Echo news

NEWS

March 2024

ARTS FOUNDATION FUTURE AWARDS

We were so honoured to perform at the Arts Foundation Awards Ceremony in London last week. The Arts Foundation awards five £10,000 prizes each year to promising artists across a range of fields. It was a privilege to share the stage with the incredible winners and nominees for 2024, and to celebrate the incredible music of John Barber.

John won the prize for choral composition in 2021, and with it wrote 2 E.Ps worth of music and recorded those with Echo. We performed his piece “F*ck Dsytopian Loneliness” alongside a brand new film created for the occasion by filmmaker Fred MacGregor featuring dancer Jamal Sterrett.

It was a truly inspiring evening, celebrating artists in the realms of jazz composition, short documentary film making, theatre writing, visual art and regenerative design. Find out more about the winners here.

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Jan 2024

WIGMORE HALL DEBUT

We have some exciting news about our debut recording - we’re launching the album with a special concert this July at the iconic Wigmore Hall in London. We’ll be singing music from the album, including the wonderful and virtuosic Trois Chansons by Ravel, alongside music by Mouton, Monk and Palestrina.

Tickets are now on sale - we’d love to see our London supporters there!

Wednesday 3 July, 1pm

Wigmore Hall, London

Aug 2023

CHORAL CHIHUAHUA

We had a feature in August in the latest Choral Chihuahua podcast, run by I Fagiolini’s Robert Hollingworth and The Sixteen’s Eamonn Dougan. In it, our conductor Sarah was interviewed about Echo’s journey, our improvisation specialism and our work with Hans Rosenström.

Unfolding Silence is our collaborative piece with Hans and will be exhibited at Frieze Sculpture in Regents Park this month and next. Do check it out if you get a chance - we’d love to hear what you think of it! @echo_vocal (X)

Frieze Sculpture Fair

Regents Park, London, 20 Sep - 29 Oct

June 2023

REGENT’S PARK SOUND INSTALLATION

This summer Echo will working with Finnish artist Hans Rosenström to put together a devised piece based mainly in improvisation, that will be used as one of the exhibits at Frieze Sculpture Exhibition in Regent’s Park, London this autumn. Unfolding Silence is a sound installation planned for a small grove within the Park. The work aims to offer an intimate place for listening, and will be part of Frieze in October 2023.

More about Frieze 2023

Robert Indiana, Imperial LOVE, Frieze 2022

April 2023

VIDEO RELEASE

We're thrilled to share the #Messiah250 film celebrating our inspiring project from last year...

We ran a three month project in Bath alongside Paragon Singers for a project based on Handel’s Messiah. It celebrated the history of Bath’s association with the work, and reimagined an early performance of the piece in the city, originally organised by the astronomer William Herschel in 1771.Through January and February, we ran a series of singing workshops throughout Bath, including a Come and Sing day, a free taster day for beginner cities and, in partnership with charity Julian House, weekly singing sessions for homeless and vulnerable people living in Bath.Those participants were then invited to join Echo and

Paragon Singers to sing the chorus for the performance.

We loved the whole project and are grateful we can share a glimpse of it with you here!

Huge thanks to the whole team:

Conductor Sarah Latto

Director Thomas Guthrie

Our wonderful instrumentalists led by Bojan Cicic

Film students from Bath Spa University

and of course generous funders Andrew and Gill Clarke and Arts Council England

Echo Vocal Ensemble: Sam Cobb, Hilary Cronin, Mae Heydorn, Sophie Timms, James Micklethwaite, Will Wright, Tom Herring

Orchestra led by Bojan Čičić: Davina Clarke, Flora Curzon, Mark Seow, Jane Rogers, Jordan Bowron, Henrik Persson, Callum Anderson, Emily Newman, Rosie Moon

Oct 2022

FUTURE VOICES

a brand new collaboration between Echo and young artists

We're excited to announce a new partnership with the Royal College of Music Junior Department.

We're teaming up with the RCM this autumn in a brand new collaboration working with the young composers in their Junior Department, aged 12-18. The students will be set a challenge to write a short piece for SATB choir, for Echo to perform in a public concert at the end of November.

Our singers will work with the students, giving them crucial feedback on their compositions in progress, and enabling them to experiment with new ideas in person ahead of the final concert. The project is a chance for vital links to be made between aspiring young people with those in the industry, and a way to celebrate the art form of ensemble singing.

Our longtime collaborator, poet Roger McGough has also joined us for the project; he ran a poetry writing workshop for the students to kick off the term, allowing them to experiment with creating their own texts for their pieces.

Join us for the final performance on Saturday 26th November - at the Royal College of Music.
Tickets cost £5: more details here.

#newmusic #composer #musicforvoices #youngtalent #nextgeneration

April 2022

REVIEW - MESSIAH 250

Collaborative project alongside Paragon Singers, Julian House and Thomas Guthrie receives glowing write-up

It has been great to read this lovely review of director Thomas Guthrie's work, which includes words on our recent Messiah 250 project with him! Thank you to Dorota Kozińska for this gorgeous and thoughtful write up.

"joy, uncertainty, awe, despair and ecstasy were marked with a different shade on the face and in the gestures of each musician, including the instrumentalists"

"The understanding between Latto, who holds the whole thing together, and the director to make every gesture of the conductor both musically legible and significant in the story, to make it at one time resemble maternal tenderness, at another a grimace of derision, at yet another pure ecstasy"

Full review here

Dec 2021

LITTLE GIRL BLUE

Collaborative performance between Echo Vocal Ensemble and Christopher Glynn is launched

This Christmas, we’re releasing in full Sarah’s arrangement of the traditional carol ‘O Come O Come Emmanuel’ combined with Nina Simone’s beautiful song ‘Little Girl Blue’. Sam sings the soprano solo beautifully in this performance and we were thrilled to collaborate with the wonderful Christopher Glynn on piano.

This was part of last year’s ’12 Days’ package of music in collaboration with The Gesualdo Six, The Swan Consort and Ryedale Festival - if you are still looking for Chrhistmas presents and want to buy someone the gift of music, we highly recommend this year’s offering. It's filmed in the intimate beauty of Birdsall House in North Yorkshire and features some absolutely stunning music!

MORE DETAILS HERE

Oct 2021

Joy and Devotion

We're delighted to be involved in the launch of a ‘Joy & Devotion’, a new annual festival of Polish sacred music, presented by

The Adam Mickiewicz Institute.

On Thursday 4th November, Echo will be giving a concert at Downing Place URC in Cambridge as part of the Cambridge Early Music Festival of the Voice. Titled ‘The Polish Court’, this programme explores the work of composers living in Warsaw and Krakow in the 16th and 17th centuries, featuring Gorczycki’s Missa Paschalis as its centrepiece, alongside motets by Luca Marenzio, Asprillo Pacelli and Vincenzo Bertholusi.

Echo will then perform as the closing act of the London Festival, which takes place at St Martin-in-the-Fields from 2 to 5 November under the artistic direction of composer and conductor Paweł Łukaszewski, and features performances by The Gesualdo Six and Tenebrae.

Our performance on Friday 5th November will contrast 16th century motets by Mikołaj Zieleński and Wacław of Szamotuły set against works by three vibrant modern composers: British-Polish composer Roxanna Panufnik and emerging Polish composers Aleksandra Chmielewska and Anna Rocławska-Musiałczyk.

Paweł Łukaszewski, Artistic Director, said:

“It has been an honour and a delight to work on the inaugural 'Joy and Devotion' festival. The programme this year is a stirring introduction to the abundance and emotion of Polish sacred music. I am as excited to bring the works of well-known and much-loved composers such as Penderecki, Górecki and Roxanna Panufnik to audiences as I am presenting more obscure works not yet widely known in the UK from centuries-old Polish masters and the world premieres of two composers just starting their careers.”

Tickets - Cambridge tickets - London

Sep 2021

BBC Broadcast - listen again

Below you can listen to our performances of Britten and Palestrina, broadcast list on BBC Radio 3, alongside interviews between presenter Sean Rafferty and members of Echo.

August 2021

Summer Tour - Already Gone

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We had a summer of firsts this year; it was amazing to tour new and old music to new audiences across some of the UK's biggest cities, and to premiere the winners of our competition composition: Rory Wainwright Johnston, Lillie Harris and shortlisted composers Janet Oates and James Brady. We also took part in a live BBC broadcast, created a behind-the-scenes video to bring audiences closer to the process and held an open workshop featuring the new compositions.

