Polymnia
Patron: Lesley Garrett CBE
Archive
Past performances since 2022
All concerts directed by Jessica Norton, unless otherwise indicated
1 December 2024: St George's, Wolverton. Angelsong: candlelit reflections for Advent
With Jonathan Kingston (piano)
PROGRAMME: What child is this Traditional – In the bleak midwinter Harold Darke – There is no rose Richard Rodney Bennett – Shepherd’s cradle song Arthur Somervell – Tundra Ola Gjeilo – Hodie Christus natus est Jan Sweelinck – Hymn to the Virgin Benjamin Britten – A spotless rose Herbert Howells – O holy night Adolphe Adam arr. Alan Simmons – No small wonder Paul Edwards – O magnum mysterium Tomás Luis de Victoria – The shepherds' farewell Hector Berlioz – Mary's boy child Jester Hairston – In terra pax Gerald Finzi
9 November 2024: St Barnabas, Linslade. Brahms' Requiem
With Craig Greene (piano)
PROGRAMME: With proud thanksgiving Edward Elgar – Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen Gustav Mahler –
Ein deutsches Requiem Johannes Brahms
7 September 2024: St Peter and St Paul, Olney. Wedding of Francesca Vernon and Hugh Reid.
Music performed: This marriage Eric Whitacre – Ubi caritas Ola Gjeilo.
6 July 2024: St Mary and St Giles, Stony Stratford. Love’s Journeys
With Craig Greene (piano)
PROGRAMME: Three psalms Felix Mendelssohn – Cantate Domino Claude Monteverdi – Ave Maria Franz Schubert – Tabula rasa Don MacDonald – Amor de mi alma Z. Randall Stroope – The rose Ola Gjeilo – El amor y la muerte Enrique Granados – Liebesleid Fritz Kreisler arr. Rachmaninoff – Calon lan Traditional Welsh – Kaval sviri Traditional Bulgarian – Shenandoah arr. James Erb – Hallelujah Leonard Cohen – Let the river run Carly Simon
1 and 2 June 2024. Chiesa dell’Assunta, Sabbioneta and Asola Cathedral, Italy
PROGRAMME: O quam gloriosum Tomás Luis de Victoria – If ye love me Thomas Tallis – O most merciful Charles Wood – O sacrum convivium Thomas Tallis – The lamb John Tavener – Rejoice in the Lord alway Anon – Locus iste Anton Bruckner – Pulchra es, anima mea Ola Gjeilo – Ave Maria Tomás Luis de Victoria – Ave Maria Robert Parsons – Ave Maria Josquin des Prez – Gaelic blessing John Rutter – Cantate Domino Claudio Monteverdi – Exsultate Deo Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina – The road home Stephen Paulus – My soul, there is a country Hubert Parry – Signore delle cime Guiseppe De Marzi
13 April 2024: St Mary and St Giles, Stony Stratford. Nature Awakens
With Alex Aitken (piano)
PROGRAMME: Springtime mantleth every bough Thomas Morley – In dew of roses Thomas Morley – Now is the month of maying Thomas Morley – Ging heut’ Morgen übers Feld Gustav Mahler – Morning has broken Trad. Gaelic melody, arr. Mack Wilberg – Fields of gold Sting, arr. Philip Lawson – Wild mountain thyme Trad., arr. Jessica Norton – The island spell John Ireland – Lay a garland Robert Lucas Pearsall – Sing to the moon Laura Mvula – Omnia sol Z. Randall Stroope – April John Ireland – Sunrise mass Ola Gjeilo
6 April 2024: St Mary Magdalene, Hilton. Wedding of Callum McArdle and Jessica Norton.
Music performed: Faire is the heaven William Harris – Wild mountain thyme trad. arr. Jessica Norton – Gradh geal mo chridh' trad. performed by Anna Berry.
