BATH CHORAL SOCIETY
Bath Choral Society (founded 1887) is a lively amateur mixed choir of about 110 voices, enga- ging professional orchestras and soloists and presenting a wide range of sacred and secu- lar repertoire. The choir performs four or five concerts a year in Bath, including two perfor- mances of Messiah in Bath Abbey during early December.
Will Dawes has been the Musical Director since September 2011, following in the footsteps of Matthew Bale, who retired that year after 23 happy and productive years with the choir. He has been responsible for the programming of all the concerts since January 2012, including a performance of Monteverdi Vespers, an eve- ning of Haydn The Seasons and a concert inclu- ding James MacMillan The Seven Last Words from The Cross and Fauré Requiem. In 2011 the choir also sang Vaughan Williams A Cambridge Mass with guest conductor Alan Tongue and two acclaimed performances of Messiah with Jeremy Summerly.
Encouraging all ages, the choir has been parti- cularly successful in attracting younger singers over the last few years and has in place a bur- sary scheme for singers under 25 which helps with membership and music costs and also provides complimentary individual singing les- sons.
Every two years the choir tours abroad and performs varied programmes in some of the great musical cities of Europe.

Organist – Nicholas THORNE
Nicholas THORNE read music at Oxford and was an ‘Academical Clerk’ in the choir of Magdalen College.
He has been Director of Music at Alliance High School, Kenya, Lord Williams’s School, Thame, and at Kingswood School, Bath. In all of these locations and many more he has worked as pianist, organist, singer, conductor and artist. He is a deputy organist in Bath Abbey and a Pump Room Trio pianist.
As a local accompanist he is involved with the Bath Festival, the Mid Somerset Competitive Festival, and many of the choirs from Bath and the surrounding area.
He has also given concerts as a soloist in Thomaskrirche Leipzig , Bruges and Budapest while continuing to perform with his band in the world.

Beata HALSKA – Le MONNIER
Born in Poland, Beata Halska, has chosen France as her adoptive homeland. She has achieved a considerable international reputation.
As laureate of numerous prizes obtained at numerous competitions (Neapel, Vercella, Brescia), she was given the prize of the Fondation de France and is one of the artists supported by the Menuhin and Philip-Morris Foundations.
She has attended, as guest soloist, great festivals like Menton, Radio France, Paris and Reims; well- known concert halls such as the Theatre of the Champs Elysees, the great Theater of Brescia, Milan and Lisbon, the Philharmonic af Warsaw, the Sun- tory Hall in Tokyo, GEVANDHAUS of Leipzig… and orchestra ensembles such as the Sinfonia Varsovia, the Mozarteum of Salzburg, the Pameriggi Musicali di Milano, the RTV Symphonic Orchestra of Warsaw as well as the Polish Philharmonic Orchestra… Numerous composers dedicated her their pieces. Her large discography, partly devoted to the heads of unknown works, has just been completed by a CD devoted to the composer Florent Schmitt, released in May 2015 NAXOS.
The whole artistic activity of Beata Halska was crowned in 2014 with her entry in The Academy of Sciences and Arts of Versailles.

Bernard Le MONNIER
Founder and director Soloists of Versailles, solo violin of the Orchestre National d’Île-de-France and professor at the CNR of Versailles, Bernard Le Monnier, leads a double career as a conductor and violinist.
At 14, violon solist of the Youth Orchestra of Paris, he entered the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris where he won the 1st prize of chamber music and violin in the classes of J. Fournier and G. Poulet, then the 1st prize for conductor at the CNR of Rueil in class of JS Bereau.
His vocation as a conductor is revealed during the Festival and Academy MUSIFLEUVES which he is the founder and director.
Bernard Le Monnier quickly gets commitments both in France and abroad (Switzerland, Portugal, Italy, Spain, Poland, Japan) and recorded for radio and television.
He recorded a series of discs with Soloists of Versailles; he also led the orchestra of the Warsaw radio for the CD recording of works in world premiere of Alexander TANSMAN (five Diapason). With Daniel Spiegelberg he recorded CD Beethoven’s sonatas, Mozart and Kreisler pieces; and he just released a CD of Jewish music, with violins of Versailles.

Leslie O’MEARA – painter
Born in Paris in 1971, holder of an Agregation and Doctor of Letters, Leslie O’MEARA gave up teaching literature and writing to devote himself entirely to painting, she practices since his teens. After concentrating her artistic work on the agricultural landscape of Beauce, then more widely on contemporary landscape, which she has consistently tried to be poetry, she turns now her pictorial research towards the inner landscape, and to a landscape less to do to feel with his heart and body.

