3rd Birmingham Festival Choral Society Oratorio Competition.
Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Bradshaw Hall.
26th November 2024
The final of the third BFCS Oratorio Competition was a wonderful celebration of song. The six talented finalists, introduced by Paul Wingfield, Head of Vocal and Operatic Studies at the Conservatoire, each performed three or four oratorio pieces, ranging from Handel and Bach to Tippet and Hindemith. The audience enjoyed discussing their favourites in the interval – should they judge on technique, difficulty of repertoire, communication with the audience, quality of the voice? Would their favourite three be the same as the three selected by the judges, David Wynne and Kevin Gill?
In the end, the judges were unable to choose between contralto Laura Toomey and soprano Beth Taylor and made them joint Prize winners!
The crystal trophy and cheques were presented by David Fletcher, the Chair of BFCS. We all look forward to hearing the results of the other part of the prize – a booking to sing at a future BFCS concert
Laura’s competition pieces were:
Handel: Father of Heav’n, from Judas Maccabaeus
Vivaldi: Esurientes, from Magnificat
Pergolesi: Eja Mater, from Stabat Mater
Bach: Es ist vollbracht, from St John Passion
Beth’s programme consisted of :
Fauré: Pie Jesu from Requiem
Handel: Rejoice greatly, from Messiah
MacMillan: Aria 1, from Christmas Oratorio
Tenor Joe Yates was a worthy runner up. The pieces he sang were:
Handel: Let festal joy triumphant reign, from Belshazzar
Haydn: A crystal pavement lies the lake, from The Seasons
Vivaldi: Peccator videbit, from Beatus Vir.
The six finalists
Left to right: Beth Taylor, Sophie Henderson, Laura Toomey, Joe Yates, Elissa Street and Mairi McGillivray.
The accompanists:
