12 Days of Christmas



Give the gift of a Choral Christmas to loved ones this year from three of the UK’s brightest choral ensembles: Echo Vocal Ensemble, The Gesualdo Six and The Swan Consort, in partnership with Ryedale Festival.


Filmed in the splendour of Castle Howard in North Yorkshire, the 12 Days of Christmas presents a unique seasonal musical offering to the recipient’s inbox each day from 25 December to 6 January. From carols to Christmas classics, expect a wide range of music from the European Renaissance to the present day, including little-known gems from contemporary composers. With options for bespoke gift packages or eco-friendly digital delivery, the 12 Days of Christmas is the perfect present for music-loving friends and family wherever they may be during the festive season.


  • The 12 Days of Christmas brings seasonal choral music to listeners in a year where many may not be able to hear live singing due to ongoing Covid restrictions


  • The gift of a Choral Christmas can be given to any recipient, regardless of their location, allowing senders to share gifts with those who it may not be possible for them to see this season


  • Running alongside the project, the 12 Days Composition Challenge invites composers to devise a cadence to feature in the production’s title sequence. The twelve winning entries will be recorded professionally at Castle Howard


  • The series is eco-friendly and responsibly produced, with a carbon-neutral digital delivery option


  • Accessibly priced, from £12 for the series


Find out more



The 12 Days Composition Challenge



We are delighted to announce that sixteen composers' cadences were selected to be performed as part of the #12Days project. Echo will performing four of the pieces - you can find out more about each composer below.


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Clive So


Clive So, organist, harpsichordist and tenor, was an organ scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge, and read engineering. Now based in London, Clive regularly sings with the Arcubus Ensemble and other choirs. In 2019, he directed a performance of Couperin's Leçons de ténèbres with plainchant by Nivers, and sang with the New London Chamber Choir in a production of Stockhausen's Donnerstag aus Licht. As a 31-tone composer-theorist, Clive is actively extending the ideas of Vicentino and Fokker into a new style of contrapuntal music based on septimal consonances. Alongside music, Clive works as a patent attorney.




Pia Rose Scattergood


Pia Rose Scattergood (b. 1999) is a composer, performer, and musical director from Derbyshire. Pia recently graduated from the University of Cambridge with a degree in music and is now studying for a Masters in Composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. As a composer, she has worked with a variety of ensembles and institutions and was one of the six artists commissioned for Choir & Organ’s New Music series this year in partnership with Graham Ross and The Choir of Clare College, Cambridge. Pia is also a keen vocalist and recently performed in the EFG London Jazz Festival. This year, she co-founded Apocalypse Music, an exciting digital project promoting the creative work of artistic voices across all genres and highlighting the cultural importance of music-making in the time of COVID-19.


Tom Duggan


Tom is in his third year at Durham University where he studies music. He really enjoyed completing this challenge! (It was so nice to have something other than essays to do…) When free time returns, he looks forward to getting back to some conducting and Gaelic football!'




Dawn Walters


 Dawn is a singer-songwriter living in East Yorkshire. She sings alto as a deputy for a number of Cathedrals as well as working as a soloist. She sings with soprano Elaine Dave in the chamber group ‘Allegoria’, performing Dawn’s settings of Shakespeare’s sonnets and songs. To date Dawn has set all the songs from Shakespeare’s plays and around 25 sonnets. Three of these reached the finals of the UK Songwriting Contest in 2004, and this year two others were commended and another highly commended in the same competition.  She occasionally takes on choral commissions as well as songs, and her ‘Alleluia Carol’ has been performed internationally. Dawn is a mother of four, works in a Post Office and in her spare time usually has a book in her hand.

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