Bristol sings for the climate

City of Bristol Choir, Bristol Youth Choir and UWE Singers are coming together on Friday, November 12 for ‘Wonderful World’, an ambitious gala concert at Clifton Cathedral staged to coincide with the COP26 conference in Glasgow.

The event, which promises to be an inspiring night, will be hosted by natural history presenter Miranda Krestovnikoff, and the 200 participating singers – ranging in age from eight to 80 – are being conducted by David Ogden.

During an extensive period of lockdown, a time in which community choirs were unable to get together in person to sing, they had to find creative solutions to keep their music alive. This coming together of such a large number of intergenerational singers from around Bristol, and for such a unique event, will represent a celebration of the power of creative unity.

Set to receive its world premiere on the night, celebrated composer Toby Young has written Raise a Voice: a rebellious songbook for our times – eight pieces for adult chorus and children’s choir, in a characteristically eclectic fusion of musical styles. The work has been made possible with funding from the PRS Foundation.

The title song from Raise a Voice is written ‘to transcend boundaries of age, class and gender in celebrating diverse and powerful voices in the fight against climate change’.

Bristol-based composer Richard Barnard has written two evocative and elegiac pieces also set to premiere at the concert, Hurt Not the Trees, and I am the Song, which will be also receive their world premieres on the night, and will be performed by members of the choir spaced around the Cathedral.

Alongside the music, the evening will feature expert speakers Ella Morgan, Dr Alix Dietzel, and Dr Elizabeth Bagshaw, from the BBC Natural History Unit, the University of Bristol and Cardiff University respectively – all sharing their experiences of working in the realm of climate science.

“We have some really engaging speakers talking about everything from monkeys in Borneo, measuring ice in Antarctica, the global perspective, feedback from the COP26 conference and what we can do about the climate emergency here and now in Bristol,” says David Ogden.

“Bristol, known for its environmental activism and championing of the natural world, is the perfect place to launch this project, which has the potential to spread to choirs and schools around the UK.

Bristol Youth Choir – photo: Dominika_Scheibinger

“Toby Young’s new piece will use music’s unique power to engage both hearts and minds in order to help both audiences and performers recognise the part they can play and the action they can take… The concert will not only entertain and inform but raise awareness of our individual actions and habits, and provoke us to engage more actively and personally with the environment in our everyday lives.”

The Wonderful World concert is at Clifton Cathedral, Pembroke Road, Bristol, BS8 3BX, on Friday, November 12 at 7.30pm. Tickets are available through the City of Bristol Choir website, www.cityofbristolchoir.org.uk.

Main photo: Adele Williams

Read more: Creative youth response to COP26

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