We were thrilled with this four star review of the final date of our summer tour, which described our performance as "sparkling, poised and subtly powerful". We were also delighted to have had such lovely audience reactions to the tour:

"My first concert for 18 months - so glad it was this one"
"I was privileged to be in the audience last night at Kings Place at your excellent concert"
"An unbelievable level of conceptual integrity and intonation"

We've left some photos above of our performances at Kings Place, MAC, Stoller Hall and at Broadcasting House.

With huge thanks again to Genesis Foundation, The Golsoncott Foundation, RWV Trust and The London Community Foundation: Cockayne - Grants for the Arts.

May 2021

Tour Announced

We are so happy to announce our summer tour!

Already Gone combines music by Palestrina and Clemens non papa with Britten's Five Flower Songs and world premieres from our inaugural Competition Composition.

We're thrilled to be making our Kings Place debut to kick things off, before heading to Manchester and Birmingham.

Click here for all details.

The Already Gone Tour is a Genesis Kickstart Project, supported by the Genesis Foundation. It is also made possible thanks to the Golsoncott Foundation and the RVW Trust.

March 2021

Press ahead of premiere

We received a very nice write up in the Henley Standard for our 'Listening to Lassus' project this month. Click the image to read the article in full.

Feb 2021

LISTENING TO LASSUS

Our 'Listening to Lassus' premiere at Chiltern Arts Festival was due to take place at the end of February, but had to be rescheduled due to the national lockdown.

We're very happy to confirm a new date of May 25th - original tickets are still valid for the rescheduled festival, and you can book via www.chilternarts.com/whats-on.

We're thrilled to be appearing on the same line up as the likes of Clare Hammond and Mahan Esfahani, and particularly with this project, which is an important one for us. It's the group's first piece of music theatre, working in a completely new way alongside the wonderful Aminita Francis and Miriam Sherwood. We can't wait to get back in the (socially distanced) rehearsal room!

Jan 2021

THE TRUTH FROM ABOVE

Collaborative performance is Gramophone Magazine's video of the day

We're delighted that our collaborative performance with The Swan Consort and The Gesualdo Six from the 12 Days project is Gramophone Magazine's video of the day today.

.Here’s to a 2021 with more art that allows organisations and communities to work together. We are greater than the sum of our parts.

Dec 2020

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

We've just launched our festive endeavour, 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS.

Click here to find out more.

Nov 2020

BLOG POST

'Talking about racism and Black Lives Matter'

written by Sam Cobb, Co-Artistic Director

In the third instalment of our 'Kitchen Sessions’ video series, we discuss racism and the Black Lives Matter movement in regards to our work as a professional music ensemble in the UK. We are a majority white British group, and the majority of the music we have performed so far has been written by white, European men, which has historically been the performance norm within the UK's choral tradition.

This is the position from which we are approaching these issues: one of privilege, operating in an industry that is desperately lacking in diversity. While research that examines inequality specifically in our field is basically non-existent, the most recent data demonstrates that ethnic minority people represent 6.7% of the workforce in music, performing and visual arts, while making up 14.1% of the overall population for England and Wales (1). I don’t think it’s unreasonable to assume that in Britain’s choral music sector, that proportional figure is much, much lower.

‘A failure to acknowledge racism results in

a failure to act upon it and to instigate change’ (2)

It is not the purpose or the nature of our filmed discussion or this blog post to make public declarations of outrage, or to set out a perfectly-composed plan of action to tackle this inequality. Here, we want to share with our audience this first and crucial step for us: acknowledging our position and remaining mindful of this as we embrace the challenges brought about by the anti-racist movement in 2020.

Reni Eddo-Lodge’s brilliant podcast ‘About Race’ pointed out to me that there is a tendency to focus on the guilt, shame, or hurt feelings of white individuals that may be brought about by conversations about racism and white privilege. I have felt those emotions in my own self-examination and exploration of these issues. More importantly, I have found it helpful to acknowledge those reactions, and then move on: not allowing that initial discomfort to block my way to making active and positive change. I believe that to avoid or exempt myself from talking about racism because I am white, would be a privileged act that is only accessible to me because of my race.

‘The uncontested status of classical music plays a key role in the ways in which

inequalities manifest themselves in its production and consumption’ (3)

As Alex Ross stated in an article for The New Yorker earlier this year: failure to challenge issues of race in Classical music is ‘not only a moral wrong but also a self-inflicted wound’(4). Alongside carefully examining and acknowledging our situation, this is our opportunity to learn the ways in which we, as an ensemble, can think more carefully about how we approach music by artists of all racial identities. As a group hoping to push the boundaries of ensemble singing, performing music from a wide and eclectic range of perspectives is at the heart of our ambitions. We must continue to be sensitive to the music and to it’s context, and remain open to criticism if or when we get things wrong.

It can feel difficult and uncomfortable to talk about race. Indeed, 2020 has brought about a great deal of distress, felt globally as a result of the Covid-19, for example. But perhaps by coming to terms with our discomfort, rather than fighting or avoiding it, we can focus our energies on the positive choices we can control, and move forward all the better for it.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH OUR KITCHEN SESSIONS #3

As an organisation we will continue to educate ourselves about issues of intersectional inequality in our industry, and to seek out the appropriate corrective action that is our duty to take. While we do not expect others to do any of the work for us, we greatly appreciate any feedback our audience might have regarding our video or this blog entry. Should you wish to share anything with us, please contact us directly via the ‘Contact’ page.

Footnotes:

(1) S. Malik and W. Shankley, ‘Arts, media and ethnic inequalities’, Ethnicity, Race and Inequality in the UK, Bristol, Policy Press, 2020, p.167

(2) K. Bhopal, White Privilege: The Myth of a Post-Racial Society, Bristol, Policy Press, 2018, p.159

(3) A. Bull, and C. Scharff, ‘‘“McDonalds” Music’ Versus “Serious Music”: How Production and Consumption Practices Help to Reproduce Class Inequality in the Classical Music Profession’, Cultural Sociology, 2017, 11:3, p.298

(4) A. Ross, 'Black Scholars Confront White Supremacy in Classical Music’, The New Yorker, September 21, 2020 Issue.

Bibliography and further reading:

Bhopal, Kawal. White Privilege: The Myth of a Post-Racial Society, Bristol, Policy Press, 2018.

Bull, Anna. Class, Control and Classical Music, USA, Oxford University Press, 2019

Bull, Anna and Scharff, Christina. ‘‘“McDonalds” Music’ Versus “Serious Music”: How Production and Consumption Practices Help to Reproduce Class Inequality in the Classical Music Profession’, Cultural Sociology, 2017, 11:3, 283-301

Eddo-Lodge, Reni. Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race, London, Bloomsbury, 2018

Malik, Sarita and Shankley, William. ‘Arts, media and ethnic inequalities’, Ethnicity, Race and Inequality in the UK, Bristol, Policy Press, 2020, p.167

Ross, Alex. 'Black Scholars Confront White Supremacy in Classical Music’, The New Yorker, September 21, 2020 Issue (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/09/21/black-scholars-confront-white-supremacy-in-classical-music)

Saha, Animika. Race and the Cultural Industries, Cambridge, Polity Press, 2018

Choir & Organ

This month, we had a feature in the magazine Choir and Organ. Clare Stevens, in her beautifully written piece, described the group's singing as "magical", and interviewed Sarah about our work as Artist in Residence with Ryedale Festival this summer, alongside our ethos and focus on improvisation, accessibility and excellence.

Click on the image below to see the full article.

Sep 2019

Composition Competition

In May 2019, echo launched a competition looking for a new piece for vocal ensemble to be performed as part of our 2019/2020 season. The competition was judged by guest judges Robert Hollingworth, Judith Weir and members of the group.

After receiving over 90 entries, we are delighted to announce that we have come to the decision to award joint winners to Lillie Harris and Rory Johnston. We've also highly commended a shortlist of James Brady, Janet Oates and Karen Lemon.

