black suit trousers/long skirt

    • Black long sleeved shirt/top

    • Black shoes

    • No tie

    • No jacket

    • Small black bag if required

  • PART 1

    p10      bar 222     Stand
    p23      bar 339     Sit              
    p33      bar 543     Stand

    PART 2

    p69      bar 212     Stand on 3rd note ‘there’
    p91      bar 407     Sit
    p94      bar 451     Stand - Sops and Altos only
    p101    bar 512    Stand - Tenor and Bass
    p147    Last bar    Wait to turn to next page
    p148    bar 845     Sit
    p155                      Sing while seated
    p162    bar 1037   Stand on 3rd note ‘rise’

How do I get my music?

For the Spring concert:

When enrolling for the Spring concert you will have the option to include music hire within your fee and you can collect your music at the first rehearsal. It is important to use the correct editions when singing at the Festival which will be advised when the concert is announced.

For the April competitions and concerts:

The music to be sung at the Festival in April is chosen by a Music Committee chaired by Jonathan Willcocks.

The music is announced well in advance and is sourced and distributed to Choir Librarians by the Choral Librarians, to ensure consistency of editions and fairness for all and to help with the cost.

Competitions

Each choir will present an ‘own-choice’ recital (max. 15 mins), to include:

i. A piece with accompaniment

ii. A piece sung unaccompanied (a cappella)

iii. A piece written by a living composer

Ensemble Competition:

As a ‘prelude’ to the Competitions, there will be an optional Ensemble Competition each day where groups of between 4-12 singers will perform a single unaccompanied piece, selected by the Music Committee. Choirs may enter as many groups as they wish.