The dawning of 2009 saw the Rodolfus Choir give a broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and a recital of the music of Herbert Howells in the beautiful setting of Douai Abbey.

At 4pm on New Year's Eve the choir sang Choral Evensong which was streamed live to millions of listeners, as well as being enjoyed by over 100 people present in the Abbey Church itself. The broadcast featured the lesser-performed Dallas Canticles, as well as Howells' own descant to the well-loved hymn tune he dedicated to his son, Michael, Sing Lullaby, and the carol-anthem Long, Long Ago, as well as his Responses.

The following day, Howells' music was set in relief by that of Parry, Stanford, and Paul Spicer in a festive recital in the Abbey Church.

You may have heard of Alex Stobbs from the Channel 4 documentary, A Boy Called Alex. The Alex Stobbs Matthew passion project has now been launched. Have a look at:

www.stobbs-matthewpassion.co.uk

There are video clips, image galleries and a form where you can donate online to support the project.

It looks as though, appropriately enough for our 20th Anniversary, 2009 will have rather more than its share of big pieces. Geraint Bowen, Director of the Hereford Three Choirs Festival, has asked us for a B Minor Mass on Monday 10th August 2009. We have performed it twice before, then at St John's Smith Square, supported very generously by one of our choir parents.

Those who saw the Alex Stobbs documentary - A Boy Called Alex - may remember the question posed to Alex by the director, Stephen Walker from behind the camera after the performance, "So, what's next, Alex?" And his determined reply, "The Matthew Passion. All three hours of it".

5th April 2009, Cadogan Hall: Rodolfus Choir, the trebles of Eton College Chapel Choir, Michael Chance, Counter Tenor (other soloists not yet confirmed) South Bank Sinfonia and Ralph Allwood, (Assistant Conductor).

In early April we combined with the South Bank Sinfonia to perform James Macmillan's "Seven last words from the cross", Schoenberg's "Friede auf Erden" and, for the orchestra alone, Arvo Part's Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten. This turned out to be an intensely moving concert. The Macmillan is a very strong piece: challenging for all the performers and really worth it. Our soloists did a remarkable job, and the orchestra managed the virtuoso passages with real flare. James Macmillan was present, and emailed me later to say, "I'm still reeling from your very intense reading".

This review of the Choir's CD of Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 (available to purchase) was published in the May issue of Early Music:

Sometimes the coming together of a group of talented student musicians and a great work which few of them have performed before can, by generating a unique sense of discovery, produce very exciting results. This is certainly the case with Monteverdi: Vespers of 1610 (Signum SIGCD111, rec 2007, 90'). Ralph Allwood's Rodolfus Choir sing with an infectious freshness and enthusiasm which communicates something of the "shock of the new" surely created by the first performance of this astonishing compendium of the latest sacred styles.

After attending the performance by the Southbank Sinfonia and Rodolfus Choir of his Seven Last Words from the Cross, James Macmillan said, "I'm still reeling after your intense reading of the Seven Last Words". The Choir are planning further collaborations with both the Southbank Sinfonia and James Macmillan in the near future.

In 2009 falls the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Rodolfus Choir. To mark this momentous event plans are afoot to perform Bach B minor Mass with a period orchestra, and then to record it on the Signum label. If you wish to assist the Choir, in particular through sponsorship or Gift Aid giving, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for further information.

A recording of works by the composer Sir Nicholas Jackson, recorded in the summer of 2007, has been snapped up by Naxos. The label, with whom the choir have recorded previously, plan a release date in mid-2008.

A heartfelt thank you to all those, who, through their donations, enabled us to perform and record the Monteverdi Vespers with the Southern Sinfonia over Easter. Without their assistance the project would have proved impossible.