Swansea Bach Choir

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A 40-strong ensemble acclaimed for performances of Baroque masterpieces and beyond, under the direction of Greg Hallam.

We rehearse and perform throughout the year, bringing high-quality music to the Swansea Bay region for more than 60 years. Formed in 1965, the Swansea Bach Choir is made up of some 40 singers, many of whom are trained singers, music students and teachers of music.The choir is renowned for its performances of Baroque music, in particular the major works of Bach. Directed by Greg Hallam, the choir rehearses and performs throughout the year in and around Swansea. Twitter : https://mobile.twitter.com/swanseabach

The Swansea Bach Choir also has a large collection of music available for other choirs to hire. Please see the website for more information:

http://swanseabachchoir.org.uk/en_musicforhire.html

02/11/2026

“From Vatican to Village” ("O'r Fatican i'r Pentref")

Our Autumn season has just begun, with preparations for a performance of George Frideric Handel’s masterpiece Dixit Dominus, along with two of his Chandos Anthems.

The Swansea Bach Choir will join forces with the period instrumental ensemble “Réjouissance”, some of the country’s leading baroque specialists, alongside four wonderful soloists.

Sofia Kirwan-Baez ( soprano )
Catherine Backhouse ( mezzo )
Alexander Sprague ( tenor )
Allyn Wu ( baritone )

Under the direction of Greg Hallam and in the beautiful surroundings of Swansea Minster, the magnitude, vitality and beauty of Handel’s early works will be brought to life.

A date for your diary.

Saturday November 14th at 6pm

Tickets are now on sale through Eventbrite via the link below or by emailing our ticket secretary Fiona - [email protected]

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/from-vatican-to-village-tickets-1999108462225?aff=oddtdtcreator

We do hope you can join us

31/10/2026

An incredible afternoon of performance today at Swansea Minster . We feel very privileged to have taken part singing under Gaia. The Minster was packed with the most appreciative audience and we thank everyone for their wonderful feedback . Thanks to Hope Pugh and the staff at the Minster for bringing together such a wonderful festival of choral singing.

If you’d like to hear more then please come along to our concert at Swansea Minster on November 14th at 6pm to hear us perform Handel’s Dixit Dominus and two of his Chandos Anthems accompanied by a period orchestra and four of the countries leading soloists.

Tickets are available on the link below

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/from-vatican-to-village-tickets-1999108462225?utm_id=97758_v0_s00_e0_tv2_a1demong8o3sjj&fbclid=IwY2xjawVICGdleHRuA2FlbQIxMABwZG9mAWJyaWQRMHU0NmVSRm93R2xmVktwOVFzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeVMY-ylX2RaxwrngCFRb4xCfKBEZxQH6LFcoaPVNu8ENOb8LUf2mTYvNQ_Ds_aem_nGAmbBU3VF-ET0oO2zNtKg

Alternatively you can email our ticket secretary Fiona
[email protected]

We look forward to seeing you.

28/10/2026

On Saturday 31st October at Swansea Minster, Swansea Bach Choir have the privilege of performing under Luke Jerram's impressive exhibit GAIA, a 6 metre world. Our programme is reflective of the exhibit and we hope you'll be able to join us to hear our programme.
Our performance begins at 2pm and of course throughout the afternoon other wonderful choirs will be performing. Admission is free of charge although the Minster welcomes donations.

We hope you can join us to take in the wonderful surroundings of the Minster and listen to some glorious music.

Meanwhile our preparations are continuing for our upcoming concert on November 14th at 6pm at the Minster, for a concert featuring Handel's Dixit Dominus and Chandos Anthems accompanied by the professional period orchestra Réjouissance and led by 4 outstanding soloists.
Tickets are available via the link below or by emailing our tickets secretary Fiona - [email protected]

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/from-vatican-to-village-tickets-1999108462225?utm_id=97758_v0_s00_e0_tv2_a1demong8o3sjj&fbclid=IwY2xjawVICGdleHRuA2FlbQIxMABwZG9mAWJyaWQRMHU0NmVSRm93R2xmVktwOVFzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeVMY-ylX2RaxwrngCFRb4xCfKBEZxQH6LFcoaPVNu8ENOb8LUf2mTYvNQ_Ds_aem_nGAmbBU3VF-ET0oO2zNtKg

25/10/2026

Today we spotlight Allyn Wu , baritone soloist in our upcoming concert on Saturday 14th November at Swansea Minster featuring Handel's Dixit Dominus and two of his Chandos Anthems .

