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The Tudor Consort returns for 2020

Hello to our wonderful supporters!

Though we have unfortunately had to cancel the 2020 Subscription Series due to Covid-19, we are very happy to announce that we have emerged from lockdown and will perform two concerts over the coming months!

Our first concert, INVOCATIONS, explores music that was written in the midst of plague, reminding us that pandemics have been negotiated by humankind for centuries. This will take place on Saturday 29 August at 7pm at Wellington Cathedral of St Paul - see here for details on Facebook. Note that this concert will NOT feature a pre-concert talk, but Michael Stewart will introduce the pieces during the concert.

The second concert is one that we have taken from the 2020 Subscription Series that is really pertinent to this year - the FIELD OF THE CLOTH OF GOLD celebrates the 500th anniversary of the famous summit meeting between Henry VIII and Francois I of France, and features music by the prominent composers of France and England at that time including Robert Fayrfax, Jean Mouton, and Henry VIII himself. Again this concert will be at Wellington Cathedral of St Paul on Saturday November 7 at 7.30pm (pre-concert talk at 7pm).

And we round out the year with MESSIAH with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra - see here for more details.

Hope to see you at our upcoming concerts!

Wednesday 22 July, 2020

Update re Music for Holy Week

To all our wonderful Tudor Consort supporters,

What a difference a few days can make. Last Thursday I advised that, although we would not open the Good Friday concert to the public on April 10, we were hopeful that the choir could continue rehearsing with a view to either livestreaming or producing some form of recording of our current Music for Holy Week programme. Once PM Ardern announced that the level on the COVID-19 alert system was to be raised to 3 with a complete lockdown of the country tomorrow, we of course had no choice but to suspend our rehearsals to guarantee the safety of our singers and to join the national effort in curbing the spread of the disease.

What I am hoping to do is broadcast an archived recording from The Tudor Consort and make that available to you so you can listen to us on Good Friday. In the meantime, you can access some of our recordings at the MP3 section of our website here.

Kia kaha everyone, stay safe and please do abide by the regulations of the lockdown. We look forward to being able to perform for you in the flesh as soon as we can!

Best wishes,

Michael Stewart

Music Director, The Tudor Consort

Tuesday 24 March, 2020

Good Friday concert

Dear Tudor Consort supporter,

We are very aware of the evolving situation regarding the containment of COVID-19, and how this will affect the arts sector and the likelihood of our performances taking place in the near future.

The Tudor Consort committee and singers of the current ‘Music for Holy Week’ project met a couple of days ago to come up with a plan that we would like to communicate to you now.

We do not feel it is responsible of us to gather together a large crowd, particularly as many of our supporters fall in the most vulnerable bracket. For this reason, we will not be putting on the ‘Music for Holy Week’ programme as a normal, live concert at Wellington Cathedral of St Paul as previously advertised.

However, we also feel that it is important for art to continue as much as possible in these uncertain times. Our proposition is to record the concert in some way (perhaps livestream, but definitely in an audio format) which we can then distribute via email and social media. That way, you can enjoy the concert we have been preparing in the comfort of your own home without running the risk of contamination from others.

Of course, this plan can only proceed if the choir is able to meet and rehearse. The consensus in the group is that we would like to do this until gatherings of this sort are officially advised against.

For subscribers, we have a couple of options that we would like to offer you in relation to this concert:

1) CD recording of concert and a donation tax receipt for the concert subscription price
2) Refund of the subscription price

We hope that you are happy with these proposals, and we look forward to being able to perform for you again in person at some point in the near future. For the moment though, please keep yourselves safe.

Yours sincerely,

Michael Stewart
Music Director, The Tudor Consort

Thursday 19 March, 2020

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