New songs from male voice choir

8:00am Tuesday 13th May 2008

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DURSLEY Male Voice Choir's Annual Concerts take place this weekend - Friday, May 16 and Saturday, May 17 (7.30pm).

They will take place at the Lister Hall, Long Street, Dursley. Tickets are available from Durcans, Dursley; Clutterbucks, Cam; Castle Estate Agents, Wotton; and Castle Estate Agents, Thornbury.

For this concert, half of the choir's programme will be songs new to the repertoire. These include a chorus from Mendelssohn's Elijah, an adaptation of a work by Dvorak, an American folk song arranged by Aaron Copland, a song made famous by Tennessee Ernie Ford and a much loved song from Wales - sung in Welsh.

Guest Soloist will be bass baritone Aidan Smith.

Aidan Smith began his singing training when he was 17 years old. After studying for four years at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Robert Dean, he won the Stokes scholarship to study with Mark Wildman at the Royal Academy of Music. He is now a freelance performer studying privately with Robert Dean and conductor & coach David Drummond.

Most recent operatic engagements include roles in The Count Ory, Death in Venice and the title role in The Marriage of Figaro for Hampstead Garden Opera.

He has also sung with British Youth Opera, Opera Loki and past roles have included Colline in La Boheme and supporting roles in Britten's Beggar's Opera for Opera Project and The Magic Flute with The London Philharmonia Chorus. Aidan also took part in the Chorus for Sir Simon Rattle's production of Peter Grimes performed with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra at the Salzberg Festival, directed by Sir Trevor Nunn.