The Southern Youth Choir presents Rejoice!
October 17 — St Paul’s Cathedral
Review by Brenda Harwood
The sound of beautiful young voices soaring into the rafters of St Paul’s Cathedral delighted a large audience at the Southern Youth Choir’s end-of-year concert.
The 55-strong choir, and the 19-member SYC Chamber Choir, performed music spanning four centuries and multiple countries in the showcase.
Some were conducted by SYC artistic director John Buchanan, others by choir members Tessa Campbell and Ewen Clarke-Wallace, and some without a conductor.
Among the concert’s many highlights were a spirited rendition of Christopher Tin’s Bab Yetu, and a lovely a capella version of Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now.
St Paul’s Cathedral organ scholar Sage Pettus gave an absorbing performance of Buxtehude’s Praeludium in C Major.
The SYC Chamber Choir’s voices were nicely blended in Finzi’s My Spirit Sang All Day, Wood’s Oculi Omnium, and Wood’s O Thou the Central Orb, accompanied on organ by David Burchell.
The concert’s major work was Benjamin Britten’s delightfully unusual Rejoice in the Lamb, conducted by Buchanan, accompanied by Burchell and feature choir soloists Eva Stein, Tessa Campbell, Teddy Finney Waters and Ewen Clarke-Wallace.
The choir’s superb performance of this work rounded out an excellent recital. Bravo!