Chester Music Society Choir Announces 2026 Cathedral Concert Featuring Mozart's Requiem
The Chester Music Society Choir, one of the city's premier vocal ensembles, is preparing to launch its 2026 performance season with a spectacular concert at Chester Cathedral. Scheduled for Saturday, March 21 at 7:30 PM, this event will showcase a collaboration with the Liverpool Sinfonia and four distinguished soloists under the baton of Conductor Graham Jordan Ellis.
Iconic Musical Program Highlights
The concert program centers on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Requiem, one of the most renowned compositions in classical music history. Mozart began this work in Vienna in 1791 but left it incomplete at his death later that year. The finished version was delivered to Count Franz von Walsegg, who commissioned it to honor his wife's passing. Although Joseph Eybler and Franz Xaver Süssmayr are credited with its completion, debates persist about the authorship of specific sections.
Mozart's Requiem has achieved widespread recognition through its use in numerous films and television series, including Amadeus, X-Men 2, Eyes Wide Shut, The Big Lebowski, The Crown, and Peaky Blinders.
Complementing this masterpiece, the choir will perform two celebrated works by English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams: the English Folk Song Suite and Five Mystical Songs. The suite, first published for military band in 1923 and later orchestrated, incorporates melodies from nine English folk songs, six sourced from the collection of Vaughan Williams' colleague Cecil Sharp.
The Five Mystical Songs, composed between 1906 and 1911, set poems by seventeenth-century Welsh poet and Anglican priest George Herbert to music. Notably, Vaughan Williams, an atheist, embraced Herbert's religious themes. One of these songs, Antiphon, known as the hymn Let All the World In Every Corner Sing, recently featured in the BBC's adaptation of Lord of the Flies.
Talented Soloists and Conductor
The performance will feature four accomplished soloists who bring diverse backgrounds and extensive experience to the stage.
- Mezzo Soprano Judith Le Breuilly, originally from Birmingham and now based in Ghent, Belgium, is a young artist at the International Opera Academy. A graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, her recent roles include appearances at the Wexford Opera Festival, English Touring Opera, and productions with Garsington Opera and Welsh National Opera.
- Soprano Brittany King, a Canadian soloist, has performed at prestigious venues across the UK and Canada, including St Paul’s Cathedral, York Minster, and Worcester Cathedral. Her repertoire highlights include Mozart’s Solemn Vespers, Fauré’s Requiem, and works by Bach and Mahler.
- Tenor Greg Tassell, who began his choral career as a chorister at Durham Cathedral, studied at Exeter University and the Royal College of Music. He has performed with English Touring Opera and at festivals such as the London Handel Festival and the Three Choirs Festival. A founder member of the professional chamber choir Sonoro, he also served as a deputy tenor at Canterbury Cathedral for two decades.
- Baritone Thomas Humphreys, who started singing at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, and studied at the Royal Academy of Music, regularly collaborates with UK orchestras like the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. In 2023, he debuted at the Philharmonie de Paris and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, performing Schubert Lieder with pianist Maria Joao Pires.
Conductor Graham Jordan Ellis will lead the ensemble, ensuring a cohesive and dynamic performance.
Anticipation and Booking Details
John Ferrari, chair of the Chester Music Society Choir, expressed enthusiasm for the upcoming event. "We are very much looking forward to welcoming our four talented guest soloists, Liverpool Sinfonia, and Conductor Graham Jordan Ellis for this concert featuring Mozart's famous Requiem, one of those pieces that you will know, even if you don't think you do," he said. "We're also pleased to be presenting two of Ralph Vaughan Williams' best known works. It promises to be a very special evening indeed."
Tickets for the concert are available for purchase online through the Chester Music Society's official website or in person at the Chester Cathedral Box Office. This event promises to be a memorable cultural highlight in Chester's 2026 calendar, blending historic ambiance with world-class musical artistry.