2 December 2023: St Barnabas, Linslade. Classical Christmas
With Jessica Norton and Hilary Davan Wetton (directors) and Alina Orchestra
PROGRAMME: Hodie Christus natus est Jan Pieterzoon Sweelink – There is no rose Richard Rodney Bennett – A spotless rose Herbert Howells – Lully Lulla Kenneth Leighton – Concerto grosso, op. 6, no.8 in G minor Arcangelo Corelli – Fantasia on Christmas carols Ralph Vaughan Williams – Christmas concerto, op 3 no. 12 Francesco Manfredini – Gaudete Anon – Carol of the bells (Shchedryk) Mykola Leontovich – The twelve days of Christmas arr. Andrew Carter – O Thou that tellest good tidings to Zion George Frederic Handel – And the glory of the Lord George Frederic Handel – Tomorrow shall be my dancing day John Gardener
11 November 2023: St Barnabas, Linslade. Repose
With Paul Carr (organ)
PROGRAMME: They that go down to the sea in ships Herbert Sumsion – Song for Athene John Tavener – Elegy George Thalben-Ball – The silver swan Orlando Gibbons – Selig sind die Toten Heinrich Schütz – Ombra mai fu George Frederik Handel – Ave Maria Robert Parsons – Lux aeterna (Nimrod from Enigma Variations) Edward Elgar arr. John Cameron – Requiem Maurice Duruflé
7,8,9 August 2023: St Andrew and St George's West, Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Choral Kaleidoscope
With Anna le Hair (piano)
PROGRAMME: Summertime George Gershwin – Ev’ry time I feel the spirit Ken Burton – Gaelic blessing John Rutter – And so it goes Billy Joel – Ubi caritas Ola Gjeilo – Only in sleep Ēriks Ešenvalds – Abendlied Josef Rheinberger – The bluebird Charles Stanford – Pearl fishers' duet Georges Bizet – The road home Stephen Paulus – My spirit sang all day Gerald Finzi – In fields abroad William Byrd – Locus iste Anton Bruckner – My soul, there is a country Hubert Parry
8 July 2023: St Mary and St Giles, Stony Stratford. Homecomings
With Jonathan Kingston (piano)
PROGRAMME: Locus iste Anton Bruckner – Ubi caritas Ola Gjeilo – Abendlied Josef Rheinberger – By the sleepy lagoon Eric Coates – Hallelujah Leonard Cohen – Ev’ry time I feel the Spirit Ken Burton – Lovely day Bill Withers – Fly me to the moon Bart Howard – Summertime George Gershwin – The blue bird Charles Stanford – Gaelic blessing John Rutter – In fields abroad William Byrd – Pearl fishers’ duet Georges Bizet – The boatmen’s dance Aaron Copland – My spirit sang all day Gerald Finzi – The road home Stephen Paulus – Briagh Uige Traditional – Aesop’s fables Bob Chilcott
17 June 2023: MK Choirs Festival in Campbell Park
With John Wearmouth (keyboard)
PROGRAMME: O sacrum convivium Tomas Luis de Victoria – The blue bird Charles Villiers Stanford – I love my love Gustav Holst – Be still my soul Jean Sibelius – And the glory of the Lord George Frideric Handel – Forever (song 8) Roderick Williams
6 May 2023: St Peter and St Paul, Newport Pagnell. Celebrate! Music for the coronation
With Alina Orchestra, Hilary Davan Wetton and Jessica Norton (directors) and Jessica Wise (soprano)
PROGRAMME: Introduction and allegro Edward Elgar – Two pieces from Henry V William Walton – Symphony no.3 William Boyce – Agnus Dei (coronation mass) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – The arrival of the Queen of Sheba, Let the bright seraphim George Frideric Handel – O most merciful Charles Wood – Eternal source of light divine, Zadok the priest, Let thy hand be strengthened, Water music suites 1 and 2 George Frideric Handel
1 April 2023: St Mary and St Giles, Stony Stratford. Choral Kaleidoscope
With Craig Greene (piano)
