On March 29th 2025, the East Sussex Bach Choir, one of the South-East’s finest baroque choral ensembles will be performing Bach’s magnificent St Matthew Passion with Kantorei Hochrhein from Waldshut-Tiengen, one of Lewes’s Twin Towns. This occasion marks the ongoing strong musical affinity between our two choirs and is supported by our respective Twinning Associations. The concert will be held in the beautiful Assembly Room in Lewes Town Hall.

Linked to this performance, we are working closely with local primary and secondary schools to bring the music of Bach and especially that of the St Matthew Passion to their students. Our collaboration with them involves supporting groups in schools who will perform parts of the work in an informal setting. We will also welcome these groups and other students from local schools to join rehearsals to learn and appreciate how musicians and singers collaborate to produce a performance of a one of the greatest works in the classical repertoire. We hope that by sharing our expertise in and love for this wonderful music, young people may develop real enthusiasm for it and enrich their musical knowledge.

In addition, we have a project involving associated satellite events which will include recitals and talks open to the public including the following:

• Two concerts of the Bach Cello Suites over two nights by the OAE lead cellist Sebastian Comberti, with an accompanying talk by Dr Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, on the Bach and the Passions

• A talk by the Reverend Richard Coles on the St Matthew Passion and 'What Bach means to me'.

• A panel discussion with Sir John Tomlinson, John Hancorn, Sofia Ticciati and Alison Bury on the music of Bach, chaired by Richard Wigmore.

You will appreciate that such an ambitious venture involves a considerable financial outlay, so we are seeking support to offset our costs and make this a memorable occasion for the town of Lewes.

We hope that this initiative is of interest to you and that you will consider supporting us via this JustGiving page. Any amount, small or large will be greatly appreciated.

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