Name: To The Distant Beloved...
Start: 2024-09-10T19:30:00+01:00
End: 2024-09-10T21:00:00+01:00
Location: Wells Cathedral

To  The Distant Beloved...

Located at the southern tip of the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and described as the “most poetic” of the English Cathedrals, Wells Cathedral is home to a thriving spiritual, musical and historical community that stretches back nearly 850 years.The Cathedral welcomes visitors all year round to experience its stunning architecture, world-class music, and a full programme of events, tours and concerts.

Wells Cathedral

A concert recital of German art songs and arias in aid of Wells Cathedral Chorister Trust

A concert recital of German art songs and ariasPerformed by Operatic Soprano and Former Wells Chorister, Sophie Gallagher, and Baritone and Wells Vicar Choral, William Drakett, in aid of Wells Cathedral Chorister Trust.In a recital not to be missed, these two superlative exponents of the repertoire will perform a sublime programme of German art songs and arias

William Drakett studied singing under Prof. Konrad Jarnot at the Robert Schumann Conservatoire in Düsseldorf, following organ and harpsichord studies at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. His vocal studies have been further enriched by masterclasses with artists including Brigitte Fassbaender, Juliane Banse, Hans Eijsackers, Neal Davies, Eric Schneider, Christianne Stotijn &amp; Henk Neven.William has performed on the stage in operatic roles including Sharpless (Puccini Madama Butterfly), Demetrius (Britten A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Aeneas (Purcell Dido and Aeneas) &amp; Henry Higgins (Loewe My Fair Lady) under the baton of conductors including Vladimir Jurowski, Stefano Rabaglia, Duncan Ward, Ernst von Marshall &amp; Thomas Gabrisch at venues such as the Düsseldorf Tonhalle, Cologne Opera &amp; Bavarian State Opera. He is also in demand as a concert soloist in England and Germany in works including Elijah (Mendelssohn), Dream of Gerontius (Elgar), St. John Passion, St. Matthew Passion, Christmas Oratorio &amp; B Minor Mass (Bach), A German Requiem (Brahms), Five Mystical Songs (Vaughan Williams), Requiem (Mozart, Fauré &amp; Duruflé) and In Terra Pax (Martin).William has a particular love of the art song repertoire, and enjoys collaborating with pianists including Hans Eijsackers, Benjamin Mead &amp; Reinild Mees. He now lives in Wells where he is a Vicar Choral in the choir of Wells Cathedral. He continues his vocal studies privately with John Evans.

Sophie Gallagher was awarded first prize at the Gustav Mahler Competition, Geneva with duo partner and pianist Émile Chandellier for their performances of Mahler, Berg, Wolf and Schubert. Sophie enjoyed her first European debuts as Emmie in Albert Herring by Benjamin Britten for Maggio Musicale Firenze under the baton of Jonathan Webb and First Witch in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas conducted by Harry Bickett at l’Opéra de Lausanne. This season 23/24 she was invited to perform a Gala Concert with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra with Federico Maria Sardelli with a programme of Handel arias from Alcina.During her studies in the UK Sophie performed two solo recitals at The Queen's Gallery Buckingham Palace and as a soloist at St. John's Smith Square in Schutz’ Christmas Oratorio. Sophie began singing, cello, piano and organ whilst at school in England (in Salisbury &amp; Wells) before devoting herself entirely to solo singing. After graduating from her undergraduate studies at the Royal College of Music (Josephine Baker Prize), Sophie moved to Florence and later gained a Masters degree at the Haute École de Musique in Geneva.From 2020-2022, Sophie was artist in residence for Brera Musica at the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan, starring in their original cinematic film ‘Peregrin and the Giant Fish’ and various Lieder recitals. During 2022/2023 season, Sophie appeared as Rachel in the creation of The Song of the Ladder by John Barber in Florence as well as Fiordiligi in Così Fan Tutte by Mozart at the Bâtiment des Forces Motrices in Geneva. She collaborates regularly with the Gli Angeli orchestra in Geneva. Their recent performance at Victoria Hall of Bach's Saint John Passion was acclaimed by the public and the press: “The young Sophie Gallagher has all the vocal assets for this type of repertoire, round voice and fruity tone” (journal; le temps.ch) and Sophie features as a soloist on the CD released with the Swiss label Claves Records.

The Wells Cathedral Chorister Trust exists to help young singers from any background to contribute to a cathedral tradition that has endured for more than a thousand years; to train in a world-class musical environment, and to enjoy a unique all-round education at Wells Cathedral School, be they day-pupils or boarders.We are creating an endowment fund to provide bursaries for talented children, so none is barred from this opportunity for financial reasons. We want to give the opportunity for choral training and an excellent education to more people from a wider range of backgrounds throughout the UK.For more information, please visit <a href="http://www.wcct.co.uk" title="http://www.wcct.co.uk" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">www.wcct.co.uk</a>Registered charity no. 1098277

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To The Distant Beloved...

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