Olé! Spain beckons for Exeter Philharmonic Choir

As Exeter Philharmonic Choir prepares to begin its 2024/25 season of concerts this autumn following a sell-out season last year, 47 choir members will soon be packing their song sheets to travel to Salamanca in Northern Spain for a five-day tour. At the end of September, the group will perform concerts in the Old Cathedral of Salamanca and Valladolid Cathedral and sing in a Mass at The Basilica of St Teresa in Avila. 

Ahead of their departure there’s an opportunity for local people to enjoy their Spanish tour repertoire at a free event near Exeter. St Margaret’s Church in Topsham is the venue for A Concert of English Choral Music for Spain on Saturday 21st September from 4.30 pm to 5.30 p.m and all are welcome to attend.

One of the highlights of the programme will be the performance of a new work by the choir’s Associate Director of Music, Stephen Tanner, specially commissioned for this tour. Un Salmo Español, a setting of Psalm 21, contains subtle references to Spanish rhythms and harmonies which the choir hopes its audiences will appreciate.

Howard Ionascu, the choir’s Director of Music, says: ‘This tour is a wonderful opportunity to sing in magnificent Spanish cathedrals and to showcase a full programme of English sacred music, from the Renaissance and Baroque period, through the Romantic and early 20th-century repertoire to contemporary English composers.’

The new season

Exeter Philharmonic Choir has just published its programme for the coming season. It promises another year of wonderful music-making, as always with top professional soloists and ensembles.

Handel’s Messiah at Exmouth on 9 November starts the season, followed by the ever-popular ‘Carols in the Cathedral’ on 17 and 18 December. For its two festive concerts, Exeter Philharmonic Choir will be joined by two trumpeters and a solo soprano, as well as Dr Todd Gray from Exeter University, who will present interludes illuminating ‘A Devon Christmas’.

The Spring concert in Exeter Cathedral on 15 March 2025 will be a splendid Mozart double bill, accompanied by the London Mozart Players, featuring the Great Mass in C minor and the Violin Concerto No. 1 played by rising local star Joel Munday. 

The final concert of the season on 14 June 2025 in Exeter Cathedral is ‘A Feast of English Choral Music’, with baritone Thomas Humphreys and organ solos played by Stephen Tanner.

Tickets are on sale now. More information can be found online at www.exeterphilharmonic.org.uk