Peace, hope and eternal light open Bradford choir’s 170th anniversary season: Book now for this live concert
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Peace, hope and Eternal Light will shine bright for the opening of Bradford choir’s 170th anniversary season – with a powerful performance this November
Bradford Festival Choral Society marks its 170th anniversary this year – but rather than opening its anniversary season by looking backwards, the choir is turning to music written for our own time.
Eternal Light brings together three beautiful 21st-century choral works by Cecilia McDowall, Tarik O’Regan and Howard Goodall, exploring peace, memory, loss, consolation and hope.
Coming just after Armistice Day, those themes have a particular resonance – but they reach beyond Remembrance, exploring universal experiences of loss, comfort and hope, and the enduring ability of music to bring people together.
This is contemporary choral music with an immediate emotional connection: melodic, atmospheric and written to be experienced live.
Whether you're a regular concert-goer or have never heard a large choir perform live before, the programme offers an accessible way into contemporary choral music.
170 years of choral music – and a choir still looking forward
Around 140 local singers will come together for Eternal Light, performing music written within the past two decades that speaks powerfully to our own time.
It is a striking contrast: a choir with roots in Victorian Bradford – the choir began in the city in 1856 – performing contemporary choral music, continuing to evolve, discover new repertoire and bring audiences something fresh.
And this is music best heard live. The combined sound of all those voices filling a concert space has a physical, emotional impact that no recording can quite capture. Price Hall provides an atmospheric setting for the performance, with excellent acoustics and an intimate concert feel.
Set on three levels – with two balconies – it has a genuine theatre feel and there are practical benefits too: free parking, an accessible entrance and a bar make it easy to settle in and enjoy the evening.
Tickets are on sale now and if you book before October 14 you can save 10% by using the early bird code of 10ETERNAL. Click here for details and to book.
Experience the drama and joy of a live performance
Hearing music about loss, memory, comfort and hope alongside other people is a very different experience from listening at home. You can feel the sound around you and experience the music as it happens – voices, words and harmonies shared between performers and audience in the same room.
If you’ve never heard a large choir perform live, there is something extraordinary about being in the room with that sound. At times this music is incredibly still and intimate; at others you have the full force of the choir around you. These are contemporary works, but they speak very directly to experiences we all recognise – loss, consolation, peace and hope.
About the music
Cecilia McDowall – Ave maris stella
McDowall’s setting of Ave maris stella – “Hail, star of the sea” – was originally written for an Armistice Day performance and is dedicated “to peace”. It combines rich harmonies with wonderfully direct melodic writing and provides a particularly fitting opening to the concert.
Tarik O’Regan – Triptych
British-born composer Tarik O’Regan combines the Western choral tradition with Eastern rhythmic influences. The work moves through ideas of memory, grief and hope, with moments of great energy alongside striking stillness. O’Regan was also among the composers commissioned to write music for the Coronation of King Charles III in 2023.
Howard Goodall – Eternal Light: A Requiem
The centrepiece of the evening is Howard Goodall’s deeply moving Eternal Light. Rather than concentrating solely on prayers for the dead, Goodall conceived the work particularly as a source of comfort for those left behind. He combines the traditional Latin Requiem text with English poetry, creating music that is lyrical, warm and immediately engaging.
· Concert: Bradford Festival Choral Society: Eternal Light
· Date: Saturday 14 November 2026, 7.30pm
· Venue: Price Hall, Bradford Grammar School
· Tickets Standard tickets £20, over 60s £18.
· Under-18s attend free when accompanied by an adult
· £5 tickets are available for students, under-30s and people on low incomes
· group discounts are available
Book early and save: a 10% early-bird discount is available until October 14 (use code 10ETERNAL) click here for tickets
Order a free anniversary brochure
The November concert is part of a much wider anniversary programme – including Bradford’s Christmas Concert with Rothwell Temperance Band in December; Come and Sing Verdi’s Requiem in February; a full concert performance of Verdi’s Requiem with Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra on March 20 at St George’s Hall and a 170th Anniversary Gala Concert at St George’s Hall planned for June 26.
To get the full programme details, discover the concerts, people, places and stories woven through the choir's 170-year history, order a free copy of Bradford Festival Choral Society’s 170th anniversary season brochure via https://www.bradfordfestivalchoralsociety.org.uk .
For tickets click here.