Judges Feedback

Robert Hollingworth

"Bravo to all those who took part. For different reasons, Judith and I loved the varied approaches that composers took and their inspired embodying of the text - the choral composer's holy grail. (Ni.) How excellent that a newish choir is already commissioning music in this way and has got to know a range of composers' works as a result."

Judith Weir

"A notable feature of echo’s competition has been the freedom given to entrants, with the invitation either to set the offered text, or to respond to it with other poetry. Two very free interpretations have been the winners - along with a strong shortlist of ‘highly commendeds’, all well worth hearing."

June 2019

Echo Radio 3 debut

This week we joined the lovely Katie Derham on 'In Tune', to sing live on BBC Radio 3 and talk about our upcoming projects. Co-artistic directors Sarah and Sam discussed the group's upcoming residency at Ryedale Festival and we sang three pieces from our collaboration with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and James MacMilllan.

William Byrd: Lullaby, my sweet little baby

Judith Weir: Ave Regina Caelorum

Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki: Agnus Dei

(from 'Missa Paschalis')

Have a listen below:

Echo Vocal Ensemble

Registered Charity No. 1186162

WE’RE HIRING! Could you work with us? We are looking for a part-time digital marketing manager to design, manage and run a marketing campaign leading up to our debut album launch concert at Wigmore Hall this summer. 🚀 If you love being digitally creative, running social media campaigns and have a passion for music and the arts, we’d love to hear from you! 🎨 This part-time role will consist of 5 working days over the course of 10-12 weeks, from mid-April to early July. The deadline application is Friday 12th April, and all the details are on our website at www.echo-choir.com/opportunities Please do get in touch if you have any questions or access needs, and we hope to hear from you soon! #digitalmarketing #marketingjobs #parttime #artsopportunities
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In light of International Women’s Day, we wanted to celebrate some of the amazing women who make up Echo: 1. Our conductor Sarah and soprano Sam, who have worked closely together on the artistic planning of the organisation since 2019 2. Writer and director @lch_attridge and composer @lillieharris , with whom we are planning an incredibly exciting project in 2025 (watch this space..!) 3. Our amazing soprano section, Sam, Hilary and Sally, who are sunning themselves in this pic during a rehearsal break 🎶 4. Two of our recent collaborators, anthropologist Harsha Balasubramian and artist Hermione Spriggs, with whom we have been creating our Bat Choir 🦇 projects, recordings and workshops 5. Some of our brilliant upper voices, pictured here during recording sessions for a new Disney + show 6 & 7. The ridiculously talented @aminitafrancis and Miriam Sherwood, with whom we put together our Listening to Lassus project that premiered at @chilternarts festival . We are very proud to be a female led organisation and look forward to celebrating more female and non-binary musical and artistic collaborators in the coming years! #IWD #everyday #whorunstheworld
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We were so honoured to perform at the @the_arts_foundation Awards Ceremony last week in London! It was a privilege to share the stage with the incredible winners and nominees for 2024, and celebrate John Barber’s incredible music alongside premiering the film for F*ck Dystopian Loneliness. What a treat, thank you for having us! 🥂 #livemusic #echovocalensemble #affa2024 #artsfoundationfuturesaward #londonmusic #southbankcentre #awardsceremony
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We’re excited to be performing at the @the_arts_foundation Future Awards 2024 ceremony next week at The Purcell Room, Southbank Centre. We’ll be performing F*ck Dystopian Loneliness by the wonderful composer John Barber, with text by @inuaellams alongside a film by Fred MacGregor. John won the award in 2021 and used that funding to create and record two EPs of choral music 🎶 You can watch our performance and the full awards ceremony on Instagram Live - Wednesday 28th Feb at 7pm. The shortlisted artists for 2024 are: Jazz Composition @romarnacampbell @casimirdaniel @jaskayser @lucamanning_ Short Documentary Film @jsbishopp @rosesmorris @cherishoteka @katpavv Theatre Writing @chauchoc @laurimotherwell Tatenda Shamiso @yomi_sode Visual Art @rebecca.bellantoni @danglefree @aleximjmarshall @rafal_zajko Regenerative Design William Eliot, @aureliefontan.design @emma_jade_money @trheathomas
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This spring we’re headed off on tour to some cities we’ve never visited before… can you work out where? Tickets go live next week! #greentouring #newmusic #oldmusic #choir #singing #livemusic
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A sneak preview of “Unfolding Silence”, created by seven singers from @echovocalensemble alongside artist @hans.rosenstrom. We loved creating this piece with Hans and you can hear the work in person if you visit Regents Park! Bring your headphones and download the Echoes app in order to experience it 🎧
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We absolutely love these super cute drawings that @alison.gardiner.art sketched of us at a concert for our supporters last week! 💚 Featuring: 1. Sarah conducting with Gus singing 2. Upper voices from left to right: Sam, Hilary, Helena, Gabriella 3. Lower voices from left to right: Matt, James, Jack, Gus Check out Alison’s work over at her Instagram page. 🎨 If you’re interested in supporting us and becoming an Echo friend, get in touch ✉️ 💻📱✍️🗣️ #choirchoirchoir #watercolours #drawing #friends
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We’re really excited to announce that we’ll be making our debut at the Wigmore Hall this summer! On Wednesday July 3rd we’ll be performing our programme ‘Innocence’ in that beautiful acoustic and space. It feels like quite a milestone for us to be programmed in the place where so many musical legends have performed. 🎶 Tickets are now on sale - find them on our website or through the @wigmore_hall box office #newmusic #oldmusic #wigmorehall #newgeneration #youngartist #whatson #choralmusic
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Looking back at 2023 - we were lucky enough to be involved in some wonderful projects! Highlights include: - Recording our debut album with the dream team of @tommungall and Philip Linn - Concerts across the country, from Brighton to York - An incredible collaboration at @sadlers_wells with the wonderful team behind Broken Chord - An expansion of our education work, with KS2, KS3 and KS4 pupils involved in our singing workshops for younger voices, alongside #batchoir workshops in Cambridge and London - Working on a beautiful piece of improvised sound art with @hans.rosenstrom at @frieze.london - Recording projects for Disney with the brilliant team at @45rpmmusicsupervision - Taking our bat choir project to @latitudefest for the first time 🥳 🦇 Looking ahead to 2024, we can’t wait to tell you more about the range of projects and concerts we have lined up… including: - Our first Scottish tour 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 - An exciting announcement about the launch concert for our debut album…. all will be revealed next week 🚀 - A residency at @swaledalefestival with the wonderful @gandaboys - the launch of John Barber’s debut EP at the Purcell Room in @southbankcentre - And the inaugural year of our first ever Baroque Festival… watch this space…! Thank you so much to everyone who has supported us, listened to us, sung with us and helped behind the scenes so far. Swipe to the end for a cheeky behind-the-scenes moment…
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Travelling back from a lovely concert @birdsall.house, performing our ‘Sweet Disharmony’ concert programme, exploring dissonance and some of the best harmonic treats in choral music! A fantastic audience and stunning location. We can’t wait to return to Yorkshire again! 🎶❤️ #echovocalensemble #BirdsallHouse #concert #yorkshire
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We’re really looking forward to our Sweet Harmony concert @birdsall.house tomorrow! 🎫 Tickets available through our website #yorkshiremusic #singing #classicalmusic #echo #choir
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Thank you to @gramophonemagazine for premiering our version of Judith Weir’s stunning ‘Ave Regina Caelorum’, filmed in the beautiful surroundings of North Yorkshire’s @castle_howard . We’ll be returning to the area this Saturday 25 November, for a debut of a new programme exploring dissonance in choral sacred music. We’re headed to Malton’s @birdsall.house to sing music by Byrd, Gesualdo, Panufnik and @kerry.andrew . 🎶 A few tickets are still remaining if you’re in #yorkshire and hoping to see #whatsonyorkshire ! #livemusic #yorkshireevents #choirchoirchoir #classicalmusiclover #singingvideos
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We’re excited to be returning to North Yorkshire later this month to perform at @birdsall.house . It’s a gorgeous place, and an incredible setting to premiere a new programme exploring the searing beauty of dissonance in choral music, including music by Gesualdo, Lassus, Panufnik and MacMillan. Here we are in our glad rags last year, captured casually relaxing on the stairs(!) by our concert manager and photographer @jamesfrhodes. Do join us on Saturday 25th November - tickets are both fixed price and pay-what-you-can; all are welcome! The ticketing link is found via our website 🎶🎫 #whatsonyork #whatsonyorkshire #livemusic #livemusicyork #choralmusiclover #freetickets
