Voting is now open for the Music Teacher Awards Best Music Education Initiative, sponsored by Classic FM, and Faber Music is delighted that composer Alexander L'Estrange has been nominated for his community choral work Wassail! Carols of Comfort and Joy. The award will honour an education initiative which has used classical music in an innovative way, shown musical excellence and had a positive impact on a significant number of participants. Read more about L'Estrange's inspirational project below and please vote!
This commission from United Learning and the resulting large-scale music project with choral composer Alexander L’Estrange has brought together over 30 schools from across the country. The brand new choral extravaganza Wassail! Carols of Comfort and Joy is a sequence of 12 uplifting folk-inspired Christmas songs exploring the sacred and secular aspects of the festive season. The project provides young people and their teachers with a joyful and rewarding musical experience that also offers the opportunity for them to build lasting connections with the wider community. Over 1,200 young people took part in two national premieres in November 2017, with the first US performance shortly after. The involvement of Voces Cantabiles Music with this project enables teachers and students to engage with VOCES8 scholars through workshops, and to perform in the premieres alongside acclaimed vocal ensemble Apollo5. The project offers face-to-face CPD and online training and is already acting as a stimulus for further collaborative community work - and should do for years to come.
British choral composer and arranger Alexander L’Estrange has become best known for his large-scale community choral works and in doing so, bringing together schools and the wider community through song. His passionate dedication to music education has brought about collaborations with education organisation United Learning and he has led thousands of children in performances of his music at venues such as London’s Lyceum Theatre and the Royal Albert Hall.