Singing Break with Joanna Forbes L'Estrange

Name: Singing Break with Joanna Forbes L'Estrange
Start: 2025-10-10T13:00:00+01:00
End: 2025-10-12T14:00:00+01:00
Location: Auckland Palace

Schedule

Fri, 10 Oct, 2025 at 01:00 pm to Sun, 12 Oct, 2025 at 02:00 pm

UTC+01:00

Location

Auckland Palace | Bishop Auckland, EN

Join acclaimed composer, vocalist and music director Joanna Forbes L’Estrange at this year's Singing Break at the magnificent Auckland Palace.
Taking place from Friday 10th to Sunday 12th October, this immersive event will be hosted at Auckland Palace in Co. Durham, offering a unique opportunity to sing in a spectacular, historic setting.
Participants will explore Joanna’s major new work, A Season to Sing, a captivating choral reimagining of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, through workshops and a sing-through performance of the piece. Additionally, attendees will have the chance to sing an Evensong, including Joanna’s hugely popular King’s College canticles and her responses. A Sunday Eucharist in the Chapel will also feature Joanna’s St Helen’s Service.
This weekend promises to be an engaging and positive experience, offering an immersive encounter with both the repertoire and the composer herself. The event is designed to appeal to both singers and choir directors, providing valuable insights and inspiration. A reasonable level of music-reading ability is expected, and rehearsal tracks will be made available in advance.
The setting for this enriching musical experience is the magnificent Auckland Palace, a remarkable symbol of faith and power that was once the seat of the Prince Bishops of Durham. Participants will be singing in St Peter's Chapel, one of the largest private chapels in Europe.
Participants will have the opportunity to explore the historic Auckland Palace during the weekend, including a private tour of the astonishing Spanish Gallery, where dinner will be held on the Saturday evening.
Full details / booking on our website: https://www.rscm.org.uk/whats-on/singing-break-2025/
Praise for Joanna Forbes l'Estrange:
'What a fabulous day spent together learning directly from composer Joanna Forbes L’Estrange!'
'….simply beautiful choral writing by someone who knows, from a singer’s perspective, how to compose music which every choir will want to sing.’ Sir John Rutter CBE, composer