Cathedral Choir Tour France 2008
Dear singers and organists
After lengthy negotiations with internationally acclaimed baritone John Davies, administrative personnel in France and their respective dioceses, Well Connected Tours will be conducting a choir tour taking in some of the most remarkable music venues in the world. We have been able to arrange for you to sing with John at a number of his performances in late December and early January.
The tour will depart Sydney on 26th December, 2008 and return, confirmations pending, around 14th January, 2009.
You will be singing at the following venues.
Abbey of Mont Saint Michel – dating from 708 AD. 30 December 2008. 1145hrs Mass and possibly an afternoon concert.
Notre-Dame d'Amiens (Amiens Cathedral) – twice the size of Notre Dame in Paris 2nd January, mass and possibly concert Cathedrale de Chartres 4th January. Mass and afternoon concert Paris. There will be two performances for you in Paris, but due to French national holidays, these are yet to be confirmed.
Confirmations will be forthcoming from the magnificent Saint Eustache & either the ancient stronghold of the Knights Templar, St. Leu et St. Gilles, or Saint Gervais, where the members of the Couperin family lived and performed in the masses.
AUDITIONS: As soon as the final performances are confirmed, an advertisement will appear in the Sydney Morning Herald audition column – probably on Saturday 6th September 2008. If not, please keep an eye out on subsequent Saturdays.
NOTE; Applications to audition will be considered on a first come / first served basis.
If you are happy knowing that you will be singing at the confirmed three venues plus two other venues in Paris, and you want to get in on the ground floor before the audition notice goes to press, feel free to call Well Connected Travel on (02) 9975 2355 to request that an application be sent to you by email or post. Forms and details will be available online as soon as the final venues/dates are confirmed – See website www.wellconnectedtravel.com.au Members of the choir who would like to perform as SOLOISTS will have the opportunity to do so, as John has indicated that he would like as many members as possible to sing some solo parts.
This is also an audition for the tour ORGANIST. Please complete the appropriate section. If you have conducting skills and would like the opportunity to conduct all or some of the performances, please tell us. Likewise, if you are a keen photographer, and you are willing to take photos of the trip as well as sing, let us know.
About John Davies
A former Cambridge International Musician of the Year, John Davies has sung for more than 2 billion people around the world. His performances have been seen and heard in Europe, USA, Asia, the CIS and, to a lesser extent, Australia. He now works exclusively in continental Europe and the USA. His latest live recording of the 24 Italian Songs and Arias has become the global benchmark in performances of the Italian Baroque.