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This is the final weekend to experience @hans.rosenstrom ‘s Unfolding Silence at @frieze.london in Regent’s Park, featuring the voices of: Sally Carr, Sam Cobb, Hilary Cronin, Freddie Crowley, Sarah Latto, Jack Lawrence-Jones and Daniel Marles Bring your 🎧 and enjoy being immersed in a magical combination of birdsong, voice and nature - we’ve loved being a part of this incredible project! 2023 Frieze Sculpture Regent's Park London Curated by Fatos Üstek Recording engineer Tom Mungall Recorded in Stoke Newington Methodist Church Postproduction EMS Stockholm Unfolding Silence would not have been possible without the support of Helsinki Contemporary, FRAME Contemporary Art Finland, The Saastamoinen Foundation. #whatson #sundayvibes #regentspark #parklife
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On the projects section of our website, you can read more about our ongoing artistic partnerships. One of these is our focus on Echolocation; a strand of work that has taken us on a journey from the Grant Museum of Zoology in London to workshops across the country. Next week we’re inviting Cambridge residents to join a session with the Bat Choir, exploring what it is like to communicate in a “bat-like” way. We will learn the different calls of bats that live locally in Cambridge, and experiment with strategies for human echolocation. There are now just a handful of tickets left for this free workshop led by conductor Sarah Latto, artist @hermione.spriggs and anthropologist Harsha Balasubramian, so do reserve a spot via our website. No prior singing experience is required!
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What a week we had recording our first album 🎤🎶 All our thanks to our producer Phil Hobbs, our technician superstars Tom & Jonathan, to our conductor Sarah for bringing us together, and of course our wonderful singers. We can't wait to share the results with everyone - watch this space! . . . #recording #choir #echo #echovocalensemble #singing
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An incredible 2 days rehearsing for our Debut Album recording! 🎼🩶 #echovocalensemble #debutalbum #comingsoon…
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We’re so excited to be recording our debut album! 🎶🫣☺️ It explores the theme of innocence and its loss, and includes some incredible music by Mouton, Ravel, Monk and ANOHNI… This Sunday 8th October, join us for an album insights evening at 1901 Arts Club in London, from 5pm. You'll hear us rehearse some of the music, find out more about the recording process and join us for a drink afterwards. 🍷 Tickets are pay-what-you-feel and you can order via our website. #newmusic #oldmusic #livemusic
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STOP PRESS! Exciting plans are afoot this autumn 🍂 , including events in East Anglia, London and Yorkshire, as well as our collaboration with Hans Rosenström as part of Frieze Sculpture fair in Regent’s Park. 🌳 Join us for an insights day for our upcoming debut album, take part in one of our bat improvisation workshops or see us perform at Malton’s stunning Birdsall House 🎶 We’ll be revealing more in the coming days, or you can head to our website to see all upcoming events. #collaboration #performance #whatson #choir #livemusic
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CALL for SCORES! Composers, do send choral work to echovocalensemble@gmail.com by the end of this month, and our conductor will listen to everything sent with an eye to 2024 programming. #newmusic #composer #choir
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It was lovely to be involved in the latest #choralchihuahua podcast from @i_fagiolini and @thesixteenchoir . Sarah was interviewed by @ailsa_ablc about Echo’s journey and our work with @hans.rosenstrom coming up this autumn 🍂 at @friezeofficial Give it a listen for: 1. Beautiful Byrd (courtesy of @thesixteenchoir ) 2. Beautiful bird improv (courtesy of us!) 3. Chat about Genesis Sixteen 4. Music for Undine Smith Moore (featuring solos from @grahamcoopertenor and @fred.crowley ) Link in our stories now 🎶
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We’ve got an exciting week coming up... firstly we’re headed to Cambridge to lead a free singing workshop this Wednesday, before making our way to @latitudefest in Suffolk this weekend. We’ll be putting on a number of pop up performances and bat choir workshops as part of ROOST, an artist collective in a magical glade in the woods... All details on our website at www.echo-choir.com/upcoming Hope to see some of you there! 🦇🌲🎶
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We had a wonderful day recently @radleycollegeoxon at which we performed to over 350 KS2 students from primary schools across Abingdon. We sang some wonderful music by William Dawson, Henry Purcell, Sheena Phillips and our very own @shivanimezzo . One of the teachers said: “You got 200 school children singing songs they didn’t know, in new languages, with sound effects in a round, and it sounded beautiful! Excellent job” Thanks to @radleycollegeoxon and to @roseanne_martin for making it happen 🤩. #education #choralmusiceducation #improvisation
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And that's a wrap! An amazing few days for us working with @hans.rosenstrom It's been such a joy to improvise and create so freely in the process of bringing Han's ideas to life. We're all pretty good birdsong impersonators now too 🐦‍⬛🐦 Huge thanks to our sound engineer @TomMungall Keep an eye and an ear out for more details soon... #recording #naturesounds #improvisation #birdsong #hansrosenstrom
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We're having a wonderful time working with @hans.rosenstrom improvising on bird song to create truly unique nature-inspired soundscapes 🕊️ You'll be able to hear the results somewhere in nature... Watch this space for more details 👀 . . . . #improvisation #recording #birdsong Recording engineer: @tommungall
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We’ll be heading to Oxfordshire next week as part of our Residency at @radleycollegeoxon. We’ll be performing an interactive programme of music featuring elements of improvisation to KS2 students from schools across Oxfordshire. We’re excited to reach our youngest audience yet with some incredible music, and to get every student singing! #education #inspiration #musicforeveryone
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We’re heading to Brighton on Wednesday 26th April to perform at the stunning Sarah Abraham Recital Hall, as part of the Autograph Concert Series at @brightoncollegeuk . We’ll be performing pieces from our ‘Innocence’ programme, including music by Mouton, Monk, Ravel and Villette alongside folk song and improvisation. As part of the residency, we’ll be inviting KS3 students from across Sussex to join us for workshop sessions exploring the voice and ensemble singing. Book tickets for the Wednesday evening concert via Eventbrite - link in our bio ! #newmusic #oldmusic #livemusic #education #whatsonbrighton #brighton
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There are only a few days left to catch our performance of Undine Smith Moore's arrangement of 'Daniel, Daniel, Servant of the Lord', as part of our feature on BBC Radio 3 's InTune with Sean Rafferty. Have a listen to the full clip over on BBC Sounds The full interview features Sarah Latto and Thuthuka Sibisi, and our performance was recorded at Birdsall House in Yorkshire. It features solos by Graham Cooper and Freddie Crowley, alongside singers Sam Cobb, Sally Carr, Florence Pettet, Lorna Price, Jacob Ewens and John Laichena.
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We’re thrilled to share the #Messiah250 film celebrating our inspiring project from last year 🎶 alongside @paragonsingersbath 🙌 Huge thanks to the whole team: conductor Sarah Latto director Thomas Guthrie @thomasbastianboy Our wonderful instrumentalists led by Bojan Cicic @bojan.cicic.14 Film students from Bath Spa University @bathspauni and of course generous funders Andrew and Gill Clarke and Arts Council England @aceagrams Messiah250 culminated in our performance at St Swithin’s on Mar 5th 2022 and ‘crowned the whole venture’ which also featured singing workshops for beginners, a Come and Sing, a 3-day workshop alongside Bath Spa film students, and sessions held in partnership with charity Julian House who support homeless and vulnerable people living in Bath. We loved the whole project and are grateful we can share a glimpse of it with you here ❤️
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What a week we had performing as part of Gregory Maqoma & Thuthuka Sibisi's #BrokenChord @SadlersWells alongside the incredible quartet: Tshegofatso Khunwane, Nokuthula Magubane, Simphiwe Sikhakhane, and Lubabalo Velebhayi. It was an honour for us to be involved, and we can't thank the cast and crew enough 💜 To any friends in/around Paris: their tour continues at Théâtre de la Ville from 24-26 March, not to be missed!
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Just about to go onstage for our final performance of Broken Chord written by the incredibly talented @its.thuthuka.again and choreographed by @gregmaqoma in the iconic @sadlers_wells If you haven't had the chance to see it then definitely check out the @nytimes article and the 4.5* review on @reviewhub 🥰 #brokenchord #southafrica #sadlerswells #echovocalensemble #choreography #staged
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It was great to get featured in the @nytimes today - check out the full article in our story. Here’s a sneak peek of us on stage rehearsing Broken Chord at @sadlers_wells . 💃 We’ve loved the challenge of a staged production, made all the easier by the expert leadership of @its.thuthuka.again and @gregorymaqoma . There are still a few tickets left for this Friday and Saturday - Londoners, do join us. 🎶 #collaboration #theatre #choreography #southafrica
