A celebration of Andrea Gabrieli with Philip Thorby on 27th September 2025 + AGM
2025-09-27 10:30 - 17:00 (Europe/London) | Solihull Methodist Church Hall, Blosssomfield Road, Solihull, B91 1LG, United Kingdom
The music
This workshop to mark the 540th anniversary of the death of Andrea Gabrieli will explore some of his 12-part works and, depending on forces, his 16-part Gloria. We welcome singers and the following instruments: cornetts, sackbuts, recorders. curtals. all strings and continuo. A=440
Instrumentalists please note that there will not be C-clefs for all the pieces, and continuo players will be working from scores or figured bass parts.
Music will be provided on the day
There will be a short AGM at lunchtime.

Andrea Gabrieli
Marking the 540th anniversary of the death of Andrea Gabrieli, pupil of Orlandus Lassus and Maestro di Cappella of St Marks in Venice. Andrea was much more than just the uncle of Giovanni! Even in his large-scale works, Andrea’s music has an intimacy and subtlety which reflect his great teacher, Lassus.
We will explore some of Andrea’s twelve-part works, including the psalm setting Benedicam Dominum and Magnificat and the masterly hymn to music Cantiam di Dio, and (if the forces are suitable) his immense, four-choir, sixteen-part Gloria.

Philip Thorby is a regular and popular tutor and we are delighted to welcome him back again – he is well known as one of the country’s leading performers and teachers in the field of Renaissance and Baroque music. He founded and directed the ensemble “Musica Antiqua of London” which was at the forefront of research-based performance of renaissance music, a passion he is now exploring further with professional and amateur musicians in many different contexts, including courses held each year in Venice and elsewhere.
He is Emeritus Fellow in Early Music at Trinity Laban Conservatoire, London.
Philip is particularly well known to MEMF members, having delivered many inspiring workshops. His series of 4 lectures on Venice in the early 1500s present a fascinating view of the city – with the lives of composers Ganassi and Willaert intertwined with notable names of the day. These lectures were delivered during the pandemic and can be found on our website. https://memf.org.uk/home/philip-thorby-lectures/
Timetable for the day
10.00 Registration and drinks
10.30 Morning session (with a short comfort break)
1.00 Short AGM followed by lunch (bring your own or use local pubs and cafes)
2.00 Afternoon session
3.30 approx Tea break
4.00 Final session
5.00 Finish
Venue Solihull Methodist Church, Blossomfield Road, Solihull, B91 1LG
Solihull Methodist Church Hall is situated close to the centre of Solihull in the West Midlands. It is right next to the town’s railway station, at the junction of Blossomfield Road and Station Approach. There is a large car park, including a number of dedicated disabled parking spaces, with the car park entrance in Station Approach. As you enter the car park the Church Hall is ahead of you – we are not in the church on the left. If using a SatNav to direct you, the postcode is B91 1LG.
NB If approaching from the west along Blossomfield Road there is no left turn into Station Approach. Either go completely around the roundabout back the way you came and turn immediately right into Station Approach, or, more easily take the first exit at the roundabout into Streetsbrook Road and then turn left into the other end of Station Approach at the traffic lights (by the Fire Station).
https://www.solihull-methodist.org.uk/where-are-we/
Neither MEMF or the venue can accept any responsibility for property lost or damaged.
Booking has now closed.