PROGRAMME: O Magnum Mysterium Morten Lauridsen – Nocturnes Morten Lauridsen – Sure on this shining night Samuel Barber – The Lamb John Tavener – Sleep Eric Whitacre – Bogoroditse dyevo Sergei Rachmaninov – Only in sleep Ēriks Ešenvalds – Reincarnations Samuel Barber – I Know that my Redeemer liveth George Frideric Handel – Northern lights Ola Gjeilo – The Lord is my shepherd Howard Goodall – You raise me up Brendan Graham arr. Emerson – And the glory of the Lord George Frideric Handel
26 February 2023, St Mary and St Giles, Stony Stratford. Vocal Freedom workshop
With Jessica Norton and George Ireland (piano)
PROGRAMME: Sure on this shining night Morten Lauridsen – The Lord is my shepherd Howard Goodall – Northern lights Ola Gjeilo – You'll never walk alone Rogers & Hammerstein arr. Johnny Mann – My soul, there is a country Hubert Parry
3 December 2022: St Georges, Wolverton. A Choral Christmas
With Jessica Norton and Craig McLeish (directors), Jonathan Kingston (organ) and TGI Choir
PROGRAMME: The truth sent from above Arr. Craig Mcleish – Joy to the world Arr Lowell Mason – Praise Him on drums and cymbals Siegfried Karg-Elert – Gaudete Arr. Adrian M. Wall – Hodie Christus natus est Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck –
O little one sweet J S Bach – Riu riu chiu Arr. Mateo Fletcher – In the bleak midwinter Harold Darke – The three inkgs Peter Cornelius – Walking in the air Howard Blake cBethlehem down Peter Warlock – 12 days of Christmas Arr. Andrew Carter – A babe is born William Mathias – A spotless rose Herbert Howells – Here is the little door Herbert Howells–
Sing lullaby Arr. John Battley – Tomorrow shall be my dancing day Arr. Craig McLeish – Noel no.10 Louis-Claude Daquin – The shepherds' farewell Hector Berlioz – We wish you a merry Christmas - Arr. Craig McLeish – Hark the herald angels sing Felix Mendelssohn
29 October 2022: St Barnabas, Linslade. Cloud Capp’d Towers
PROGRAMME: Three Shakespeare songs (Full fathom five, The cloud-capp’d towers, Over hill over dale) Ralph Vaughan Williams – I love my love, The evening watch Gustav Holst – Hymne a la nuit Jean-Philippe Rameau – O sacrum convivium, If Ye love Me Thomas Tallis – Linden lea Ralph Vaughan Williams – Skye boat Song Trad – Loch Lomond Arr. Jonathan Quick – At the round earth’s imagined corners Hubert Parry – Silent noon, Mass in G minor Ralph Vaughan Williams
9 July 2022: St Mary and St Giles, Stony Stratford. Rejoice
With Jonathan Kingston (piano)
PROGRAMME: Rejoice in the Lord alway Henry Purcell – Four coronation anthems (Zadok the priest, Let thy hand be strengthened, The King shall rejoice, My heart is inditing) George Frideric Handel – National Anthem Anon – Praise my soul the king of heaven John Goss – You'll never walk alone Richard Rodgers arr Johnny Mann – Cheek to cheek Irving Berlin arr. Kirby Shaw – White cliffs of Dover Walter Kent arr. Paul Ayres – Overture from The occasional oratorio George Frideric Handel – O most merciful Charles Wood – Rejoice in the Lord alway Anon
5 June 2022: Milton Keynes Theatre. Crowning Glory
With Mark Jordan, Alina Orchestra and Milton Keynes Chorale
PROGRAMME: Zadok the priest George Frideric Händel – Vivat August from BWV 205 J. S. Bach – Banks of green willow George Butterworth – Agnus Dei from Coronation Mass Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Coronation Gloria Charles Villiers Stanford – Crown imperial William Walton – Confortare George Dyson – Orb and sceptre William Walton – Nimrod Edward Elgar – Coronation Te Deum William Walton – Pomp and circumstance No 1 Edward Elgar – I was glad Hubert Parry – National anthem Arr. Mark Jordan
3 April 2022: St Mary and St Giles, Stony Stratford. Beginnings