Allyn Wu – Baritone
An experienced oratorio soloist, Allyn has performed major works such as Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Haydn’s Nelson Mass and The Creation, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, C.P.E. Bach’s Magnificat, and J.S. Bach’s St John Passion, St Matthew Passion, Christmas Oratorio, and Mass in B minor.
Recent operatic highlights include Purcell’s The Fairy Queen, Aeneas (Dido and Aeneas), Don Alfonso (Così fan tutte), Papageno (Die Zauberflöte), Apollo (Apollo e Dafne), the title role in Britten’s Owen Wingrave, and the Podestat in Bizet’s Le Docteur Miracle. Allyn performs with ensembles including the Monteverdi Choir, BBC Singers, Vox Luminis, The Sixteen and the Academy of Ancient Music. He is also a Monteverdi Apprentice with the Monteverdi Choir. He also sings regularly with the choirs of Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral, and Westminster Cathedral.

Tickets are available through the link below

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/from-vatican-to-village-tickets-1999108462225?utm_id=97758_v0_s00_e0_tv2_a1demong8o3sjj&fbclid=IwY2xjawVICGdleHRuA2FlbQIxMABwZG9mAWJyaWQRMHU0NmVSRm93R2xmVktwOVFzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeVMY-ylX2RaxwrngCFRb4xCfKBEZxQH6LFcoaPVNu8ENOb8LUf2mTYvNQ_Ds_aem_nGAmbBU3VF-ET0oO2zNtKg

Alternatively they are available from our ticket secretary Fiona

Email : [email protected]

We look forward to seeing you

23/10/2026

Today's spotlight is on the tenor soloist Alexander Sprague who is joining us at Swansea Minster on Saturday 14th November in the performance of Handel's Dixit Dominus and two of his Chandos Anthems

Alexander Sprague – Tenor
Alexander studied at the National Opera Studio and the Royal Academy of Music and is the winner of the Michael Oliver Prize at the London Handel Singing Competition. His career highlights include Shepherd/Apollo L’Orfeo Royal Opera House, Covent Garden at the Roundhouse, and appearances at Wexford Festival, WNO, Opera Theatre Company Dublin, Gothenburg Opera, Scottish Opera, Edinburgh Festival, Atlanta Opera, Staatstheater Stuttgart, Theater Dortmund and Stadttheater Klagenfurt.
Alexander's most recent and future engagements include SNOUT A Midsummer Night’s Dream Teatro de la Maestranza, GASTONE La Traviata Glyndebourne Opera, ARON in the world premiere of Mikael Karlsson’s F***y and Alexander La Monnaie, concerts of Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Fondazione Arturo Toscanini Parmaand Festival Respighi Bologna, PRINZ LILO TARO Die Blume von Hawaii Theater Magdeburg, and APOLLO L’Orfeo Royal Danish Opera.

Tickets are available via the link below
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/from-vatican-to-village-tickets-1999108462225?utm_id=97758_v0_s00_e0_tv2_a1demong8o3sjj&fbclid=IwY2xjawVICGdleHRuA2FlbQIxMABwZG9mAWJyaWQRMHU0NmVSRm93R2xmVktwOVFzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeVMY-ylX2RaxwrngCFRb4xCfKBEZxQH6LFcoaPVNu8ENOb8LUf2mTYvNQ_Ds_aem_nGAmbBU3VF-ET0oO2zNtKg

Alternatively you can email our ticket secretary Fiona on
[email protected]

We do hope you can join us.

21/10/2026

Today we feature Catherine Backhouse, our mezzo-soprano soloist in the upcoming concert on Saturday 14th November at Swansea Minster, featuring Handel's Dixit Dominus and two of his Chandos Anthems .

Catherine Backhouse – Mezzo Soprano
Mezzo-soprano Catherine Backhouse grew up in Edinburgh and began singing as a chorister in St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral. She was a founder member of the a ca****la group Voces8 and she was a Scottish Opera Emerging Artist and won the Sunday Herald Culture Award for Best Musical Artist. Recent projects include playing Waltraute in Wagner’s Die Walküre and Götterdämmerung and Judith in Bluebeard’s Castle. Career highlights include Concepción L’heure Espagnole, Isabella L’Italiana in Algeri, Suzuki Madama Butterfly and Dryad Ariadne auf Naxos. On the concert platform she has appeared as a soloist in Verdi’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, as The Angel in Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius and Irene in Handel’s Theodora. An enthusiast of new music, Catherine has performed Kurtág Messages of the Late R.V. Troussova and Stumped by Lewis Coenen-Rowe. Her recital work has featured Elgar Sea Pictures, Wagner Wesendonk Lieder and ‘Emotionally Volatile’ a programme of songs composed by women. Future projects include playing Kundry in Wagner’s Parsifal with Regent’s Opera and touring Wild Arts staged Messiah.

