Summer Concert 2026
📅 Saturday 4 July 2026
🕖 7:30 PM
📍 Keele University Chapel, Keele · ST5 5BG

Summer Concert: McDowall, Vaughan Williams & Todd
Featuring Alison Loram, violin
Join us for a rich and uplifting summer programme showcasing three strikingly different works, each offering its own musical world and emotional landscape.

Cecilia McDowall – Good News from New England
Opening the evening is McDowall’s vivid and moving exploration of the Mayflower Pilgrims’ 1620 journey to the New World.
Across its three movements, the work traces the Pilgrims’ perilous Atlantic crossing, the hardships of early settlement, and the joy of their first successful harvest. From the tense anticipation of An Unexpected Shore to the haunting tragedy of Ghost of a Feather, and finally the celebratory spirit of Thanksgiving, this piece offers a compelling blend of history, storytelling, and expressive choral writing.
With the Fourth of July marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, this performance feels especially resonant.

Ralph Vaughan Williams – The Lark Ascending (choral version)
In complete contrast, we drift into the serene, pastoral beauty of Vaughan Williams’s beloved work, performed here in its version for violin and chorus.
Expect a dreamlike summer soundscape as Alison Loram’s violin soars above the choir, capturing the freedom, ecstasy, and gentle nostalgia of the skylark’s flight. A moment of pure English lyricism — and perhaps an echo of the Pilgrims’ own longing for freedom.

Will Todd – Mass in Blue

We close the evening with Will Todd’s exhilarating Mass in Blue, infused with the rhythms and harmonies of jazz and blues.
This vibrant work moves through energy, serenity, passion, and joyful exuberance, brought to life by soprano soloist, choir, piano, bass, and drums. Expect a full‑throttle musical celebration — a chance, in the words of a Pilgrim, to “rejoice and give thanks together.”
We can’t wait to share this tuneful extravaganza with you.

Additional Information
•     This programme is provisional.
•     Booking opens approximately 4 weeks before the concert.
•     Parking: Free all weekend and after 5pm on weekdays across campus, including permit‑only areas.

Check here for bookings and updates;

🚗 Parking

• Free parking all weekend and after 5 PM on weekdays across campus (including permit-only areas)
• Blue Badge parking available near the chapel (see pink letters on the campus map)

 

 

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