Our final Summer School

28 August 2024

Our final Summer School, the tenth, was a huge success from all angles: musically, socially, geographically – even the rain held off most of the time. The only downside was that it was the last in a glorious 10-year run. Judging by the feedback, these summer weeks have brought immense pleasure to many hundreds of people.

All good things come to an end. It has, without question, been an amazing run of August summer schools and we are sad to have reached the finishing line. But what a finish! Bach’s B Minor Mass in the sumptuous setting of Keble College Chapel takes some beating and was a fitting conclusion to 10 wonderful years of first-class tuition, companionship, musical exploration and exceptional concerts. Over the decade we set out to explore some of the choral works which we could not have done at the Royal Albert Hall, and have covered a huge variety of repertoire. For the record, here is our achievement, year by year, led every summer by TRBC Principal Conductor Brian Kay and repetiteur Chris Finch.

2014: Rutter Gloria and Durufle Requiem; Coventry Cathedral with the English Symphony Orchestra
2015: Brahms Ein deutsches Requiem (in German); Coventry Cathedral with the English Symphony Orchestra
2016: Mendelssohn Elijah; Birmingham Town Hall with the English Symphony Orchestra
2017: Elgar The Dream of Gerontius; Coventry Cathedral with the English Symphony Orchestra
2018: Handel Israel in Egypt; Birmingham Town Hall with the St Cecilia Players
2019: Puccini Messa di Gloria and Gloria; Coventry Cathedral with the English Symphony Orchestra
(2020: no Summer School due to the Covid 19 pandemic)
2021: Bach St John Passion; Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick with Canzona
2022: Haydn Harmoniemesse and Lauridsen Lux aeterna; Bath Abbey with Bath Philharmonia
2023: Mendelssohn Hymn of Praise and Osgood Dixit Dominus; All Saints Church, Leamington Spa with the English Symphony Orchestra
2024: Bach B Minor Mass; Keble College Chapel with the St Cecilia Players

It may have been our final Summer School, but people were determined to let present enjoyment trump any future regrets. Click here to read all about the week and see the photographs.