Just two months to go to the first concert of the year – Sunday 26 April, 3pm – and the singers are well on the way to perfecting a programme of new works … with some old favourites thrown in.
The concert will take place in Otley at Our Lady and All Saints Church – 4 Bridge Street, Otley LS21 3AZ – and is a celebration for the church’s 175th anniversary year.
The church was built in 1851 at the expense of Otley solicitor Thomas Constable and his sister Mary Anne for the benefit of the Irish immigrants who had fled Ireland following the failure of the potato crop in 1845 and the subsequent famine.
At the invitation of Constable, many Irish came and settled in Otley, but sadly many died weakened by starvation. As there was no Catholic church at the time, the vicar of the Otley Parish Church agreed to the burial of the Catholics in the church’s graveyard – a remarkable ecumenical gesture at that time.
In celebration of the church’s anniversary year, a number of events have been planned throughout the calendar and the concert by Chordiality is just one of them.
The choir has chosen a popular programme of lively contemporary works and will be including a couple of Irish songs as a respect to many immigrants that suffered and died those 175 years ago.
To hear Chordiality in Otley – book tickets, just £10, by phone at 01943 462146, by email office.ourladyallsaints@dioceseofleeds.org.uk or book through the choir at chordiality.choir@hotmail.com or directly through a member of the choir.