Vivaldi's Gloria with Tutor Ben England on 18th October 2025
2025-10-18 10:30 - 17:00 | Dorridge Village Hall, Grange Road, Dorridge, B93 8QA
Come and sing the choruses from Vivaldi’s momentous Gloria in D major, and learn about the fascinating history of this work – how it was lost for centuries before being rediscovered in the mid 20th century. Ben England BEM, acclaimed conductor and music educator will lead the day, with support from an array of online resources to help singers learn the parts before they come. Pitch will be A415 (Baroque pitch).
Vivaldi’s celebrated Gloria was written for the Ospedale della Pietà in Venice around 1715. It is a perennially popular work and great fun to sing and play but it is perhaps more unusual to have the chance to work on it at the pitch for which it was intended, which is also easier on the singers’ voices. This workshop will also give us a chance (in chorus or perhaps semi-chorus) to try out the lovely soprano and alto solos and duos.
We welcome applications from all voice parts.
Have a look at Ben’s preparation materials on www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIngS9V1Y4Lj-ovsbCMiW06Go1IqMsi7V
Singers, please read the following notes with care before applying.
We will be working from the Westermann score of the Gloria: https://koorpartij-oefening.nl/partituren/Partituur-Gloria-RV-589-Vivaldi.pdf
The vocal score runs to 90 pages, so it is impractical to print vocal scores for all. You are welcome to download the vocal score to a tablet or print it yourself. The correct printed score is also available readily for a small cost: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gloria-RV-589-Vocal-score/dp/1932419551
If you own a different edition of the vocal score, these are mainly compatible, except for the second movement (Et in Terra Pax). A substitute page 11 can be provided for the problems in the Ricordi edition.
Instrumentalists: The Gloria is scored for oboe, trumpet, strings (of the violin family) and continuo. Winds are not used throughout so wind players may wish to sing in the other movements if they have a vocal score (spare scores will not be available – please read above). We welcome applications from violins, violas, cellos, double bass/violone, and one or two Baroque oboes or trumpets. Up to two recorder players may be accepted if they have C instruments (descants) at A415; they will be doubling or substituting the oboe and trumpet parts. One or two keyboard continuo players (one organ and one harpsichord), theorbo and bassoon are welcome to apply. The orchestral bass part is figured.
Instrumental parts can be provided on the day or links can be sent out in advance. MEMF reserves the right to limit acceptance to preserve the orchestral balance.
Ben England is a new tutor to MEMF, but our South West colleagues were very enthusiastic about this workshop: https://swemf.org.uk/vivaldi-workshop-with-ben-england/. Ben is an award-winning conductor, educator and musical innovator based in Bristol. He has conducted choirs and orchestras across the UK and internationally and was awarded the British Empire Medal in 2020 for services to music and the community during the COVID-!9 pandemic.
Ben is the founder of Homechoir and co-founder of Choir of the Earth, two pioneering online choirs that bring high-quality choral learning to singers around the world. He is also Principal of Earth Choir Academy, a non-profit organisation dedicated to music education and digital singing resources. In recognition of his work, he received the University of Bristol Alumni Award for Community Engagement and Impact in 2022.
Ben is known for his engaging and inclusive approach to music-making, from Renaissance motets to large-scale symphonic works and in much in demand He has conducted major performances in venues such as Salzburg’s Mozarteum, the Haydn Hall at Esterhazy and St Philip’s Cathedral in Atlanta, and has worked with groups such as the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Tenebrae and the Gesualdo Six. His educational music work reaches tens of thousands of singers globally.
An award-winning Advanced Skills Teacher with a long and successful teaching career, Ben has worked extensively across the education sector, including city-wide as Vocal and Instrumental Manager for the Bristol Beacon and prominent roles with the University of the West of England and St George’s Bristol on the ground-breaking Sing for Happiness initiative.
Venue Dorridge Village Hall, Grange Rd, Dorridge, Solihull B93 8QA
https://dorridgevillagehall.org.uk/
The drive to the Hall can be found on the B4101 (Grange Road), on the left hand side heading away from Dorridge village centre, just after the park. The What3Words location is ///sponge.flopping.wedding . Satnavs tend to misdirect you. Dorridge station is 0.6 miles away.
Workshop organiser is Jane Warren, janeariadnesclew@gmail.com
Booking is now open. Click here.