Dimitria SEVASTOU – flute
After strong musical studies at the Conservatory of Athens and then to that of Paris, Dimitria SEVASTOU recorded, as soloist and orchestra, symphonies, operas, contemporary works, ancient music and chamber music.
She goes from jazz to ancient modes and contemporary facilities to sacred music, with artists such as Nicolas Mallarte, piano, Human Touch Trio.
During his travels through Europe and the United States, Dimitria Sevstou occurs with his flute in unusual places: ancient theaters, Parisian monuments, orthodox churches where usual instrumental music is not practiced…
In symbiosis with the painter Leslie O ‘Meara, Dimitria Sevastou achieves this performance by linking disparate musical genres. Without feeling to innovate, she seeks to rethink the music, which she contains in herself the source of all art forms: music, dance, painting… DimitriaSevastouwasborninAthens,lives and works in Paris since 1995.

ORCHESTRE DE LA BASTILLE
The symphony orchestra of about 45 young amateur musicians, created in Paris in 2009 by the leader Emilie POSTEL-VINAY, focuses on the one hand to play the great symphonic repertoire (Haydn, Schubert, Ravel, Mendelssohn, Dvorak), but also concertos for which he collaborated with renowned soloists such as Thierry BARBÉ first solo bass of the opera in Paris.
The orchestra of the Bastille also approaches music with choirs, both in opera in concert version, in oratorios, like this year with the choir Canto Jubilo, and Mozart’s Requiem. He also approached the opera with the “house doctor” by Georges Bizet in new version.
The orchestra is directed by Emilie POSTEL- VINAY,graduatedfromtheMusicSchoolofBlois, and State Diploma holder of double bass – she wrote a method of double bass. For Musicora she ledabigorchestramadeupof100doublebasses. She founded the Quartet Harlequin, violin, piano, clarinet and double bass, with which she ensures many staged shows.
She led ‘Dido and Aeneas “by Purcell, with students of the Conservatory of Noisy-le-Grand.

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CHOIR JUBILO CANTO
This choir of 50 amateur singers, was created in Paris in 2010, by the mezzo-soprano Odile DESCOLS.
Its repertoire consists of baroque oratorios, Vivaldi,Monteverdi,Handel,butalsoclassicaland romantic, Beethoven, Dvorak. HehadtheopportunitytosingattheRoyalChapel of Val de Grace, Chapel of the Military School, St. Roch Church, St. Germain l’Auxerrois Church in Paris, but also in the castles of the Loire Valley, and at Chartres Cathedral.
The choir has worked under different young conductors such as William Jeu, Antonin Rey, and this year Emilie POSTEL-VINAY.
He has at heart to allow young conductors to direct, to give them the opportunity to work with singers.
The choir is directed by Odile DESCOLS, mezzo soprano soloist who has worked with many conductors and orchestras in Europe and Japan (Claudio ABBADO, Jacques MERCIER, Jean- Jacques WERNER, National Orchestra of Île-de- France, Orchestra Leon BARZIN, Jean-Walter AUDOLI, Ellipses, Audinovsky…).
As choirmaster, she led numerous ensembles in Paris, the choir of the Lycée Louis le Grand in Paris for over 12 years.
She teaches singing at the Schola Cantorum in Paris.

Children’s Chorus of Washington
Internationally recognized and critically acclaimed for its nineteen-year history of outstanding artistry, the Children’s Chorus of Washington (CCW) has reached five continents through domestic and international tours, recordings, and frequent appearances on public radio and television. CCW’s highly-regarded music education programs engage and educate vocalists ages 6 to 18 regardless of background, financial resources, or prior experience. Emphasizing artistic excellence, responsibility, and personal development, CCW’s approach fosters students’ growth as young musicians and leaders.

CCW’s mission is to provide the best choral music experience to young people in the nation’s capital through exceptional educational programs, performance opportunities, and community partnerships. From CCW’s beginning PREP Classes to our more advanced performing ensembles, students learn how to use their singing voice in a healthy and artistic manner, and are taught to read music through the Kodaly-based pedagogical approach. Choristers begin by learning to read and sing simple melodies and advance to reading and singing full musical phrases. They gain an understanding of many musical genres by singing choral music written by composers representing a range of styles and cultures.

The Chorus made its debut at the Kennedy Center in November 1996, and the next year, at the invitation of former Music Director Leonard Slatkin, performed the Washington and New York premieres of Gabriel Pierné’s The Children’s Crusade, with the National Symphony Orchestra, The Washington Chorus, and members of the Chevy Chase School Chorus at the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. Since that time, CCW has grown to encompass five auditioned ensembles, comprised of more than 160 young singers representing over 90 public and private schools throughout metropolitan Washington, DC.

CCW performs frequently in self-produced concerts and at a variety of public and private engagements throughout greater Washington, DC. Recent performances include a concert at the White House for President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra, Britten’s War Requiem with Julian Wachner and The Washington Chorus, Richard Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier with Renée Fleming and the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Christoph Eschenbach, and Made in America, part of the Kennedy Center’s Voices of our Nation Festival with The Choral Arts Society, The Washington Chorus, and Great Noise Ensemble.

CCW also powerfully influences the evolution of youth choral repertoire through its history of commissions, including the Opera The Nightingale by Imant Raminsh, and works by Ysaye Barnwell, David Brunner, Stephen Hatfield, and Olli Kortekangas. CCW’s most recent commission, Wonderful Day Out With Nature by Emmy Award-winning composer Nathan Wang, was premiered during CCW’s China tour in 2013.

