Songs of War and Peace Live Music & Concerts

From Loch Lomond to Skipton: Strathendrick Singers bring songs of war and peace. With KVU Singers

This is a cantata made up of five well-known Scots songs, which recount the story of the Jacobite Rebellion in 1745. The songs are interspersed with an historical narration.
Ken Johnston is based in East Lothian, where he works as a composer and arranger, writing many pieces for both youth and adult choirs. Recent works include writing for the National Youth Choir of Scotland, the Edinburgh Quartet, BBC Proms in the Park and the Aberdeen Bach Choir.

Peace – (items from) Karl Jenkins: The Armed Man – a Mass for Peace (choral suite)
Dedicated to victims of the Kosovo crisis, this is an anti-war piece, based on the Catholic Mass, which Jenkins combines with other sources, principally the fifteenth century folk song "L'homme armé", the Islamic Call to Prayer, the Mahabharata and the Bible.
An award-winning Welsh composer, Sir Karl Jenkins OBE was a jazz-rock musician, notably in Soft Machine, before becoming known for his classical works including ‘Adiemus’ and ‘The Peacemakers’. In 2008 The Armed Man was listed as No. 1 in Classic FM's "Top 10 by living composers"

Strathendrick Singers (strathendricksingers.org.uk) is an amateur choir of around fifty singers, drawing their membership from the villages in the valley of the River Endrick in Stirlingshire, Scotland.
Their concerts are usually held in the Killearn Kirk, to the north of Glasgow, but after a visit to Scotland two years ago by KVU Singers, a local Sutton-in-Craven based choir, a return visit has been arranged to Yorkshire.
Known mainly for their classical repertoire, Strathendrick Singers has performed major works by Handel, Vivaldi, Beethoven, Fauré and many others. Recent works tackled with critical success include Bach’s Cantata No.4; Morten Lauriden’s Lux Eterna; and Howard Goodall’s Eternal Light.

For this concert Strathendrick Singers are joined by KVU Singers, who will sing a selection of traditional Scottish songs. Both choirs will then join together for a performance of Handel’s ‘Hallelujah Chorus’.
KVU Singers (kvusingers.co.uk) is a mixed voice choir founded in 1906 with a main aim then of entering festivals. Now they perform live choral music to the local community, singing a wide range of sacred and secular music of all styles, eras and languages. In 2014 they travelled up to Glasgow as the guests of Strathendrick Singers and performed in Glasgow, Killearn and Stirling. They are very pleased to have this opportunity to host this return visit.

More details