Workshop for Voices and Instruments with Robert Hollingworth on 6th December 2025
2025-12-06 10:30 - 17:00 | Solihull Methodist Church Hall, Blosssomfield Road, Solihull, B91 1LG, United Kingdom
We welcome back Robert Hollingworth who last came to MEMF three years ago, just before his Benevoli project began with I Fagiolini. Their third and final Benevoli album of mid-17th century multi-choir masses from Rome is already recorded (released next spring) and includes a wonderfully flowing three-choir mass, Missa Angelus Domini. Based on a lost original, the mass is fast moving at times with delightful detail and reduced voices sections for the Christe and ‘Et resurrexit’. It’s for three equal choirs (SATB) but can happily take instrumental doubling on strings, recorders, cornetts/sackbuts and bass dulcians (but not double reeds generally). Come and uncover a work of quality and a real pleasure to sing and play.

Robert Hollingworth founded I Fagiolini in 1986 and has since spent much of his life thinking about how audiences receive music, instead of just how performers want to deliver it. Aside from his work with I Fagiolini, he is a conductor, broadcaster, educator, editor and festival director. Robert has conducted orchestras including the English Concert, Academy of Ancient Music, BBC Concert Orchestra, Irish Baroque Orchestra and directed some of the world’s finest chamber choirs including Accentus, NDR Chor, RIAS Kammerchor (Berlin), Netherlands Chamber Choir, National Chamber Choir of Ireland, BBC Singers, Danish National Vocal Ensemble and Capella Cracoviensis. Robert is Artistic Director for Stour Music Festival and the new ‘Fairest Isle Festival’ on the Isle of Wight.
At the University of York, Robert directs two choirs and the UK’s only MA in Solo-Voice Ensemble Singing, now in its 13th year. He has written and presented programmes on BBC Radio 3 and more recently created over 30 episodes of the YouTube choral series SingTheScore as well as co-founding and presenting the UK’s top choral podcast series, Choral Chihuahua, with Eamonn Dougan and Nicholas Mulroy, now in its twelfth season. Both are made by Polyphonic Films (Greg Browning). Robert Hollingworth is managed worldwide by Percius.
The venue, Solihull Methodist Church Hall, is close to the centre of Solihull, easily accessible from junction 5 of the M42. It is right next to the town’s railway station, which is also served by buses, at the junction of Blossomfield Road and Station Approach. There is a large car park, including a number of dedicated disabled parking spaces, with the car park entrance in Station Approach. If using a SatNav to direct you, the postcode is B91 1LG. The Hall is a separate building to the church.
The day includes a free lunch thanks to a generous bequest from our former Treasurer, Heather Holt.
The organiser is Jonathan Spencer 07784 657563
Booking has now closed

Palestrina: Missa Tu es Petrus a 18 with David Hatcher on 17th January 2026
2026-01-17 10:30 - 17:00 | St Nicholas Church, Warwick
The Music: Palestrina’s six-voice motet Tu es Petrus, setting a text from St Matthew in which the pun of Petrus meaning both Peter and rock,was first published in his second book of motets in 1572. The same composer’s six-voice parody mass based on the motet was published by the Venetian printer Girolamo Scotto in 1601 in the Missarum Liber XII, but other parody masses based on the same motet were already known. Orazio Benevoli’s sixteen-part (4 choirs each of 4 voices) has recently been recorded by I Fagiolini and this 18-part, attributed (with some doubt) to Palestrina, is the subject of this MEMF workshop.
It is written for three six-part choirs, but combines the top and bottom parts of each choir in a number of passages to produce four-part choral textures that contrast beautifully with the full sections.
Singers and players of brass, curtals, lower shawms (tenor and below), recorders, bowed strings (viols and violin family) and plucked strings (lutes, harps) and harpsichord & organs are all welcome.

