Those who saw the Alex Stobbs documentary 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.