Posted on 31 May 2012
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa will be the guest speaker at this year's Festival of
Saint Cecilia Lunch. The Festival takes place on Wednesday 21 November
at St Paul's Cathedral and Merchant Taylors' Hall.
We are already looking forward to this year's Festival of Saint Cecilia. Held since 1946, the Festival holds a long tradition of celebrating music and musicians in honour of the Patron Saint of Music. Each year a service is held at Westminster Cathedral, Westminster Abbey or St Paul’s Cathedral and is followed by a special celebratory reception and lunch.
We are delighted that world famous soprano Dame Kiri Te Kanawa will be our guest speaker at the lunch which will be held at the Merchant Taylors' Hall. Dame Kiri will also read a lesson at the service at St Paul's Cathedral. The other lesson will be read by our Friends scheme ambassador Sir Michael Parkinson. The theme will be in celebration of our Patron, Her Majesty the Queen, in her Diamond Jubilee year.
On her involvement with the Festival, Dame Kiri says: "During my singing career, I have had the pleasure and privilege of working with some of the greatest singers, conductors and orchestras of our time. I have also had the pleasure of performing to some of the world’s most inspirational people, including the Patron of the Musicians Benevolent Fund, Her Majesty The Queen. In her Diamond Jubilee Year I am thrilled to have been asked to be part of the Saint Cecilia celebrations and to help an organisation which does so much vital work for musicians.”
The service will begin at 11am and will also feature the the premiere of an anthem specially commissioned by the Fund with the help of the RVW Trust. Previous composers include Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gerald Finzi, John Tavener, John Rutter, Roxanna Panufnik, Jonathan Dove and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. This year's composer is Alec Roth. The reception and lunch will follow at 12.30pm.
Booking for this event will open in September so please remember to save the date.