Dream ending for Young

Jun 30 2007 By Tamzin Lewis, The Journal

Len Young has chosen one of Edward Elgar's greatest works, The Dream of Gerontius, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the composer's birth, and also his own last concert conducting the Newcastle Choral Society. To say that Len will be missed by his choir is a bit of an understatement, but he feels it is the perfect time to pass the baton onto a younger man.

Len, 58, of Low Fell, says: "It has been a great privilege to work with the Newcastle Choral Society, however my time with the choir is coming to a natural end.

"Gerontius is one of my favourite pieces, so it seemed a good way to finish and the right time to hand over to somebody else. The music is so expressive, it is theatrical and there is so much variety. There is something quite magical and special about it."

The Dream of Gerontius is a powerful spiritual oratorio based on Cardinal John Newman's poem about the journey of a man's soul following his death.

It will be performed by the choral society and Durham Sinfonia with a 15-strong semi chorus drawn from Queen Elizabeth High School in Hexham and solos by mezzo-soprano Janet Shell, tenor Christopher Lemmings and bass Richard Strivens.

Len joined the St James and St Basil Singers as choirmaster in 1976 when it was small choir of around 32 based in Fenham. The choir grew rapidly and was renamed the Newcastle Choral Society in 1986 to reflect its size. It fluctuates between about 110 and 120 singers and still rehearses at the Church of St James and St Basil.

So what have been the highlights over the years?

Len, a father-of-four says: "We have done lots of first performances in the North-East of works like Andrew Lloyd Webber's Requiem and Karl Jenkin's The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace. It has been exciting to try out new pieces and hear them come to life. Our Christmas concerts have also always been really nice occasions.

"Being involved with the Last Night of the Proms series has been memorable, and we have helped raise a total of £1m for charity. The Newcastle Choral Society has been involved with the Last Night of the Proms since it was founded in 1990."

A fixture in Newcastle's music calendar, the George Walker Last Night of the Proms has raised funds for cancer research including bone marrow research at the RVI and for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma research. Len and the choral society have been deeply committed to raising money for charity through their concerts and The Dream of Gerontius is again raising money for NEPAC North East Promenaders against Cancer.

Len's career has been in education and he is the former head of music at Heaton Manor School, music adviser to Newcastle LEA and is currently head of music and assistant head of arts at Queen Elizabeth High School in Hexham.

He is handing over the musical directorship of the Newcastle Choral Society to Mark Anyan, who at 27 is the same age as Len was when he took over the choir. Mark currently works with the National Youth Choir. Len says: "The choir has constantly evolved and has been driven forward in different ways. The current chairman, Charmian Marshall, has been excellent. And I think the choir will go onto great things with Mark."

* Newcastle Choral Society and Durham Sinfonia perform Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius tonight at the The Sage Gateshead. Tickets are available from the box office on (0191) 443-4661 or online at www.thesagegateshead.org