David Hatcher was born in Warwick and upon attaining the LTCL diploma two years after taking up music, he went on to study viola da gamba with Charles Medlam and recorder with Philip Thorby at Trinity College of Music, London. He began his career based in England, touring America, Israel, France, Germany and the Netherlands.
He has broadcast for both the BBC and independent radio and television. In 1987 he moved to Japan where he was to remain for the next 9 years, taking an active part in that country’s flourishing early music scene. He has recorded with Evelyn Tubb, The Consort of Musicke, I Fagiolini, Sprezzatura, and the Japanese ensembles Chelys, Ensemble Ecclesia and the Bach Collegium of Japan.
David now lives in Leominster on the Welsh Marches and has appeared with Fretwork, The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, The Globe Theatre, The Consort of Musicke, Musica Antiqua of London, The Corelli Orchestra, The Harp Consort, Glyndebourne Opera and many other period orchestras and ensembles.
He has taught on numerous summer schools, including the Cambridge Early Music Summer School, the Easter Early Music Course at Monmouth and Sastamala Gregoriana in Finland, and is in demand as a tutor for many weekend and day courses.
Past projects include performing in Damon Albarn’s opera ‘Dr Dee’ and performing and recording with I Fagiolini in their hugely successful interpretation of Striggio’s 40-voice mass. He performed in the inaugural season of the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse in 2014 and in the highly acclaimed production of The Knight of the Burning Pestle in 2014 & 2015. He is a founder member of The Linarol Consort of Viols, the UK’s only consort specialising in the earliest repertoire for that instrument.

St Nicholas Church, Warwick. https://www.stnicholaswarwick.org.uk
St. Nicholas Church is located on the southern edge or Warwick – adjacent to St Nicholas Park and opposite the south entrance to the castle.
There is no church car park, but the St Nicholas Park car park (CV34 4QY) is directly behind the church, accessed via the A425 Banbury Road. This is a ‘pay and display’ car park 7 days a week. The full day charge is £8.00. Payment is by card or the RingGo App.Warwick station is less than 10 mins walk away. From the exit walk to the Coventry Road and turn right. At St John’s junction at the traffic lights, cross straight ahead towards St John’s Museum. Turn right into St Nicholas Church Street – the church is on the left at the end of this road.
Workshop Organiser: Jonathan Spencer 07784 657563 jonathan-spencer@blueyonder.co.uk
Booking is now closed

Schutz: Psalmen Davids workshop with Bill Carslake on 7th March 2026
2026-03-07 10:30 - 17:00 | Coton Centre, Tamworth, Church Comberford Road, Tamworth, B79 9AA, United Kingdom
Come and celebrate one of music’s finest dramatists, Heinrich Schütz, in four of his great psalm settings in German. Whether Schütz was writing opera, oratorio or these ‘Psalmen Davids’, he prioritised character and intention, and maintained a musical pacing that was close to life. His freedom in word-setting in German and Latin and his use of everyday speech rhythms were as liberating and far-reaching as in the work of his contemporary, John Donne. His introduction of thorough-bass/’basso continuo’ created a musical double commentary – a tension between the sung text and its harmonic underlay. Yet he could be stark and ask the big, bold question. His work transcended religious and national divides, and his travels between Venice and Dresden brought the latest Italian urgency into Germany’s Lutheran church, changing it for ever. Welcome to the German Baroque! We will be ‘going big’ with Zion Spricht, and will also include the joyous Danket dem Herrenn.
Repertoire: Zion Spricht swv 46, Ich freue mich swv 122, Ich danke den Herren swv 111, Danket dem Herren swv 45

This workshop is for voices and instruments:
Continuo: Organ, Harpsichord, Theorbo/lute/chitarrone, Cello/double bass.
Winds: Cornetti, sackbuts, Bassoons, Recorders/flutes, Trumpets (great for Danket SWV 45, where Schütz incorporated the court trumpet ensemble, and for Zion Spricht swv 46, but not for the other two – so it would be good if the trumpets could sing or play something else in those pieces).
Strings: Violins, Viola, Violone

