Choral Music

Exeter Philharmonic Choir members step up for Solomon solos

Three members of Exeter Philharmonic's one-hundred-strong choir are stepping out of their ‘comfort zone’ and into the spotlight as soloists at the Choir’s forthcoming concert in March, Handel’s Solomon.

Exeter Philharmonic Choir always performs with professional soloists and musicians, and its Lord Mayor’s concert on Saturday, 14 March at Exeter Cathedral will be no different. However, in addition to four stellar professional soloists and the musicians of the Endelienta Orchestra, this performance of Handel’s majestic oratorio will feature special guest appearances by choir...

Handel’s rarely performed masterpiece Solomon comes to Exeter Cathedral

Exeter Philharmonic Choir’s Lord Mayor’s concert this spring is a not-to-be-missed musical event, and a first for EPC. On Saturday 14 March 2026 the choir and four soloists will sing Handel's majestic oratorio Solomon , a work not known to have been performed in Exeter Cathedral since its composition in 1748.

High drama, rich orchestration and some of Handel’s most exquisite choral writing combine in this rarely performed masterpiece, including the sparkling ‘Arrival of the Queen of Sheba’.

Exeter Philharmonic Choir is delighted to welcome Martha McLorinan as the wise...

Choir’s summer smörgåsbord: ‘A Feast of English Choral Music’

Authored by Sharon Goble
Posted: Wed, 04/23/2025 - 12:59pm

Exeter Philharmonic Choir is ending its 2024/25 season with a veritable banquet of some of the greatest English choral and organ music of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

‘A Feast of English Choral Music’ at Exeter Cathedral on Saturday 14 June is the Choir’s closing concert of another successful season. The concert will take the audience on a journey with music of different styles and contexts, from the highly ceremonial to the spiritual and more intimately personal.

Graze on rich, melodious harmonies, including works by the musical giants of their time: Ralph...

Exeter Philharmonic Choir’s Lord Mayor’s concert raises over £800 for Force Cancer Charity

Exeter Philharmonic Choir’s recent Mozart concert at Exeter Cathedral has raised a considerable sum for a cancer charity in the city. The event on 15 March, which featured the renowned London Mozart Players and an impressive line-up of soloists including Devon-born violin virtuoso Joel Munday, received a retiring collection totalling £839 for the Lord Mayor of Exeter’s chosen charity, Force.

FORCE Cancer Charity Chief Executive Kate Few-Singh said: “We are extremely grateful to Exeter Philharmonic Choir for putting on this concert as part of the Lord Mayor’s charity fundraising...

Solo soprano Sam Cobb will be singing with Exeter Philharmonic Choir

Choir returns to its roots for first concert of the new season

Exeter Philharmonic Choir will begin its new concert season in November with Handel’s wonderful Messiah, the first work it performed in public in 1847, a year after the Choir was founded.

Handel composed his Messiah during 24 days of concentrated creativity in 1741. Since Exeter Philharmonic Choir’s first performance of this dramatic work, the Choir has returned to it many times - to the delight of members and audiences alike.

Exeter Philharmonic Choir’s Director of Music, Howard Ionascu, says everyone is very much looking forward to the concert at Exmouth’s Holy Trinity...

The choir's Salamanca tour includes Valladolid's impressive Cathedral

Olé! Spain beckons for Exeter Philharmonic Choir

As Exeter Philharmonic Choir prepares to begin its 2024/25 season of concerts this autumn following a sell-out season last year, 47 choir members will soon be packing their song sheets to travel to Salamanca in Northern Spain for a five-day tour. At the end of September, the group will perform concerts in the Old Cathedral of Salamanca and Valladolid Cathedral and sing in a Mass at The Basilica of St Teresa in Avila.

Ahead of their departure there’s an opportunity for local people to enjoy their Spanish tour repertoire at a free event near Exeter. St Margaret’s Church in Topsham is...

Choir honoured to receive Lord Mayor’s Commendation Award

Exeter Philharmonic Choir is among only a handful of organisations in the city to have received a special Commendation Award from the Lord Mayor.

Two representatives of the Choir, Vicki Henderson and Geoff Poad, attended a reception at the Guildhall on Friday 10th May to receive the Award from the Lord Mayor of Exeter, Councillor Kevin Mitchell, for the Choir’s services to vocal music and cultural life in the City of Exeter.

The Lord Mayor awards his own Commendations once a year to people or organisations who have gone above and beyond for the City. Presenting the award,...

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra will be accompanying Exeter Philharmonic Choir in March

Acclaimed choir and orchestra promise a night of high drama at Exeter Cathedral

Concert-goers are in for a night of high drama at Exeter Cathedral on Saturday 16th March when Exeter Philharmonic Choir joins forces with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and four world-class soloists to perform Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem.

Verdi’s choral ‘blockbuster’, also known as the Requiem Mass, is an opera in all but name and is one of the most dramatic large-scale choral works in the classical repertoire; any performance is a grand occasion.

First performed in 1874, the Requiem is a musical setting of the Catholic Funeral Mass. It was composed as a memorial to one...

Copy of Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra will be accompanying Exeter Philharmonic Choir in March

Verdi's Requiem

Event Date: 
16/03/2024 - 7:30pm to 9:30pm
Venue: 
Exeter Cathedral

Concert-goers are promised a night of high drama as the acclaimed Exeter Philharmonic Choir joins forces with the renowned Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and four world-class soloists to perform Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem.

The singing of four talented soloists - Judith Howarth (soprano), Marta Fontanals-Simmons (mezzo-soprano), Oliver Johnston (tenor) and Tristan Hambleton (bass) - will draw out the intense beauty of The Requiem.

Tickets: £30, £23, £15

Buy online www.exeterphilharmonic.org.uk

or by phone 0798916117

Email: tickets@exeterphilharmonic.org...

The musical magic of 17th-century Venice comes to Exeter

Baroque Venice in all its musical glory will be brought to life in Exeter Cathedral on 18 March with a large-scale performance of Monteverdi’s Vespers, conjured up by the combined forces of Exeter Philharmonic Choir, Devon County Junior Choir, top professional singers and the internationally renowned early music group, His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts.

Exeter Philharmonic Choir is delighted to be joined in this musical adventure by approximately 40 boys and girls aged under thirteen from the Devon County Junior Choir. The children will be involved in four movements of this...

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