Cecilia McDowall
British composer Cecilia McDowall's Ave Maris Stella was published by Oxford University Press in Spring 2008, the sixth in a series of her choral works taken up by OUP. This twelve minute work sets text from Psalm 26 and Psalm 106, and is scored for soprano solo, mixed chorus and string orchestra. Commissioned by Portsmouth Grammar School and written in 2001, it was first performed on 11 November of that year by Portsmouth Chamber Choir and the London Mozart Players conducted by Nicolae Moldoveanu at Portsmouth Anglican Cathedral. There's an opportunity to hear this work live at the Shipley Festival in West Sussex, UK on Saturday 3 May 2008, performed by the Bernardi Music Group. A new work by the same composer is being given its first performance in the same concert, and two days later at the same festival, McDowall's eco musical or cantata King Leo will be performed at Windlesham School. Performances of McDowall choral music continue throughout the summer, including her Canterbury Mass at the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music and The skies in their magnificence at the English Music Festival in Dorchester Abbey. Follow the information link below for details of these and other performances. Cecilia McDowall studied at Edinburgh and London Universities, and was a prize-winning student at Trinity College of Music. Her music has a distinct, direct style and her choral output has been described as having 'freshness, brightness and vitality'. She has been commissioned and performed by leading ensembles and choirs, including the BBC Singers, and her cantata Christus Natus Est was performed at the Leipzig Gewandhaus on Christmas Day 2005 and broadcast live on Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk. Three Antiphons have been recorded by an international trumpet ensemble consisting of players from the the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras and released on the Brass Classics label. A recent CD of Cecilia McDowall's choral music on the Dutton Epoch label (CDLX 7197) was given a very positive review in M&V by Howard Smith.
Information: www.ceciliamcdowall.co.uk
Posted: 22 April 2008
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