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We have arrived @sadlers_wells for @gregmaqoma and Thuthuka Sibisi's amazing piece #BrokenChord and are in the Lilian Baylis studio today for rehearsals! #professional #choir #versatile #singers #collaboration
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We're making our @sadlers_wells debut THIS WEEK in collaboration with acclaimed choreographer @gregmaqoma and composer Thuthuka Sibisi. The production is called Broken Chord and is inspired by the story of a South African chorus whose tour through North America and England in the late 19th century was marred by the realities of racism. Using traditional Xhosa and contemporary dance styles alongside vocal soundscapes, the production weaves together recorded personal accounts of a group of singers who travelled by boat in 1891 to Europe and America in order to collect donations to build a school. Despite the tensions between South Africa and the colonial power Great Britain, the tour became a success. Broken Chord combines spoken and sung drama and dance with music for a cappella voices creating a unique work about borders, migration and identity. Catch it this Friday 17th and Saturday 18th March; there is now limited availability for Friday's show. Tickets via our website 🎫 Tomorrow (Tuesday 14th) tune in to BBC Radio 3 at 6pm to hear our conductor Sarah talk with Thuthuka about the production. #whatson #sadlerswells #livemusic
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Here’s a sneak peek from some of our echolocation experiments alongside @hermione.spriggs . Building on that work, we’re excited to be a part of a day of discovery on Thursday 9th March at @hyphastudios in London as part of the wonderful ‘Behold’ exhibition @sashagalitzine . JOIN US! BEHOLD, ECHO is a day of workshops and performance that will bring together vocalists, artists and blind/visually impaired researchers to engage with artworks in the Behold exhibition through the mediums of sound and touch. Beginning with the question “What does it mean to listen to art?”, we will test alternatives to the primacy of visual engagement in an art gallery context. In the afternoon we’ll be running a workshop in deep listening, inspired by echolocation, a technique used to reflect sound off surfaces in order to ‘map’ a space. The day will culminate in a public listening session and performance from 6.30-8.30pm. We’d love to see you there! Tickets are free but need to be reserved - head to our website to do so. Supported using public funding by @aceagrams
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Some stills from our experimental echolocation sessions with artist @hermione.spriggs last year 📷 Tonight our conductor Sarah and Hermione are leading a vocal workshop inspired by the echo-locative strategies of different British bat species @grantmuseumucl as part of the Performing Planet Activism festival 🌍 Find out more about the project and the PPA festival via our website 🦇 #vocalworkshop #experimental #blindfold
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We were thrilled to reach our fundraising target of £4000 this week, thanks to the incredibly generous help of our friends and supporters. We're really excited about recording our debut album and this support is a huge step on the way to making that happen. If you are interested in supporting in any other way, please get in touch via echovocalensemble@gmail.com. Here's to a year full of wonderful music and new collaborations! #bignews #debutalbum #fundraiser
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It’s the final weekend of fundraising for our debut album...! We’re 70% of the way there but would love some more pledges over the next few days ahead of our Tuesday deadline. Could you help get us over the line? Every little helps, and whatever the size of the pledge, every backer will receive the physical or downloadable album and exclusive content 🎶 Link in biog 🥳 #debut #record #choirchoirchoir
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If you need to recapture some festive cheer, there are 3 days more to listen back to our performance as part of the BBC Radio 3 In Tune Christmas special. On the show, we performed two pieces with Ganda Boys alongside a beautiful Icelandic hymn by @annathorvalds and Sarah Latto’s arrangement of Nina Simone, featuring Sam Cobb as the soprano soloist accompanied by Sergei Rybin. We also shared the stage with a host of incredible musicians including Connaught Brass, Albion Quartet, Charles Owen, Soraya Mafi and the accordionists Ryan Corbett and Djordje Gajic - it was a wonderful experience! Listen back on BBC Sounds till the 19th January. #recording #livebroadcast #choirchoirchoir
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📣 BIG BETWIXTMAS NEWS! 📣 We're thrilled to be recording our DEBUT ALBUM next year. It's a huge milestone for us as an ensemble - and we'll be partnering with the award-winning @delphian_records for our debut. It has been a dream of ours to be able to create a recording that encapsulates our ethos and style, and to share it with a wider audience than we've ever reached before. The recording will be themed on innocence - exploring that theme through some of our favourite music from the 12th century to the present day; and featuring well-known pieces alongside recording premieres. We are so excited about the material and can't wait to get stuck in...it's going to be a lot of hard work and fun! Recording professionally is very expensive; we'd love your help with making the project happen. Every little helps, and whatever the size of the pledge, every backer will receive a physical CD, and we'll keep in touch with you throughout the recording and release process with exclusive content. Find out more about the music, the concept and the process at the link in our biog #recordingartist #choir #bignews
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We have made it to our final leg of Chasing the Night tour. We are absolutely delighted to be back on @bbcradio3 TODAY for the In Tune Christmas Special, live from 5-7pm! Tune in to hear us perform: @annathorvalds Heyr Thu Oss Himnum á ; Sarah Latto's arrangement of Little Girl Blue / Emmanuel featuring soprano @cobblet ; two traditional Ugandan songs with @gandaboys and a special massed O Holy Night collaboration! Find out more here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001g3hs or simply tune in to BBC Radio 3 at 5pm. Also performing today on the programme are the amazing @connaughtbrass @albionstringquartet @ryan.accordion @djordje.gajic_ @laufey @charlesowenpiano Merry Christmas! 💥💥💥🎊🎊🎊
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We’ve arrived at the beautiful @birdsall.house for our final #chasingthenight performance - and what a gorgeous venue! #festivevibes #midwintersongs
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We had a wonderful time on Thursday at @kingsplacelondon - thank you to our lovely audience and brilliant collaborators Ganda Boys, Chris Glynn and @shrigadhvi . Thanks to @theartsdesk for their five star review! We’re headed to @birdsall.house in York this evening for the next stop on the tour, before performing some of the songs from the programme on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune Christmas Special this Tuesday 20th December at 5pm. #midwinter #tourlife #choir
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Rehearsing on stage ahead of our @kingsplacelondon performance this evening! #chasingthenight #midwintersongs
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Delighted to reveal our two VERY special guests artists who will be joining us on stage TONIGHT at Kings Place... @shrigadhvi will be joining us on the dholak to perform @shruthimusic ‘s stunning piece 'Jayjaykar!' Shri is renowned for his skills as a percussionist and producer, has performed internationally and launched the London School of Tabla in 2013. Chris Glynn is a Grammy award-winning pianist and one of the UK's best-known chamber musicians. He performs with leading singers, instrumentalists and ensembles throughout the world and we're delighted to be welcoming him to the @kingsplacelondon stage tonight to join us for a surprise collaboration. Still a few tickets left for our midwinter journey through song... #collaboration #tabla #piano #livemusic
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Today we were hard at work preparing for our concert Chasing the Night which takes place tomorrow, 8pm at Kings Place. Here we are workshopping harmonies with the amazing Denis of @gandaboys If you haven't got tickets already, join us! https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/classical/echo-vocal-ensemble-friends/
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Here are the five brilliant composers we'll be featuring as part of our 'Chasing the Night: Midwinter Songs' tour: We'll be featuring a WORLD PREMIERE from John Barber (a setting of a stunning poem by @inuaellams ), who we've just worked with on an EP recording. Named by The Guardian as a composer "who will enrich your life,” @shruthimusic creates intersectional music reflecting her unique background in the Carnatic (South Indian classical) and Western classical idioms. Shivani Rattan @shivanimezzo is a British Indian choral conductor and mezzo-soprano based in London, and we've loved discovering her Three Indian Celebration Songs, published by @singforpleasure . We first heard the music of the Polish composer Anna Rocławska-Musiałczyk through her brilliant group @art.n.voices , and have been hooked ever since! We'll be singing her haunting lullaby Bibi Synkù bi, which has become a firm favourite. Finally, Anna Thorvaldsdottir's "Heyr þú oss himnum á" takes an old Icelandic Psalm by Olafur á Söndum (1560–1627), and sets her native language in a beautifully simple way. All the pieces in our programme feature themes of night falling in winter, as we follow one night around the world. 🌎