Tickets are available from Eventbrite
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/from-vatican-to-village-tickets-1999108462225?utm_id=97758_v0_s00_e0_tv2_a1demong8o3sjj&fbclid=IwY2xjawVICGdleHRuA2FlbQIxMABwZG9mAWJyaWQRMHU0NmVSRm93R2xmVktwOVFzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeVMY-ylX2RaxwrngCFRb4xCfKBEZxQH6LFcoaPVNu8ENOb8LUf2mTYvNQ_Ds_aem_nGAmbBU3VF-ET0oO2zNtKg

They are also available by via email from Fiona our ticket secretary
[email protected]

We hope you can join us

19/10/2026

Today we spotlight Sofia Kirwan-Baez , our wonderful soprano soloist in our upcoming concert on Saturday 14th November at Swansea Minster featuring Handel's Dixit Dominus and two of his Chandos Anthems .
Sofia Kirwan-Baez – Soprano
Anglo-Venezuelan soprano Sofia Kirwan-Baez is a Rising Star of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (2025–27). A regular recitalist, she was a Wigmore Song Exchange artist (2022/23) and is a Samling Artist. Her concert repertoire ranges from Monteverdi’s Vespers to Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire, and she won the 2021 RCM Concerto Competition with Poulenc’s La Voix Humaine. Her last few seasons have included role and house debuts as Musetta (La Bohème | Welsh National Opera, Opéra Dordogne-Périgord, Longborough Festival Opera), Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia | Opéra National de Bordeaux), Mélisande (cover, Pelléas et Mélisande | Longborough Festival Opera), Susanna (The Marriage of Figaro | Cumbria Opera Group), Elle (La Voix Humaine | Festival Mélomanie, Vox Orchestra, Cumbria Opera Group), Papagena (Die Zauberflöte | Opéra National de Bordeaux), and 1st Witch (Dido & Aeneas | Monteverdi Choir). After reading Music at the University of Oxford, she trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, the Royal College of Music, and was a 2023/24 National Opera Studio Young Artist.

Tickets are available via Eventbrite
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/from-vatican-to-village-tickets-1999108462225?utm_id=97758_v0_s00_e0_tv2_a1demong8o3sjj&fbclid=IwY2xjawVICGdleHRuA2FlbQIxMABwZG9mAWJyaWQRMHU0NmVSRm93R2xmVktwOVFzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeVMY-ylX2RaxwrngCFRb4xCfKBEZxQH6LFcoaPVNu8ENOb8LUf2mTYvNQ_Ds_aem_nGAmbBU3VF-ET0oO2zNtKg
Alternatively they are available from our ticket secretary Fiona on [email protected] We do hope you can join us

07/10/2026

Our Autumn season is well underway and we hope you will be able to join us to hear the variety of works currently being prepared. Under the direction of Greg Hallam, we begin at Swansea Minster on October 31st with a performance under the impressive sculpture 'Gaia'.

In November we bring you the splendours of the baroque with a performance of Handel's Dixit Dominus and his Chandos Anthems at Swansea Minster. The choir will be joined by four outstanding soloists and the period ensemble 'Réjouissance', some of the countries finest musicians in the field of historically informed performance.

Tickets are now on sale through Eventbrite via the link below or by emailing our ticket secretary Fiona - [email protected]

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/from-vatican-to-village-tickets-1999108462225

We conclude our Autumn season with a concert of traditional and contemporary festive music at St. Gabriel's Church, Brynmill, Swansea.

We do hope you can join us

06/07/2026

Thank you to everyone who came to our ‘Voices in Still Light’ concert yesterday at All Saints Church, Oystermouth and for being a most appreciative audience.
Thanks also to All Saints Church for their usual outstanding hospitality and support.

We would like to thank our guest accompanist, the renowned harpist Gwenllian Llyr for some very accomplished and rather magical playing in both her accompanying and solo performances. She also gave her time freely to our two young guest harpists who had come to observe.

We wish you all a good Summer and look forward to seeing you at a future concert.

Dates for your diary

Saturday 14th November at Swansea Minster 6pm
Handel - Dixit Dominus and two Chandos Anthems

Saturday 12th December at St. Gabriel's Church, Brynmill, Swansea
‘The Star has Come ‘ - Traditional and contemporary music for the festive season

Address

Swansea

Website

http://www.swanseabachchoir.org.uk/

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