News from our partners: New season of lunch-hour concerts at Shrewsbury’s civic church

News from our partners St Chad’s Church, Shrewsbury

Once again in 2020 St Chad’s Church, Shrewsbury is offering over 50 lunch-hour concerts, making it one of the biggest series in the country.

Concerts begin on Friday 7 February 2020, and take place every Friday until Christmas, together with extra organ recitals on the first Tuesday of summer months. Concerts begin at 12.40pm, they last just 40 minutes and concertgoers can park from midday to 2.00pm free of charge at the church. After Friday concerts there is a light lunch served in the church hall.

Gill Styles and Richard Walker

Concert Director Richard Walker said:

“Our growing audiences are enthusiastic, and many regard Friday at St Chad’s as the most enjoyable part of their week. Well over 100 usually attend the Friday events. Both the organ and the piano at St Chad’s are the best church instruments for miles around, and excellent performers are constantly asking us to give them a platform.  Where else can you find a regular concert series with free parking, no tickets required and lunch on site afterwards! Audiences come from all over the West Midlands to enjoy high quality music-making by performers of all ages.”

Galina Vale

A few highlights: on Friday 7 February soprano Catherine Rooney returns with trumpeter Wendy Jones for a spectacular concert. On 3 April, Galina Vale returns gives us another of her unique guitar recitals, and two vocal students from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire visit us on 24 April and 1 May. Georgina Taylor, one of the country’s leading young harpists, returns on 22 May. Once again, there are two cello recitals – Corinne Frost with Janine Parsons (19 June) and Ulrich Heinen with John Humphreys (3 July), and the Kell Wind Trio, who gave their St Chad’s debut to a really enthusiastic audience in 2019, return on 2 October.

Concerts by students from Chetham’s School of Music are on 28 February, 12 June, 9 October and 6 November. Pupils from The Old Hall School, Wellington, appear on 14 February, Packwood Haugh 13 March, and Shrewsbury High School 11 September.

Cello Connection

Organ recitals again form a significant part of the year’s entertainment, and amongst many other excellent players we welcome international organists Sara Musemuci from Sicily, Colin Andrews from the US, Peter King and Paul Carr; others include Martin Brown from Bangor Cathedral and Carleton Etherington from Tewkesbury Abbey together with recitals by Anthony Pinel and Richard Walker from the home team at St Chad’s.

Full listings, including programmes of forthcoming concerts, can be found on the church website: www.stchadschurchshrewsbury.com, where details of other musical activities at St Chad’s, including regular choral services, are posted.