“4-stars … Beautifully rich sound” – Broadway Baby

We’re delighted that Broadway Baby has given us four stars in their review of our recent Fringe concert, saying that Cadenza “produce a beautifully rich sound that fills the space” and that “the harmonies are balanced and full of tone and the dynamics created throughout were outstanding”.  Of the Scottish premiere of Lotti’s Missa a Tre Cori, they said “it certainly shone within the repertoire”.  Bach’s Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen was a favourite: “perfectly performed and raised the hairs on the back of my neck”.

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Posted: Tuesday 26 August 2014 at 12:35 pm

Another full house and a V Fine Concert – take a bow Cadenza

A full house yesterday evening heralded another very successful Fringe concert. The opening piece, Zelenka’s Miserere in C minor, ends so quietly in great contrast to the very energetic opening, that our audience seemed a little unsure for a few moments that it had actually finished! But from then on, their response to our performance was wholeheartedly warm and enthusiastic, including some cheers and three curtain calls.

No reviews as yet that we know of, but some excellent feedback already via Twitter, email and word of mouth.

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Posted: Sunday 24 August 2014 at 7:45 pm

Scottish Premiere at Fringe Concert

Time is running out to get your tickets for Cadenza’s upcoming concert as part of the 2014 Edinburgh Fringe.  This Saturday, 23 August, will see a Scottish premiere of a Lotti mass that was written over 300 years ago.  The beautiful Vide Dominum laborem meum – or Missa a Tre Cori as it is sometimes known –  is the highlight of the show, but Bach’s Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, Zelenka’s Miserere and Lotti’s Cruxifixus a 8 are equally good and when performed by Cadenza alongside an orchestra, chamber organ and professional soloists in Greyfriars Kirk it’s little wonder that our concert in 2013 was a sell out.  Ticket details and much more available on our Concerts page.

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Posted: Tuesday 19 August 2014 at 10:32 am

Over £800 raised for The Engine Shed & Waverley Care

Cadenza’s recent joint concert with visiting Californian choir Vocal Art Ensemble raised in excess of £800, to be split equally between two local charities: The Engine Shed and Waverley Care.  This takes the total raised by Cadenza in our 2014 charity concert season to over £4000 when our earlier concerts in aid of Music in Hospitals and CHILDREN 1^ST are taken into account.

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Posted: Thursday 5 June 2014 at 11:53 am

£1500 for Music in Hospitals Scotland

The tally rises. While we await the outcome of Sunday’s fabulous joint concert with the amazingly talented Vocal Art Ensemble in aid of Waverley Care and The Engine Shed, we are delighted to annouce that Saturday’s concert raised just short of £1500 for Music in Hospitals Scotland.
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Posted: Tuesday 13 May 2014 at 7:21 pm

Farewell, Tony – your legacy lives on

Tony Harmar was a very talented musician and a keen choral singer – with an impressive bass voice.

21 years ago, he was frustrated because the choirs he was a member of were insufficiently demanding. Tony’s solution was ambitious – to create an entirely new Edinburgh choir. He planned the enterprise with a few friends and approached our first musical director, Graham Lovett. The name “Cadenza” came from Tony’s copy of the Oxford Dictionary of Musical Terms and the planning for the new choir started in Doctors pub in Forrest Road, over a few beers.

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Posted: Saturday 3 May 2014 at 7:26 pm

Cadenza mourns its founder

Cadenza is deeply saddened to learn of the premature death of its founder, Professor Tony Harmar.

21 years ago Tony was one of a small group of singers who wanted to form their own choir. It was entirely his idea and his inspiration – including the choir’s name, Cadenza, which was chosen after much time spent trawling through a music dictionary.

A more extensive obituary will be published here soon.

Posted: Monday 21 April 2014 at 12:50 pm

Vacancy for Interim Musical Director

Our current Musical Director, Jenny Sumerling, is taking a 12-month Leave of Absence from the choir to concentrate entirely on other professional commitments.  We are therefore looking for the right candidate to help us maintain our musical standards during this temporary absence.  The successful applicant will be responsible for the programming, preparation and performance of a full year of Cadenza concert commitments, with rehearsals starting from September 2014 until, and including, our Edinburgh Festival Fringe performance in August 2015.

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Posted: Wednesday 26 March 2014 at 10:21 am

Cadenza concert raises £1k for Children 1ST

Cadenza is delighted that the first of our Spring 2014 Charity concerts has raised at least £1,000 for Scotland’s foremost children’s charity.

The principal organiser at Children 1^ST was thrilled with the result, saying “Cadenza sang from their hearts – the music was so moving I didn’t want to break the spell by clapping afterward”.
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Posted: Sunday 23 March 2014 at 9:23 pm

Upcoming Charity Concerts

Spring is here!  While you can’t necessarily tell by the weather, Cadenza’s spring programme of concerts in aid of local charities is a sure sign that warmer weather and lighter days are on the way!  This year, we are supporting a total of four charities – CHILDREN 1^ST, Music in Hospitals Scotland, The Engine Shed and Waverley Care – across a series of three concerts.  For one of these concerts we are joined by the award-winning Vocal Art Ensemble, a visiting Californian choir.

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Posted: Friday 21 March 2014 at 11:23 am