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🎥 On-stage cam 🎥 Here’s a clip of us thoroughly enjoying ourselves on-stage at @kingsplacelondon last year, as part of our ‘Already Gone’ tour - which featured this stunning motet, ‘Ego Flos Campi’ by Clemens non Papa. The programme also featured world premieres by @rorywainwrightjohnston and @lillieharris - the joint winners of our Composition Competition. Really looking forward to returning this Thursday! https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/classical/echo-vocal-ensemble-friends/ #livemusic #christmasconcert #choirchoirchoir
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We're excited to be returning to beautiful @birdsall.house in Yorkshire as part of our winter tour this year. It has been lovely to read some great press about this date of the tour, including words from the The Yorkshire Post, Scarborough News and The Gazette & Herald, Ryedale. Tickets via our website ☺️ #yorkshireconcert #christmas #livemusic
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Our show next week is completely FREE for under-18s and just £8.50 for under-30s. If you want to come and see us perform with @gandaboys at @kingsplacelondon on Thursday 15th December and you're under 18 (or will be bringing someone who is), use the discount code U18ECHO to book at the link on our website. The under 30s tickets are £8.50 and can be booked via the usual method - just select your seats and then click the £8.50 option. #artforeveryone #music #yallmeansall
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A suitably ecstatic snap 📸 after a great day performing at @royalcollegeofmusic ! 15 world premieres in one concert, all themed around ‘Air’ with the legendary #rogermcgough in attendance. What a pleasure to work with students this term and see these new works being created. Our next London gig takes place @kingsplacelondon on Thursday 15th Dec. #newmusic #composition #youngtalent
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We've just premiered a new video of this iconic piece by Sergei Rachmaninoff, filmed at the beautiful @birdsall.house in Yorkshire. Thank you to @gramophonemagazine for making it their video of the day 🥰 See the video in full via our YouTube channel, and book to join us live at Birdsall House (19 Dec) or Kings Place London (15 Dec) next month to explore music for midwinter 🌲 #videooftheday #choirchoirchoir #rachmaninoff
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The flyers have arrived! Check out our beautiful artwork for ‘Chasing the Night: Midwinter Songs’ at @kingsplacelondon on Thu Dec 15th 🌲🌲🌲 Join us to follow one winter solstice around the Northern Hemisphere; with songs from 5 continents 🌎 Featuring very special guests @gandaboys 🤩 Tickets available via the link in our biog 🎶 #livemusic #londonlife #concerts
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It has been great to work with students at the @royalcollegeofmusic Junior Department this term, in a project focused on writing music for voices and how best to approach the artform. 8 of our singers worked with the young composers on their new pieces, giving them practical feedback on their work in progress, and enabling them to experiment with new ideas in person ahead of the final concert. We wanted to inspire the young composers and give them crucial access to professional performers and feedback, alongside a platform to create and share new work. Hear the culmination of our collective work on Saturday 26th November at the Royal College of Music, in a concert titled 'The Very Air We Breathe'. Tickets are £5 and all are welcome! Tickets are available via our website 🎶 #newmusic #composition #nextgeneration
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We're thrilled to announce a very special guest artist for our upcoming headline show at @kingsplacelondon on Thursday 15th December. We will be performing with our recent collaborators, Danny Sewagudde and Denis Muggaga, who make up the British-Ugandan duo @gandaboys. We've done a number of recordings with Danny and Denis, and this is the first live show we are putting on together (hopefully the first of many!) 🥳 Ganda Boys are acclaimed for bringing a fresh sound to traditional Ugandan songs and chants with a combination of English and Lugandan lyrics, using both vocals and instruments like the adungu. 🎶 They'll be bringing their joyful brand of performance to the Kings Place stage as part of our programme's journey around the world, showcasing some celebratory Ugandan chants. Our collaborative performance will also feature some brand new pieces celebrating British and Ugandan culture. 🌍 Tickets for the Kings Place show can be found via our website. 🎫 #ensemblesinging #livemusic #concerts #londonlife
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*STOP PRESS!* We'll be making our debut at @sadlers_wells in spring, working with the South African choreographer @gregmaqoma_industries and composer Thuthuka Sibisi on a piece that moves between concert, dance and performance. ‘Broken Chord’ charts the journey of a South African group of singers who travelled by boat to England in the late 19th century in order to collect donations to build a school. Despite the tensions between South Africa and the colonial power Great Britain, the tour became a success. Using an a cappella score and both traditional Xhosa and contemporary styles of dance, Maqoma's piece offers a rare insight into how Africans were perceived in Victorian London. We feel honoured to be a part of this unique work about past and present issues concerning borders, migration and identity. More details on our website: live dates 17 and 18 March 🥳 #crossgenre #multidisciplinary #theatre
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We are delighted to be presenting a VERY special programme celebrating the winter solstice this December. ‘Chasing the Night: Midwinter Song’ will take audiences on a musical journey across the Northern Hemisphere, following dusk as it falls in each country, and exploring the unique blend of folklore, religion, magic and tradition that midwinter brings. Alongside traditional carols, the programme features pieces by Poulenc, Britten and Rachmaninov alongside vocal music from Canada and Iceland. We'll be returning to headline London's @kingsplacelondon on Thursday 15th December, and making our live debut at Yorkshire's @birdsall.house on Monday 19th December. Tickets are now ON SALE and both performances will feature musical surprises and some very special collaborations... Watch this space! Tickets via our website; link in bio. 🥳 #midwinter #livemusic #concert
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We're excited to announce a new partnership with the @royalcollegeofmusic Junior Department 🥳 We're teaming up with the RCM this autumn in a brand new collaboration working with the young composers in their Junior Department, aged 12-18. The students will be set a challenge to write a short piece for SATB choir, for Echo to perform in a public concert at the end of November. Our singers will work with the students, giving them crucial feedback on their compositions in progress, and enabling them to experiment with new ideas in person ahead of the final concert. The project is a chance for vital links to be made between aspiring young people with those in the industry, and a way to celebrate the art form of ensemble singing. Our longtime collaborator, poet Roger McGough has also joined us for the project; he ran a poetry writing workshop for the students to kick off the term, allowing them to experiment with creating their own texts for their pieces. Join us for the final performance on Saturday 26th November - at the Royal College of Music. Tickets cost £5: more details on our website #newmusic #composer #musicforvoices #youngtalent #nextgeneration
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One of our four flagship programmes this autumn is a collaboration with artist Hermione Spriggs. 🎨 We’re working with her to create the music for a public sculpture which will be based in Jesus Green, Cambridge, at the heart of the Cambridge Nature Network, an initiative since 2021. 🌳 The sculpture will use technology to translate the inaudible frequencies of the bat population in Jesus Green into human hearing range.👂 Echo spent a morning creating music inspired by the techniques bats use to communicate; including Echolocation, in which they use the reflections of their own calls to work out the shape of the space they are in. We developed these skills at the @grantmuseumucl at @ucl . 🎶 Find out more about this and our other autumn projects on our website. 🍂 #newmusic #improvisation #experimental
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This is 'Lumonde' - a beautiful song by @gandaboys that celebrates humanity and collaboration. "Through the eyes of the children who will inherit our land" is a poignant lyric at this moment in time, and seems fitting for our final video in this series. 🧡 Head to our website to find out more about our autumn/winter 22 season, which includes concerts in Yorkshire and London, a project showcasing the composers of tomorrow with the @royalcollegeofmusic Junior Department and recordings in Cambridgeshire and at the Voces 8 Centre. We'll be revealing more in the coming days... #futurevoices #chasingthenight #echolocation #livemusic
