• In the second article in our countdown to this year’s Three Choirs Festival in Hereford from July 25-August 1, Clare Stevens highlights events that involve the whole community.

EVERY three years since 2003 adult singing groups and children from around the county have been brought together by a community music team from The Music Pool, based at the Courtyard Centre for the Arts, to rehearse a variety of choral pieces from around the world and perform them in Hereford Cathedral as part of the Three Choirs Festival.

The process takes many months as the singers learn the music in their local groups, meeting up for joint rehearsals every few weeks before the big day.

‘I had a great time – it was so good to sing with lots of different people of all ages from all over the county,’ said one participant in 2012.

‘Everyone was so enthusiastic.

It was a unique experience.’ The Gathering Wave always features a mix of familiar songs and new music, and this year the new work is Echoes: A Song of Poland, specially written for the project by Pete Churchill, professor of jazz composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

He has been inspired by the story of the Polish refugee community who lived at Foxley, just outside Hereford, in the years immediately after the Second World War, to write a poignant piece that reflects the experience of displaced people everywhere.

Njabulo Madlala, the African baritone who was so popular in Hereford in 2012, will again be part of the performance, and local choirs that have signed up to take part include Ledbury Community Choir and Choral Society, the Golden Valley Singers, Dolau Mixtures, Rose Garden Choir, Mansel Singers, The Singing Tree, The Fire Choir, Variety and The Garrick Singers.

In addition pupils from Lugwardine, Garway and St Martin’s (Hereford) primary schools and St Mary’s RC High School, Lugwardine, are also taking part.

The Gathering Wave performance is at 7.54 pm on Saturday, August 1 in Hereford Cathedral.

Tickets go on sale from April 13 from the Three Choirs Festival Ticket Office, telephone 0845 652 1823.

n Three Choirs Plus IF you’re short of time and can’t make the commitment to taking part in regular rehearsals with a choir, you can still join in the excitement of the Three Choirs Festival’s 300th birthday celebrations by sampling some of the huge range of activities that will be taking place around the city as part of the Three Choirs Plus programme.

No need to practise for weeks, you can just turn up to a workshop and learn to play the harmonica in an hour, try your hand at pottery, flower-arranging or Tibetan calligraphy, or bring your sketchbook and accompany an artist on a walk around town.

Children’s concerts, herefordtimes.com Thursday, February 26, 2015 THE HEREFORD TIMES 31 drama, dance and free street performances all feature, together with talks on subjects ranging from pantomime and architecture to Celtic spirituality, the science of singing and organbuilding.

And we’ll be joined by comedian and ‘Bake-off ’ presenter Mel Giedroyc and her sister, film director Coky Giedroyc, who will talk about their parallel careers in and out of the spotlight.

Some TC+ events are ticketed but many are free.

Look out for the special brochure which will be published later in the spring.

Online booking will also be available through the Three Choirs Festival website www.3Choirs.org n Philharmonia Strings ONE of the things that makes the Three Choirs Festival special is the involvement of the Londonbased Philharmonia Orchestra, which has had a residency at the festival for the past four years.

The sound of a full-size professional symphony orchestra brings an extra dimension to the main evening cathedral concerts.

On March 24 at the Courtyard, there is a rare opportunity to hear a smaller group from the orchestra, the Philharmonia Strings, performing nonchoral repertoire in Hereford.

Mozart’s Divertimento in B flat K137, Bach’s effervescent violin concerto in E BWV1042 and Tchaikovsky’s lyrical Souvenirs de Florence will be on the menu.

Tickets cost £25 (concessions are available) from The Courtyard Box Office (01432 340555) or courtyard.org.uk