Press quote Working together, backed by an enlarged orchestra, the breadth of experience of the massed choirs ensured the depth of expression and sustaining of power needed to make the cataclysmic zero tolerance of Verdi’s Day of Judgement (Dies Irae) both theatrically terrifying and musically terrific. That meant that the tumult, when it came, even gave the

Press quote The combined sound was so regulated, that when it came, it was never overstretched into a braying frenzy, but remained both refined and sustainable.No struggle then to create the most thrilling crescendo... But there was also simplicity, the Agnus Dei taking on the mantle of a monastic plainsong, while in the concluding and extended Libera

Press quote The undeniable zing of last Saturday’s performance gave to it a freshness and spontaneity that was breathtaking. Opera North music director Richard Farnes secured from his massed forces crystalline clarity of orchestral and vocal textures. Every word of the text was delivered with directness and immediacy. The whole thing was infused with tremendous, unrestrained theatrical

Press quote Bring together the Leeds Festival and Philharmonic choruses augmented by the local St Peter’s Singers, and you could only sit back and be thrilled at Walton’s great choral showpiece. [The] tingle factor was in abundance from the choruses in a thrilling conclusion... Yorkshire Post Published September 2008

Press quote When the Leeds Festival and Philharmonic Choruses come together, they form a choral group that would rival any in Europe, a fact that became abundantly clear in their performance of Elgar’s The Music Makers. Producing a gorgeous sound, the large male contingent balancing the robust quality of the well-focused sopranos. Yorkshire Post Published May 2008

Press quote [Simon] Wright and his forces conveyed the grandeur and nobility of the Music Makers as vividly as they lifted the stabbing ferocity from the pages of Prokofiev’s score. The Festival and Philharmonic Choruses were called upon to display their versatility in this most challenging of double bills even to the extent of learning and mastering