Premiered to great acclaim at the Oxford Lieder Festival last Autumn, ‘Sounding North’ presents a regional exploration of Nordic choral music from the end of the nineteenth century to the present day. The audience will experience music and languages from Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland, in addition to 'kulning' (Swedish herding calls), Norwegian folk-singing, and 'löyly' (the sound of steam in a Finnish sauna).
"A magical concert - the music was just staggering - such variety and such a wonderful programme"
Prof Peter Davidson, Author of The Idea of the North
Pre-concert talk at 1.45pm
The Carice Singers is a British vocal ensemble directed by George Parris, described as possessing a "beauty of tone" and "musicality" that "few can match" (Gramophone Magazine, 2016). Since its founding in 2011, the ensemble has performed at many festivals and venues throughout the British Isles and in Germany (including Cheltenham Music Festival and the Oxford Lieder Festival), in addition to making recordings for Naxos and the BBC Music Magazine.
George Parris combines his role as Founder and Conductor of The Carice Singers with further studies in Choral Conducting at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, where he is also a member of the Helsinki Chamber Choir. He read Music at both Cambridge and Oxford universities and has received a Certificate of Merit from the Elgar Society for his research on Elgar's music. He has worked with the Croatian Radio-Television Choir, and observed the Danish National Vocal Ensemble, RIAS Kammerkor and the Latvian Radio Choir.