CCW recognizes the tremendous need for high-quality choral music education in metropolitan Washington and is committed to providing choral training to the broader DC community through SING DC, which offers vocal music training to students at Title 1 public schools at no cost to the students or schools, PREP Class which provides age-appropriate music education to first-time singers ages 6-9, and Teacher Workshops that offer professional development to local teachers who want to enhance the vocal ensembles in their schools. CCW offers scholarships so students who wish to participate in one of the performing ensembles are able to do so regardless of their family’s financial resources.

Every other year, members of the Concert Chorus and Young Men’s Ensemble tour internationally. In July 2002, the Chorus performed in the European Children’s Chorus Festival in Vienna, Salzburg, and Prague. CCW participated in the Melodia! Children’s Music Festival during its 2006 tour to Brazil and Argentina. On its first independent international tour to Italy in 2008, the choristers sang at St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice and at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome among other spectacular venues. In 2010, CCW traveled to South Africa to perform in the Ihlombe South African Choral Festival. For CCW’s 10-day tour to China in July 2013, in addition to the commissioned work by Nathan Wang, the choristers learned popular Chinese folk songs that they sang in Mandarin.

Children’s Chorus of Washington has been selected as “one of the best small charities in the Washington, D.C. region” for 2010-2011 by the Catalogue for Philanthropy, a prestigious honour that recognizes high impact, carefully evaluated, and outstanding community-based non-profits in the area. CCW was recognized by the Washington Area Music Awards (“Wammies”) – Best Choral Group – in 2012 and Greater Washington Area Choral Excellence Awards (“Ovations”) – Best Educational Outreach in 2012 and again in 2014.

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MUSYCA Children’s Choir
MUSYCA Children’s Choir is a multi-level, sequential choral music education program for children and youth, guided by an exceptional faculty. Located in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, MUSYCA brings together gifted young people, ages 4-18 to create a community of singers built on respect, love for music, and artistic excellence.

The mission of MUSYCA Children’s Choir is to provide the highest quality of music education to Children and Youth of all religious, ethnic, cultural, and economic backgrounds through study and performance of outstanding choral repertoire. MUSYCA is dedicated to diversity, access, and service to community.

MUSYCA is California’s leading performing arts organization for youth, which appeared at the world’s top venues and collaborated with America’s preeminent artists. Our performance at the 2014 Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards has been seen in more than 375 million households worldwide, in more than 25 languages. Once-in -a-lifetime opportunities include international performance tour to France (Notre Dame de Paris concert), tour to New York (Carnegie Hall debut), and concert tour to Austria and Czech Republic. The choir collaborated with composers Alan Silvestri, Glen Ballard, recording artists Raury, Malay, Alpine Universe, Christopher Cross, Dave Koz, DJ Mustard, Fuego, Sia and Luke Christopher. MUSYCA singers starred in “Black Friday Orphans: The Musical” produced by Funny or Die and worked with the Center Theatre Group of Los Angeles.

MUSYCA is supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts, and individual patrons.

Odile BOURIN began studying the cello with Alain Meunier. She integrates to 11 years the Paris National Conservatory of Music in Music Theory Specialized. She later obtained a first Cello Prize unanimously in 1981 in the class of Philippe Muller. She then searches the advice of Anner Bijlsma at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague (Netherlands), and follows for 2 years during the great teacher Harvey Shapiro at the Juilliard School of Music in New York.

His experience at the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, I Solisti Veneti… allows her to play under the direction of renowned conductors. But in 1989, she decided to devote herself to chamber music, mainly in duo, trio and sextet with piano, as well as teaching.

At the CRD Chartres where she taught from 1990 to 1996, and where she has as colleague Patrick Delabre.

Currently professor at the Conservatoire Hector Berlioz in Paris Xth, she is regularly invited to participate in juries or master classes in France, in Kobe, Japan in Brescia in Italy, or Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Moreover, she is the author of “Cello method for beginners” authoritative (3 volumes) as well as “The ranges cello” published by Editions Henry Lemoine, Paris.

She occurs in France : Les Arcs, Ansouis, the ANMC Nancy, Salzburg, Colmar, Saint-Die-des-Vosges, Saint-Pierre-sur-Haste, Vals, Tournus, Vannes, Rouen, Bourges…

Many tours lead the in Germany, Switzerland, Italy, United Kingdom, Russia, USA, Japan, China, Australia… She is invited to “Love 1000 cellos” in Kobe in 2001, in 2010 Hiroshima, Sendai 2015.

Her partners have been or are Armin Jordan, Felicity Lott, Theodore Paraskivesco Bernard Cazauran, Armine Varvarian…

Her recordings highlight the unsung directories – in chamber music (Martinu, Novak, Delage, Koechlin…) – and/or piano (sonatas and works by French cellists) – as in cello-bass duo.

Odile Bourin plays a cello Landolfi.