The Tutor, Bill Carslake, composes music inspired by outdoor fieldwork collaborations. He conducts widely, and he is passionate about eco sail. He has a lifelong fascination with Renaissance and Baroque choral music. His latest orchestral work, Carrownagappul (2024) was commissioned for the 25th anniversary of Imperial College Sinfonietta – inspired by fieldwork in Galway, Ireland in collaboration with photographer Tina Claffey. A Finzi Scholarship orchestral piece, Mountain Hare (2022) was premiered by Farnborough Symphony Orchestra; and the travel essay Composing with Hares features in the Finzi Trust podcast series. Bill collaborated with poet Helen Mort on The Singing Glacier (2017) inspired by their climbing expedition in East Greenland – which has featured twice on BBC Radio 4. The current fieldwork project is The Sea of Trees, a sailing voyage to the Faroe Islands to study phytoplankton and sea bird colonies. He is Co-founder of Guild of Ships Ltd – a platform for sailing ship companies that carry passengers and cargo by wind.

Venue: The Coton Centre is on the A315 Comberford Rd on the north edge of Tamworth. The post code B79 9AA will take you to Rawlett school but if approaching from the north on the A513 it is on the left before the school and from any other direction is the next turning after the school. There is ample free parking on site.
Lifts from Tamworth station, a mile and a half away, can be arranged if required – please get in touch with the organiser: Elizabeth Ashby 07892 715401
Booking extended to 24th February – click here.

!A la Batalla! with Greg Skidmore and Sue Addison on 2nd May 2026
2026-05-02 10:30 - 17:00 | Swallowbeck Methodist Church, Lincoln
The Music for this workshop will comprise Sections from Victoria Missa Pro Victoria and Guerrero’s Missa de la Batalla Escoutez and Spanish Music reflecting battle songs. Singers and instrumentalists will rehearse separately in the morning and together in the afternoon, in preparation for a sing/play through at the end of the day.
10.00 Registration and drinks
10.30 Morning session with short break
1.15 Lunch (bring your own)
2.00 Afternoon session
4.00 (approx) Tea
4.30 Sing/playthrough
5.00 Finish
The Tutors
Born in Canada, Greg Skidmore arrived in England as an undergraduate at Royal Holloway College, University of London. After graduating with First Class Honours in Music, his post-graduate Choral Scholarship at Wells Cathedral led him to Lay Clerkships at Gloucester Cathedral and Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford. He now lives in London and pursues a varied career as a consort, choral, and solo oratorio singer alongside his growing commitments as a conductor and workshop leader.
Greg is one of the UK’s leading consort and choral singers, having appeared with The Tallis Scholars, The Sixteen, The Cardinall’s Musick, I Fagiolini, Tenebrae and The Gabrieli Consort
More recently he was appointed Musical Director of The Lacock Scholars and has performed throughout the UK with them, including ongoing engagements at Westminster Abbey.
He has given workshops and masterclasses in the UK, France, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia in association with The Sixteen, I Fagiolini, and on his own.
Sue Addison is recognised as one of the world’s leading exponents of historic trombones. She currently plays principal trombone with The Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, Academy of Ancient Music, The Sixteen and the Gabrieli Consort. Her experience ranges from being a full time member of the City of Birmingham Orchestra under the direction of Sir Simon Rattle, to recording for the BBC Comedy ‘The Two Ronnies’. She is a founder member of His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts and of The Orchestra of The Age of Enlightenment. She is currently Professor of Baroque trombone at the Royal College of Music, Birmingham Conservatoire, Royal Northern College, and Trinity Laban.
Venue
Swallowbeck Methodist Church, 472 Newark Rd, Lincoln LN6 8RZ
The church has a small car park only at the front so if anyone has mobility problems let me know and I will keep a space for you.
Otherwise the dentist next door has a car park at the back of the building. Drive in and you will see the signs directing you to the car park. Parking well should allow at least 20 cars to park in there. They do have a surgery on that day so there may be people walking from the car park. There is also street parking opposite.
The railway and bus station hub is a good walk away from the venue but it is on a bus route.