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STOP PRESS! We're looking for a number of new trustees to join our board. Echo registered as a charity in 2019 and we have ambitious plans for the next stage of our growth and development - a dynamic step change for the organisation. We are looking for new trustees who: - have an interest in ensemble singing and / or organisational management - will help us achieve our mission statement (see website link) - will act as an advocate for the group in different scenarios - will support the executive team and hold it to account in achieving its aims Specific roles we hope to appoint: 1. A Sustainability leader; who will help to devise our Green Framework going forwards. This will be a strategy focused on how our organisation can be carbon neutral; focused in particular on green touring, alongside engaging freelancers, participants and audiences with our sustainability framework. 2. A Diversity and Inclusion leader, who will hold the executive team to account on our D&I Policy to help ensure that our organisation is continually improving its accessibility and relevance. 3. A Digital and Innovation leader, who will help us to stay at the forefront of technical innovation and the ways in which it can transform, promote and progress our art form. Commitment: - Attendance at quarterly board meetings: three via Zoom and one in-person each year. - Attendance at Echo concerts and events where possible - Some extra administrative work around meetings, as and when your availability allows Fee: This is a non-executive position and is held without a fee. Please get in touch if you're interested but your financial circumstances would preclude you from applying. We are committed to working towards a more diverse cultural sector. Our recruitment process is open to all, and we strongly encourage applications from all interested people, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, socio-economic background, trans and non-binary candidates, LGBTQ+ candidates and those who have a disability. Application details: We’d love to hear from you if you’re interested or have further questions! Please email echo vocal ensemble@gmail.com. Full details on our website 💯
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Here is Ddembessa, one of our favourite collaborations with @gandaboys so far 🤩. Filmed by @maxbandicootofficial at @townhallhotel in Bethnal Green, London. Great music and great people may not be the answer to all of life’s difficulties, but it’s an excellent place to start 💙 #choir #collaboration #sing
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Some behind the scenes shots of our session with @gandaboys this week, captured by @maxbandicootofficial . 🤓 Swipe right to hear us rehearsing Lumonde, a song celebrating democracy. 🎶 Video coming 01.08. #collaboration #sing #international #uganda🇺🇬
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We're delighted to be hosting a workshop in Bethnal Green, London, on Wednesday 27th July. You'll hear performances from Echo and @gandaboys , find out more about traditional Ugandan music, and learn a song called Ngaali, which celebrates Uganda's national bird, the crested crane. Come and keep cool with us - the workshop is from 8-9pm, and both singer and non-singer places are available. Places are completely FREE - just register at our website (link in bio). #freemusic #freeworkshop
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This is 'Ngaali', which is a traditional song from Uganda. The text tells the story of the Crested Crane - Uganda's national bird, which is an endangered species. Danny from @gandaboys says "We are singing of the Crane's beauty and of the need to protect it". We're delighted to be hosting a FREE workshop in Bethnal Green, London alongside Danny and Denis on Wednesday 27th July, 8-9pm. If you'd like to find out more about our collaboration and delve into this music, please do join us! Full details and reserve a place via our website (link in bio).
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If you’re in or around the Birmingham area this weekend, head to ‘The Sky in a Room’; a completely FREE performance installation by artist Ragnar Kjartansson in Tanworth-in-Arden. We co-produced this alongside Ikon Gallery and can’t wait for you to see it - swipe right to hear our very own co-AD @cobblet perform Gino Paoli’s ‘Il cielo in una stanza’ and to hear Ragnar talking more about the work. Details on our website 💯 #performanceart #freemusic
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Reunited with @gandaboys today to record in the studio. Always a joy! 😄
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Here's our latest collaboration with the wonderful Ganda Boys! This is a snippet of Ekitiibwa Kya Buganda, the anthem of the Kingdom of Buganda - we loved performing it alongside Danny and Denis, and we'll be working with them and their charity Ganda Foundation on more artistic collaborations later this year. Lead vocals: Denis Muggaga and Danny Sewagudde Echo (L-R): Sally Carr, Lindsey James, Sarah Latto, Sam Cobb, Freddie Crowley, Tom Perkins, James Rhodes
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Another fantastic recording session with @gandaboys singing national anthems and learning more about Ugandan culture #musicalworldscollide #crossculturalcollaboration
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It was great to read this lovely review of our recent #Messiah250 project with @paragonsingersbath, directed by @thomasbastianboy . Thank you to Dorota Kozińska for this gorgeous and thoughtful write up! "joy, uncertainty, awe, despair and ecstasy were marked with a different shade on the face and in the gestures of each musician, including the instrumentalists" #collaboration #altemusik #oldmusic #newtheatre
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WE'RE RECRUITING! We have an exciting opportunity for an exceptional candidate to plan and execute Echo Vocal Ensemble’s website redesign. You will be responsible for the look and design of our new website, created to better reflect our mission statement as an organisation. Key responsibilities: - Planning the new website and its structure and feel, in consultation with Echo’s executive team - Helping to create a unity of branding and design across the new site - Editing existing video to create exciting content to use as part of the new site (ie highlight reels etc) - Designing visual elements for the new website, incorporating existing media (like photos) where necessary - Creating a site that is easy for our small team to edit and maintain in the future, using a website builder like Squarespace to do so As the role focuses on the look and feel of our brand, the successful candidate will be passionate, able to think creatively and deliver impressive results in a short time frame. We are looking for someone who can think on their feet and work efficiently. Full details: www.echo-choir.com/opportunities Application deadline: Monday 27th June at midday
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We had such a great time collaborating with the @gandaboys on a couple of tracks recently! #collab #njabala
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One week left until the application deadline for this brilliant project! Apply now or let your singing/keyboard playing friends know - we'd love to hear from you. For more details and how to apply, visit the link in our bio! . . . #callformusicians #performanceart #livemusic #ragnarkjartansson
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About last night... It was an honour to share a stage with the icons that are @aminitafrancis and Roger McGough. What a way to celebrate our fifth birthday! Thanks so much to our brilliant audience for supporting us. Here's to the next five years 🥂✨ . . . #livemusic #musicandpoetry #rogermcgough #aminitafrancis #choralmusic #collaboration
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We've extended the deadline for applications to be part of this brilliant project in collaboration with @ikongallery! For more details on how to apply visit: buff.ly/3NGNeUm
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Our performance this Friday with Roger McGough and Aminita Francis has a 'pay what you can' ticketing option - so you can pay according to your circumstances. 8pm, St John's Hoxton, 01.04. #allarewelcome #art #collaboration
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Some snaps from yesterday's recording of John Barber's vocal music. It was brilliant to explore these pieces and we can't wait to share the results! Watch this space... 🌞🎶
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We're heading into the studio next week to record new music by Bristol-based composer John Barber. He's written a beautiful suite of songs for voices about night time 🌝🌚🌛⭐️🌜🎆🎇🌌🌠🌃🎑🌉 #newmusic #recording #composition
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WOW. All of the feels listening to @aminitafrancis ‘s debut sonic theatre piece - beautiful and powerful work. Check it out at @_soundworlds, co-commissioned by @camdenpeoplestheatre with production by Matt Huxley. We are so grateful to be collaborating with Aminita next next month! #superstar #talent #theatre #newmusic2022
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🎈 It's our fifth birthday on April 1st! 🎈 What better way to celebrate than with some of our favourite collaborators from projects gone by! We'll be performing alongside poet Roger McGough and vocalist Aminita Francis. Stay tuned for more details... Join us at St John's, Hoxton at 8pm. Link in bio for tickets! #livemusic #livepoetry #echovocalensemble #rogermcgough
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📢 Call for Musicians 📢 We are delighted to be involved with a performance piece called 'The Sky in a Room' by artist Ragnar Kjartansson in collaboration with @ikongallery, Birmingham this summer! Applications are now open to musicians who can sing and play a simple organ part for a durational performance called ‘The Sky in a Room’. For more details on how to apply visit our website. Deadline: Monday 18th April. Do spread the word! . . #ragnarkjartansson #ikonbirmingham #livemusic #performanceart
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On Saturday we had an absolutely fantastic time performing in the Paragon Singers' #Messiah250. A huge thank you to our wonderful audience for such a warm reception 🎶💙 Directed by Tom Guthrie Instrumentalists led by Bojan Cicic Film team from Bath Spa University 🎶💙 #bathlivemusic #handelsmessiah
