Recitals
Over the past 15 years, heritage and music events have put St Michael’s firmly on the map. The church is situated in the heart of the city of Exeter and is ideally placed as a venue for musical and cultural activities. Recitals and concerts with artists from across the British Isles and abroad enjoy its beautiful acoustic, lovely interior and striking setting on Mount Dinham.
A Recital Series was founded in 2013 by Prof Matthew Wright; classicist, pianist and former tenor in St Michael’s Choir. The series developed to embrace the rich creativity and skill of musicians in this part of the South West. It has subsequently been run by other members of the Choir and community. In 2015 the series featured the inspirational and world-renowned vocal octet, VOCES8, through an afternoon’s choral workshop and stunning evening recital.
This engaging and enjoyable participatory experience continues. This year we welcomed the University’s Exeter Singers for their annual alumni Come and Sing workshop and concert with orchestra- conducted by Matthew Jeffrey. The evening included performances from bass soloist Joseph Ward, member of the Genesis Sixteen cohort for 2024-2025.
The church may be hired for rehearsals and performance by arrangement. For details on bookings and for sponsorship information, please contact the Parish Churchwardens wardens@stdavidschurchexeter.org.uk
Our Recitalists
This creative recital is a quest to explore the hidden countryside's past, embedded within our towns and cities, through music and conversation. Countertenor Joe Levy performs a selection of pieces drawn from 800 years of musical history, with acclaimed pianist Peter Adcock. Saturday 1st June, 7.30pm 2024
The return of the amazing Exeter Singers to St Michael’s for their annual Alumni Day. In an open workshop, singers are invited to come and sing the music of Vaughan Williams's Five Mystical Songs and Handel's Four Coronation Anthems, with bass soloist Joseph Ward, conducted by Matthew Jeffrey. The concert is followed by refreshments.
A thrilling and most enjoyable Concert, opening with Poulenc's solo Priere au Paix, sung by Heloise West accompanied by David Davies Organ. Poulenc's exciting Gloria, composed in 1959, comprised the rest of the first half. David Davies linked the 2 halves of the concert with a Bach trio. The 5 Psalms and Magnificat of Mozart's Solemn Vespers were sung with style and enjoyment by the 30-strong choir and their soloists.
A uniquely exciting evening at St Mike's as Russian Theremin virtuoso, Olesya Rostovskaya, thrilled the audience with classical adaptions and modern compositions, accompanied on Piano and Organ by Prof Matthew Wright and Dr Nigel Browne.
Friday 22nd July at 1pm saw a superb Organ Recital at St Michael's. Renowned Organist Jan Hage from Utrecht in the Netherlands was visiting Exeter with choir Schola Davidica Utrecht who were singing in the Cathedral for the week.
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1pm-4pm; Buffet Lunch & Choral Workshop with Voces8, Tickets £10 (£7 conc), please book this in advance (online at http://stmichaelsrecitals.ticketsource.co.uk/events or contact Alex West) to help with catering and planning. 7.30pm; Concert by Voces8; hear these brilliant and versatile young singers performing. Tickets £15 (£12 conc) on the door or online as above. (£3 reduction for both events). They really are exceptional – don’t miss it! Friday 19 June 2015
The Recitals@StMichael’s concert series gives musicians across Exeter and the wider area the opportunity to perform to local audiences, and for music-lovers to engage with and learn from professional musicians. The 2015 series kicks off on Friday 9th January with a recital from Ralf Ayling-Miller & Eleanor Little, the winners of the 2014 Young Organists’ Competition, and culminates on Friday 19th June with an unmissable concert from world-renowned vocal octet, VOCES8. All concerts take place on a Friday evening at 7.30pm in the church. Online booking is available from: http://stmichaelsrecitals.ticketsource.co.uk/events/ Tickets to each of the first 5 recitals cost £5 (£3.50 concessions), while tickets to the final Voces8 recital cost £15 (£12 conc). In addition, season tickets are available for the full Jan-Jun 2015 series at £32 full (£24 concessions), as well as tickets for entry to the first 5 recitals only at £18 full (£13 conc).
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David Briggs plays the Inaugural Organ Recital on our newly installed historic instrument, crowning the Mount Dinham Heritage and Music Festival of 2014. The programme features works by Bach, Haydn, Cocker, MacDowell and Dukas, culminating in an Improvised Symphony on themes submitted by the audience. "The playing is unquestionably marvellous: shapely, virtuosic, and poetic in turns...stupendous technical brilliance, musical imagination of the first order and breathless inspiration." (The Organists' Review, UK) David Briggs is an internationally renowned organist whose performances are acclaimed for their musicality, virtuosity, and ability to excite and engage audiences of all ages.
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Alex West, Assistant Organist and Conductor at St Michael's and former Organ Scholar of FitzWilliam College Cambridge, plays the nearly completed St Jude's pipe organ for his Recital programme this evening.
The Last Rose of Summer
Recitals @ St Michael's provide a platform for local musicians to showcase their talent in a wonderful acoustic, now with first-class pipe organ installed. Please come along, support the series and enjoy the music! WEDNESDAY 17TH SEPTEMBER, 7.30PM. Nigel Browne & Friends. Everything you ever wanted to know about the new organ, but were afraid to ask! Dr. Nigel Browne and friends show off the abilities of the new pipe organ to their fullest extent. WEDNESDAY 22ND OCTOBER, 7.30PM. Songs from a Century Ago. Margaret Thomson (Mezzo-soprano) and John Draisey (Piano) present a selection of songs in a the fabulous late-nineteenth century setting of St Michael's. WEDNESDAY 12TH NOVEMBER, 7.30PM. The Exeter Singers in concert, directed by Tony Yates, present a varied programme of a cappella music, from madrigals to modern! WEDNESDAY 10TH DECEMBER, 7.30PM. Christmas by Candlelight. The choir of St. Michael's presents a programme of beautiful and atmospheric Advent and Christmas music in a candlelit setting. An unmissable end to 2014! Tickets available on the door: £5 (£3 concessions), to include a glass of wine. Or, come to all four concerts for £16 (£10 concessions).
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