With Chloe Latchmore (soprano) and Jonathan Kingston (piano)
PROGRAMME: Faire is the heaven William Harris – Seek Him that maketh the seven stars Jonathan Dove – O Jesu Christ meins Lebens Licht Johann Sebastian Bach – Les chemin
s de l’amour Francis Poulenc – Light of a clear blue morning Dolly Parton arr. Johnson – Largo, allegro and two variations Michael Christian Festing – Wade in the water Trad arr. Rob Dietz – The blue bird Charles Villiers Stanford – O vos omnes Carlo Gesualdo – In the beginning Aaron Copland
PREVIOUS CONCERTS
With Suzzie Vango:
16 October 2021, St Mary and St Giles, Stony Stratford. Sunset Departure Lounge with Robert Challinor
With John Byron:
24 November 2019, St Mary and St Giles, Stony Stratford. Fauré Requiem with John Byron, Jonathan Kingston, Richard Ball and Amy Chamberlain
August 2019, St Andrew and St George’s West, Edinburgh: three concerts (Perfect Joy and Deep Peace) as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
8 June 2019, Christ the Cornerstone: Summertime with Lesley Garrett and Anna Tilbrook
30 March 2019: Nocturne at St James New Bradwell, with saxophonist Alžbeta Klasová and Alex Aitken
1 December 2018, Church of St Peter and St Paul, Newport Pagnell: Classical Christmas with MKCO strings.
10 November 2018, Christ the Cornerstone: Remembrance with Alex Aitken
27 May 2018, Korunni church, Prague
25 May 2018, St. Vitus cathedral, Prague
20 May 2018. Milton Keynes Theatre: Opera Gala with MKCO, Damian Iorio, Janice Watson, and Dominic Natoli.
Saturday 14 April 2018, St Mary and St Giles, Stony Stratford. A Treasury of English Choral Music with Paul Daggett
Saturday 2 December 2017, St Peter and St Paul, Newport Pagnell. Christmas concert with MKCO Strings
Saturday 11 November 2017, St Barnabas, Linslade. Grand Tour of Europe with Julian Pentz (viola)
With Bill Strang:
Saturday 17 June 2017, St Mary and St Giles, Stony Stratford. Joint concert with OU Choir including Tallis: Spem in Alium
With John Byron:
Saturday 20th May 2017, Choral Gold. St Mary and St Giles, Stony Stratford. Joint concert with MK Youth Choir
1 April 2017: Grand Tour of Europe at the Bunyan Meeting Centre, Bedford
3 December 2016: Christmas Concert at St Peter and St Paul, Newport Pagnell with MKCO Strings
10 November 2016: Behind the Curtain at MK Theatre with Glyndebourne Opera Company
29 October 2016: Tenth Anniversary Charity Gala Concert at Christ the Cornerstone, Milton Keynes, with Lesley Garrett, Anna Tilbrook and Anna le Hair
2 June 2016: Three concerts in the Basilica de Santa Barbara, Mantova, Italy
1 June 2016: Joint concert in Carpenedolo, Italy with Ars Nova
21 May 2016: Popular Choral Classics at St Mary and St Giles, Stony Stratford with John Byron and Tim Grant-Jones
16 April 2016: A Cappella at St Barnabas, Linslade with John Byron
5 December 2015: Christmas Concert at St Peter and St Paul, Newport Pagnell with John Byron and MKCO Strings
7 November 2015: In the Beginning, Church of Christ the Cornerstone, Milton Keynes
6 October 2015: Rugby World Cup at MK Stadium
25 September 2015: Venice to Vegas at The Stables with Tenors Un Limited
6 June 2015: Summer Delights with Anna le Hair at St Mary and St Giles, Stony Stratford
9 April 2015: Polymnia at King’s Lynn Minster with John Byron (Director and piano) and John Heley (Cello)
6 December 2014: Classical Christmas, St Peter and St Paul, Newport Pagnell with John Byron and MKCO Brass
1 November 2014: Poetry in Music, Church of Christ the Cornerstone, Milton Keynes with Tim Grant-Jones, Graham Mayger and Fenella Humphreys
12 July 2014: Choral Kaleidoscope with Anna le Hair at the Chrysalis Theatre
