One of the foremost choirs in the northern United States will be in Peterborough Cathedral on Thursday 12 July, celebrating the centenary of the end of World War I with a concert dedicated to peace and comfort.

The Chicago Master Singers (CMS) is one of the foremost choirs in the United States. Under the artistic direction of Alan Heatherington, the 100-strong choir performs an impressive array of sacred music – from Bach’s Magnificat and Mozart’s Requiem to the latest works by living composers – and tours regularly to perform in the great cathedrals of Europe. This concert is one in a series they will be performing throughout eastern England in July 2018, starting in Canterbury Cathedral on Saturday 7 July – where they will sing following the commemoration of the martyrdom of St Thomas Becket – and finishing with a celebration concert in St Nicholas’ Cathedral, Newcastle, on Saturday 14 July.

The centrepiece of the programme will be Herbert Howells’ magnificent Requiem, which is arguably one of the most beautiful and heart-wrenching works of sacred music written by any British composer. In addition, the choir will be singing John Rutter’s dramatic Cantate Domino and pieces by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Richard Shephard, John Tavener, Philip Stopford, Kenneth Leighton, Charles Villiers Stanford and more.

“In commemorating the centenary of the end of World War I, we chose the theme of death and redemption,” says conductor Alan Heatherington. “We begin with music that focuses on death, including a Requiem by a composer who had just lost a child (Howells) and a work that became forever associated with death when it was sung as the casket of Princess Diana exited Westminster Abbey (Tavener). We then move to the triumph of resurrection, faith and hope – powerfully expressed in texts and music by some of the greatest English poets and composers of the period, and always pointing to victory over death itself.”

He continues: “Tucked into this programme is one of the great texts of the Jewish liturgy – 'Hashkiveinu' – in a musical setting written by David Grosz, a distinguished cantor in Bratislava and Vienna who, along with his wife and daughters, lost his life at Terezin during the Holocaust.”

Tickets cost £10 with concessions at £8 and are available from Oundle Box Office, 4 New Street, Oundle, PE8 4ED – 01832 274734. Alternatively, they can be obtained from Peterborough Information Centre, 41 Bridge Street, Peterborough, PE1 1HJ – 01733 452336 – or online from http://www.peterborough-cathedral.org.uk/143/section.aspx/142/chicago. All seats are unreserved.

About the Chicago Master Singers

The Chicago Master Singers (CMS) was founded in 1979. Their repertoire consists of the great choral and orchestral works of the past, as well as contemporary works by living composers. Chorus members are drawn from over 50 communities around the greater Chicago area, and come from all walks of life and professions. For some, music is their vocation as professional singers, teachers and choir directors; and for others it is their avocation – a way to enrich their lives by coming together with others who love to sing, and performing great works of music. CMS embarks on a European performance tour every two years as ambassadors of goodwill.

About Alan Heatherington, conductor

Alan Heatherington has built his career in the Chicago metropolitan area as a choral and orchestral conductor, a violinist/concertmaster and an educator. So distinguished are his accomplishments that the Chicago Tribune named him a Chicagoan of the Year in the Arts in 2004. The Illinois Council of Orchestras awarded him the title of Conductor of the Year for 2005 and again in 2012. In 2010 he received the Cultural Leadership Award, the highest honour bestowed by the Illinois Council of Orchestras, for “sustained leadership, extending beyond his own organizations and community, that has profoundly impacted the state of the arts in Illinois”. He was the recipient of the 2013 Distinguished Achievement Award from Chicago Classical Review. He has held the post of Music Director of the Chicago Master Singers (CMS) since 1989.