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Our conductor Sarah Latto will take part in a discussion about the Changing Face of Historical Performance on 21 March for Early Music Day with Cambridge Early Music. She'll be speaking alongside some absolute legends - Sally Dunkley, Laurence Cummings, Nicholas Kenyon and Alan Howard. Tickets are free so do come along if you're in or around Cambridge! Head to @cambridgeearlymusic ‘s website for full details 🎶
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We are presenting a VERY special concert in London on Friday 1st April to mark our fifth birthday! We've chosen some of our favourite music and invited some brilliant collaborators to join us for a performance in the beautiful setting of St. John's, Hoxton. 🧡 We're really excited to be collaborating with the wonderful Roger McGough for this concert. Roger is an award-winning poet, playwright, broadcaster and author of over a hundred books of poetry for adults and children. He has been described as ‘the godfather of modern British poetry’ (Metro) and ‘the patron saint of poetry’ (Carol Ann Duffy). Our performance alongside Roger will explore the ways in which spoken and sung words can be combined, with music from the 16th century to the present day, and pieces by Henry Purcell, Robert Ramsey, Undine Smith Moore and Florence Price alongside improvisation and folksong. 🎶 Tickets are available via the link in our biog 🥳 #collaboration #concert #birthday #5thbirthday #choirlife
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We're definitely feeling joyful from our collaboration with the incredible @gandaboys 🎶🧡 We loved singing with them for this recording of 'Tweyanze', a beautiful song celebrating gratitude. Follow the link in our bio for the full video! #gandaboys #livemusic #tweyanze #fridayfeeling
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We're really looking forward to collaborating with @gandaboys this week on their track 'Kagutema'. Originally from Uganda, lead singers Denis Mugagga and Daniel Sewagudde are London-based and specialise in bringing a fresh light to African traditional music with some English lyrics. With thanks to @gooutoftune who will be capturing our session together! #collaboration #recordingartist
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Thank you to Planet Hugill for this preview of our Messiah 250 project with Paragon Singers, directed by Thomas Guthrie and led by Bojan Cicic. For those based in the South West, you can discover how we are reimagining this oratorio with dramatic intent at its centre at a 'Come and Sing' workshop day led by Sarah Latto TOMORROW! Visit our website to book a place 🤓 Thanks to Arts Council England for their generous support of this project 🎶🌟 #messiah250
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We've had an epic three days in Bath this week exploring Handel's most famous oratorio All teams came together for the first time for the MESSIAH 250 project, in partnership with Paragon Singers, our Director @thomasbastianboy, Musical Director Sarah Latto and amazing instrumentalists lead by Bojan Čičić. A huge thanks also to our filming team from @bathspauni. We're so excited to share what we've been working on... Tickets go on sale for the live performance on Saturday 5th March very soon - keep your eyes out for more details! #handelmessiah #livemusic #bathmusic
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If you are SW England based and interested in theatre direction - this is the opportunity for you! Directing Observership - Messiah 250 The scheme provides an opportunity for a trainee director to gain experience working on the Messiah 250 project. The applicant should have limited experience of directing but be able to demonstrate a commitment to a career in theatre directing. This is an opportunity to gain experience of the rehearsal room and the relationships between the creative team for Messiah 250. The observer will have the opportunity to gain first-hand experience in a supported environment working alongside internationally renowned director Tom Guthrie on a large-scale production. Head to our website for more details - applications close on Thu 20th Jan. #training #theatre #experience #opera
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We’re hosting a Friends Evening in London this Thursday, from 6-7pm. It will be a chance to hear about what we’ve been working on recently, enjoy an exclusive performance and talk about future plans. If you want to support the arts this year and would consider becoming an Echo Friend, now might be the time! Get in touch with sam@echo-choir.com for more information. #supportthearts #livemusic
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Just one more sleep to go until applications close for our mezzo soprano, countertenor and tenor vacancies as part of our large scale Messiah 250 project! All details via our website. Deadline is Friday 7th January at 9am. 🎶 #messiah250 #auditions #singers
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🎉 COMPOSER SPOTLIGHT! 🎉 We wanted to introduce you to the winning composers of Echo’s Cadence Competition as part of the #12Days project. 🎶 They are Joe George (UK) Aurélien Hallopeau (Switzerland), Luka Repanšek (Slovenia) and Lucy Walker (UK), and it has been a pleasure to discover and record their cadences. Find out more about them via our biog 🥳 #newmusic #composer #choirlife
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APPLICATIONS FOR AUDITIONS NOW OPEN: MESSIAH 250 Applications are now open for a tenor and a mezzo soprano / countertenor for Echo Vocal Ensemble’s and Paragon Singers’ MESSIAH 250 project, based in London and Bath. MESSIAH 250 is a semi-staged, off-copy performance of the work directed by internationally renowned director Tom Guthrie. We are looking for singers who: - Are confident soloists who have their own voice to bring to the Messiah arias, alongside being in the chorus for the work - Are excited by the concept of the project from a music and/or theatre perspective - Are confident on stage with movement and with close camera work We are committed to working towards a more diverse cultural sector. Our recruitment process is open to all, but we are particularly keen to hear from candidates who identify as Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic, disabled and/or working class, as these groups are currently underrepresented in our organisation. The deadline for applications is 9am, Friday 7th January 2022 All details and dates on our website 🎶 www.echo-choir.com/auditions
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If you’re wondering which notes are emanating from these lovely faces, 12 Days is for you! Last orders are TODAY at 5pm for the deluxe gift envelope 🎁 , so get them in quick! Link in biog 💯 #christmas #giftideas #ecofriendly
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12 Days of Christmas returns by popular demand!🎄 Ticketing link in biog 🎥 This year, expect stunning music delivered straight to your inbox every day between 25th December and 6th January, filmed at the historic Birdsall House in North Yorkshire. Surprise your family and friends with an eco-friendly digital gift for just £12, or send a beautiful presentation brochure in the post. 🎁 Last orders for the presentation brochure are THIS MONDAY 20th December at 10am! 🎶 #choralchristmas #ecofriendly #newmusic #oldmusic #giftideas
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This Christmas, we’re releasing in full Sarah’s arrangement of the traditional carol ‘O Come O Come Emmanuel’ combined with Nina Simone’s beautiful song ‘Little Girl Blue’. Sam sings the soprano solo in this performance and we were thrilled to collaborate with the wonderful Christopher Glynn on piano. Head over to our YouTube to listen in full... 🎥 This was part of last year’s ’12 Days’ package of music in collaboration with The Gesualdo Six, The Swan Consort and Ryedale Festival - if you are still looking for Xmas presents and want to buy someone the gift of music, we highly recommend this year’s offering. It's filmed in the intimate beauty of Birdsall House in North Yorkshire and features some absolutely stunning music! Tickets available via our bio! #choral #christmas #giftideas #music
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From coats and hats... to the splendour of recording at @birdsall.house . Thanks to @cara.willoughby for capturing this transformation! Swipe right to hear a snippet of a blues-tinged Christmas cadence 🎼🎄 Join us for #12Days this year - we had a wonderful time recording and if you’re struggling to find gifts for music-loving friends, our collection of seasonal performances is highly recommended! Link in our biog ☺️ #recording #artist #transformation #choral #choralchristmas #christmasmusic #ecofriendly
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Keeping warm in rehearsal ahead of the return of our Already Gone programme tonight at Lancaster Priory. Gorgeous space to be singing in! #AlreadyGone
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It’s back!! We are teaming up again with The Gesualdo Six, The Swan Consort and Ryedale Festival this Christmas for the return of '12 Days'. This innovative gift for music lovers returns with a brand new programme for 2021. The 12 Days series delivers a “wonderful collection of music” (The Times) to your email inbox each day from 25th Dec to 6th Jan, and will be presented from the intimate beauty of Birdsall House in North Yorkshire, for the first time. Watch this space for more details ...! #christmas #digital #giftideas #newmusic #oldmusic
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Thanks to @musicmagazinepics for featuring this interview with Sarah about our ‘Already Gone’ programme. If you’re based in or near Lancaster, join us this Thursday! #1moresleep #climatecrisis #livemusic
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Naomi Taylor

Nick Jackman

Sarah Ralphs

Matt Neudegg

Dan Sargeant

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