Cor Bach – what a year!
In 2022, Cor Bach became Lichfield Festival’s inaugural Midlands Choir of the Year winners. The choir from Newcastle-under-Lyme swept the board, beating five rivals in a concert at Lichfield Cathedral to lift the winner’s trophy and Audience Prize too. The 9-strong male choir are back at Lichfield Festival this year to give their prizewinner’s concert.
We chatted to them to find out what they’ve been doing over the past year.
Wow! What a year Cor Bach have had since we had the privilege of winning the inaugural 2022 Midlands Choir of the Year, on a balmy evening at Lichfield Cathedral. What a night of singing and song that was with so many extraordinary choirs taking part, every one of them singing superbly, and with such a range of repertoire too.
Our last year has been pretty full on and thrilling both musically and in performance. We love to sing in so many contexts, being happy to perform in different places from amazing and prestigious venues such as Lichfield Cathedral, to sing-out/socials in local pubs – often to raise money for charity (almost £10,000, mainly for cancer charities over 2022-2023). We have had significant media coverage within newspapers and on local radio (we’ve even written and recorded a new ‘jingle’ for Radio Stoke’s Lee Blakeman’s Breakfast Show!).
At Christmas, we had the honour of opening for, and then singing with, the world-renowned tenor, Russell Watson, and in June we sing as part of the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Music Service Summer Sing-Along at the Staffordshire County Showground. Our audiences have always been amazingly enthusiastic, particularly at a recent Lymestone Brewery (in Stone) Beer Festival where everyone was on their feet singing. Once again, the power of singing and song bringing people together.
Moving forwards, we are busy preparing to be central to a new play written and produced by the superb Claybody Theatre, for a run in October, which is tremendously exciting for us, and another great way to celebrate and promote singing for the pure love of it, plus to support great mental health and wellbeing.
Our thanks go, once again, to everyone at Midlands Choir of the Year and the Lichfield Festival, but especially to Damian Thantrey and team for their extraordinary work. We are so looking forward to singing at The Hub at St Mary’s at 7pm on Sunday 16th July. We promise plenty of fun!