e c h o

e c h o

e c h o

PROMOTIONAL PACK

e c h oe c h o

e c h o

03 ABOUT US

“What stood out for me was not only the outstanding quality of the singers in the group, but the honest, genuine passion that was evident from the way they performed”Naomi Taylor Director of Chiltern Arts Festival

“Echo’s imaginative approach and innate musicianship are a delight”

Christopher Glynn Artistic Director of Ryedale Festival

“Impeccable intonation, balance, charm and perfect diction... an exceptional group”

Henley Standard

05 SAMPLE PROGRAMMES

09 HEAR US

ABOUT US

echo is an ensemble of young professional singers. Since launching in early 2017, the group intends to explore the full range of what ensemble singing means: working both with and without a conductor, including improvisation in each concert and performing music both inside and outside of the Western classical canon. The group came together through Genesis Sixteen, the prestigious young artists’ scheme run by Harry Christophers and The Sixteen.

Following highly acclaimed launch concerts in London and Birmingham, echo headlined the Sounds Sublime Festival in July 2017 and made their St John’s Smith Square debut the same month, in collaboration with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Magnus Lindberg.

echo were selected as one of the inaugural Chiltern Arts Festival Take Note young artists for 2018, and were featured at the ‘Music in Quiet Places’

and Ryedale Festivals. An ongoing partnership with the LPO resulted in a performance at the Debut Sounds concert in 2018 with James MacMillan at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Alongside this, the ensemble’s flagship ‘echo

presents’ concert series was successfully performed at venues across the UK.

The group has quickly developed a reputation for imaginative programming and inventive presentation; often creating audience-immersive concert

experiences. The production ‘EXILE’ at the Brunel Tunnel Shaft featured music from four historical vignettes and was directed by Rebecca Meltzer

(Waterperry Opera). Most recently, echo received Arts Council and RVW Trust funding for ‘Meet you in the Maze’, a response to the works of the

American artist Polly Apfelbaum which was performed at the Union Chapel, London and Ikon Gallery, in Birmingham. Looking ahead, echo will be an artist in residence at the Ryedale Festival in Yorkshire this summer, taking

part in a number of concerts and performances across the region.

“The singing was sublime, the programme fresh and inventive... you created an atmosphere that was warm and friendly and our audience of 140 absolutely loved it”

Jo Astle, audience member, Peterborough

SAMPLE PROGRAMMES

An exploration of the relationship between vocal music and architecture, including polychoral works, musical ‘building blocks’ and pieces written for specific buildings and places.

Locus Iste - Anton Bruckner (1869)

Jubilate Deo - Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina - (1575)

Nuper Rosarum Flores - Guillaume Dufay (1436)

Clapping music - Steve Reich (1972)

Versa est in Luctum - Alonso Lobo (1598)

Improvisation on Baiskeli - Trad. Swahili

Quand les hommes vivront d’amour - Phillip Glass (1986)

To Build a Home - Cinematic Orchestra (2007)

BRICK X BRICK

EXILEFour historical snapshots: Tudor England in 1605, 17th century Portugal under Spanish Rule, the Jacobite rebellion in Scotland and Germany in the 1930s. Each vignette tells a story of people suffering political, religious or emotional exile through song, improvisation and theatrical use of the performance space.

Super Flumina Babylonis - Philippe de Monte (1583)

Salvator Mundi - Thomas Tallis (1575)

Lacrimans sitivit anima mea - Pedro de Cristo (c.1590)

Oculi Mei - Estêvão Lopes Morago (c.1620)

Improvisation on Mo Ghille Mear (trad. Irish, 18th century)

Improvisation on Skye Boat Song (trad. Scottish, 19th century)

Gegen den Krieg - Hans Eisler (1936)

Five spirituals from ‘A Child of Our Time’ - Michael Tippett (1941)Jason LangleyHong Kong (2015)

Ghassan GhaibMy Shadow on Paper (2010)

HUSH, NO MOREMusic about music, featuring Britten’s masterful ‘Hymn to St Cecilia’ as its centrepiece, alongside motets from the 16th century to the present day.

Cantate Domino - Claudio Monteverdi (1620)

Cecilia Virgo - Peter Phillips (1613)

Hymn to St. Cecilia - Benjamin Britten (1942)

Feast Song for St. Cecilia - Bernard Rose (1975)

Hush, no more from the ‘Fairy Queen’ - Henry Purcell (1692)

Improvisation on Killing me Softly - Roberta Flack (1971)

Sing Joyfully - William Byrd (c.1590)

The Flight of Song - Howard Skempton (2005)

MEET YOU IN THE MAZEA programme centred on the idea of mazes and puzzles, the navigation of the unknown and the concept of aleatory in art.

Circlesong no.4 - Bobby McFerrin (1997)

O Virtus Sapientie - Hildegard von Bingen (12th century)

Komm, Jesu, Komm - J.S. Bach (1731)

There is a light / Hide and Seek - The Smiths (1986) / Imogen Heap arr. Latto (2005)

Quant j’ai ouy le tabourin - Claude Debussy (1908)

Nunc Dimittis - Arvo Pärt (2001)

Panda Chant II - Meredith Monk (1984)

Meet you in the Maze - James Blake arr. Cobb (2016)

HEAR US

Advance Democracy - Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976)

Recorded at Chantry House, Henley-on-Thames, February 2019

Follow the links below to explore a selection of our recordings

Vertue - Judith Weir (1954 - )

Recorded at The Music Room, Holborn, July 2018

Echo - An Introduction

CONTACT:

Facebook:Twitter:

facebook.com/echochoirUK/twitter.com/echo_choir

www.echo-choir.com

Sarah Latto, Conductor & Co-Artistic Directorsarah.latto@gmail.com

Sam Cobb, Co-Artistic Directorsam@echo-choir.com