Choral Workshop: Blackburn

Our popular choral workshops are a fun and engaging way to explore a variety of music inspired by The Sixteen’s own performances.

Under the guidance of expert workshop leaders including The Sixteen’s associate conductor Eamonn Dougan, and singers Charlotte Mobbs and Julie Cooper and practical scholar Sally Dunkley, workshops include advice on vocal technique (breathing technique, invigorating warm-ups, voice production) as well as performance interpretation and historical context.

The 2022 Choral Pilgrimage features Parry’s Songs of Farewell which must surely rank among some of the finest choral works ever written. Deeply affected by the First World War, Parry sought poetry that would reflect not only peace and unity and the search for a better world, but also an escape from the horrors of war. The poems Parry chose to set are sublime, be they metaphysical poetry by John Donne and Henry Vaughan or the aching beauty of Thomas Campion’s verse. Perfectly complementing the rich sonority of Parry’s Songs is a short piece by Campion.