31 May 2014: Concert in Mecina Church, Spain with Anna le Hair
30 May 2014: Concert in the caves at Nerja, Spain with Anna le Hair
29 May 2014: Pascuale concert in Granada Cathedral with Anna le Hair
22 Mar 2014: Shakespeare concert with MK Sinfonia, Church of Christ the Cornerstone, Milton Keynes
7 December 2013: Classical Christmas with MKCO brass at St Peter and St Paul, Newport Pagnell
2 November 2013: Heavenly Spaces with Gemma Rosefield, Church of Christ the Cornerstone, Milton Keynes
With Hilary Davan-Wetton:
16 August 2013: Proms in the Park with the Milton Keynes City Orchestra, Campbell Park, Milton Keynes
With John Byron:
9 June 2013: Music in the Garden in Dame Cleo Laine’s garden in Wavendon with Anna Le Hair (piano)
4 April 2013: International Choir Festival in Istria, Croatia Edinburgh with Anna Le Hair (piano)
22 December 2012: Choral Christmas at the Chrysalis Theatre, Milton Keynes with John Byron and Anna Le Hair (piano)
6th November 2012: The Australian Voices with singers from Polymnia and John Byron at Holy Trinity Church, Wolverton
8 September 2012: Masterpieces at the City Centre Church, Milton Keynes with the London Charity Orchestra under Simon Lasker-Wallfisch & John Byron, Thomas Gould (violin), Anna le Hair (continuo), Ben Thapa (tenor)
17 June 2012: Baroque and Beyond at the City Centre Church, Milton Keynes. John Byron (conductor and harpsichord), Sue Snell, Piers Snell, Phoebe Butler (recorders and viols), Anna Le Hair (chamber organ)
26 May 2012: at St Giles Cripplegate, Barbican, London with the London Charity Orchestra, Simon Lasker-Wallfisch (conductor), Thomas Gould (violin), Anna Le Hair (continuo), Nicholas Scott (tenor)
26 November 2011:Polymnia Favourites: choral music from around the world. St Mary’s Church, Harlington
12 November 2011: World Music for World Vision, Church of St Peter and St Paul, Olney (with Daniella Ganeva, Graham Instrall, Andrew Martin and Anna Le Hair). In aid of the World Vision project “Reducing Violence against Children in Armenia”.
15,17 and 19 August 2011: Choral Chillout at the Edinburgh Fringe. St. Marks artSpace, Edinburgh with Anna Le Hair (piano)
5 June 2011: Songs for a Summer Evening, Church of Christ the Cornerstone, Milton Keynes with Anna Le Hair (piano) and Gemma Murray (double bass)
13 November 2010: A Choral Pilgrimage, St Mary’s Church, Harlington
6 November 2010: Old Masters, The Church of St Mary Magdalene, Willen
18 September 2010: Tickford Bridge Anniversary Concertin Newport Pagnell Parish Church with Sinfonia Ariella and John Gibbons, including the world premiere of a work by John Byron: The Bridge of Destiny.
11 and 13 August 2010: Choral Chillout: from Purcell to Piazzolla, St Marks artSpace, Edinburgh
6 June 2010: Drums and Voices, City Centre Church Milton Keynes (with Daniella Ganeva)
12 December 2009: Christmas Concert, St Mary’s Church Harlington
6 June 2009: Remembrance and Celebration, St Mary’s Church Harlington
16 May 2009: Remembrance and Celebration, St Mary’s Church Bletchley
11 Oct 2008: Music of the Spirit, Elstow Abbey Church (with Nick Epton)
12 July 2008: Summer Serenade, St Mary’s Church, Harlington (with Andrea Patis)
10 May 2008: Summer Serenade, St Mary’s Church Bletchley (with Andrea Patis)
6 October 2007: Voices for Hospices, Bunyan Church, Bedford
17 June 2007: Byrd to Britten, Church of St Mary and St Giles, Stony Stratford
With Wendy Lewis:
21 October 2006: Concert of Sacred Music, Church of St Mary the Virgin, Northill
With John Byron:
14 October 2006: Charity Concert of Sacred Music, St Thomas’ Church, Luton