Summer premiere

2:00pm Thursday 16th August 2007

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A WORLD premiere takes place tomorrow (Friday) at Hereford's Holy Trinity Church when the latest choral work from composer Edwin Roxburgh is performed by the Hereford International Summer School Choir.

The composer has taken the future of the planet as the theme for his new work, The Stone of Arthur, a passionate and powerful work scored for chorus, piano duet, baritone and mezzo-soprano The piece takes inspiration from the local legend of Arthur's Stone in Herefordshire, an oasis of peace and preservation, and looks at the message of the Arthurian legends, that the world we live in deserves our foresight and our care.

"I am delighted Edwin has agreed to write a new commissioned vocal piece," says HISS music director Graeme Humphrey. "What an opportunity it will be for our choral singers to be involved in the birth of a new choral work by one of Britain's leading composers."

The soloists for the concert are baritone Stephen Varcoe and Margaret Cable.

The annual Hereford International Summer School hosts around 130 students and tutors at the Royal National College for the Blind.

During its 20-year history, it has provided tuition for pianists, composers, solo and choral singers and conductors, and each culminates in the performance of work studied during the course.

The Stone of Arthur will be performed tomorrow (Friday) at Holy Trinity Church, Whitecross Road, Hereford, at 8pm. Tickets available on the door.