Handel Messiah: A Special Fundraising Concert

Final rehearsals are underway for the staging of a special fundraising
concert in Chester which organisers hope will help to make classical
music more accessible for all.
The concert, set to be staged by Chester Bach Singers at St Werburgh's
Church in Chester on Saturday 20th April at 7.30pm, will feature a
performance of the iconic Handel's 'Messiah' which also has a surprising
Chester connection.

Featuring the well known "Hallelujah Chorus", "Messiah" was written by
George Frideric Handel in 1741 and was first performed in Dublin in
April 1742 although Handel famously stopped off in Chester en-route to
Dublin in November 1741 when bad weather delayed his sailing from
Parkgate. A hastily arranged rehearsal of 'Messiah' using choristers
from Chester Cathedral  was held at The Golden Falcon Inn on Northgate
Street, where Centurion House now stands.

As part of their mission to make classical music accessible to all,
Chester Bach Singers are offering tickets for the concert on a "Pay What
You Can" basis, with ticket prices ranging from £30  to just £5.

Speaking about the special ticket offer, Helen Crich, the chair of
Chester Bach Singers said "Chester Bach Singers recently took part in an
amazing performance of Elgar's Dream of Gerontius with Chester
Philharmonic Orchestra and Cantiones, directed by Martin Bussey our MD.
Our soloists were excellent and we were pleased to see so much support
for the choirs and orchestra at Chester Cathedral. We are approaching
this concert, Handel's Messiah a little differently and hoping to
attract a large audience by experimenting with ticket prices which we
have pitched from £30 to £5 . We hope this will encourage people who may
not usually attend or cannot afford to attend choral concerts to come
along. This concert is also to help us raise funds for the choir to
enable us to continue to put on quality choral music experiences in
Chester. If you can support the choir by buying a higher priced ticket,
we would be very grateful for your support."