Workshop Organiser is Wendy Leonard 07540 560656
Book by 18th April here

The Colossal Baroque with Dr Stephen Bullamore on Sat 20th June 2026
2026-06-20 10:30 - 16:30 | St Mary Magdalene Church, Newark-on-Trent
Experience the wonder of the Colossal Baroque in the magnificent church of St Mary Magdalene, Newark. This workshop day will be led by Dr Stephen Bullamore, Director of Music, Newark Parish Church. We will be exploring poly-choral works (with instruments) by Schütz, Biber and Benevoli, concluding with the famous In ecclesiis by Giovanni Gabrieli. These works require huge forces, of up to 32 parts.
The workshop is for voices and instruments at A=440
Continuo: Organ, Harpsichord, Theorbo/lute/chitarrone (several players welcome)
Winds: Cornetti, Sackbuts, Curtals, Recorders and appropriate period instruments.
Strings: Violins, Violas, Cellos, Violone, Viols
Also trumpets and timpani for Biber
Working with the recently restored building, we will be able to spatially separate the groups of singers and instrumentalists creating a rarely-experienced soundscape.
Music to be performed will be:

Saul, Saul, was verfolgst du mich? Heinrich Schütz (Dresden)
Dixit Dominus a 25 Orazio Benevoli (Rome)
Vesperae a 32 (extracts) Heinrich Biber (Salzburg)
In Ecclesiis – Giovanni Gabrieli (Venice)

The Tutor, Dr Stephen Bullamore is Director of Music (Master of the Song School) at St Mary Magdalene church, Newark. Here he oversees one of the last remaining Parish Church Choral Foundation, made possible by the bequest of Thomas Magnus in the 1530s. He previously held posts at Guildford and Lincoln Cathedrals and was Director of Music at Waltham Abbey for the best part of a decade.
For ten years Stephen was Musical Director of the North Herts Guild of Singers. He is Musical Director of the Leicester Philharmonic Choir and of Bingham & District Choral Society; he previously was Musical Director of Barnet Choral Society. Between these groups he has conducted much of the choral repertoire, including Bach’s major works, several Handel oratorios, Ethel Smyth’s monumental Mass in D and Elgar’s three concert length choral works.
He holds a doctorate in Editorial Musicology (“The Sacred music of John Weldon, 1676-1736”) and has contributed to Grove Online. In recent years he has been drawn to crafting arrangements of pre-existing tunes to suit modern performance demands.
Timetable for the Day
10 am: Registration and drinks
10.30am; Morning Session with a short break
12.45 pm: Lunch (bring your own)
1.45 pm: Afternoon session
2.55 approx Tea break
4.30: Finish – . Church closes at 5pm
Venue: St Mary Magdalene Church, Church Walk, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 1JS https://www.stmnewark.org
The church is located in the centre of this historic town with cafes and market adjoining. We have the use of this magnificent and recently restored medieval church, in particular the nave and extended crossing. The Magnus Room, at the west end, will be available for personal belongings and space for lunch and breaks. The church will be open to visitors during the day.
There is no on-site parking but there is a facility to ‘drop off’ instruments.
Public parking nearby (prices may not be accurate)

St Marks Place, Lombard Street, NG24 1XP – NCP Multi-storey, can be pre-booked, £8 for the day. Closest.
London Road / Balderton Gate Car Park NG24 1TN
Lovers Lane Car Park, 12 Lovers Lane NG24 1JD Height restriction 7ft 6Riverside
Arena Outer Town Car Park( off the A46), 22 Great North Road NG24 1BN. Height restriction 7ft 6. A scenic 10 min walk over the river, past the castle into the town centre. £3.70

There are two train stations: Newark Northgate on the LNER East Coast main line, 15 mins walk away, and Newark Castle on the East Midlands line, 10 mins walk away.
Workshop Organisers Jill Davies daviesmusic@btinternet.com 07721 317030 and John Lock.
Booking is now open, click here to book by Monday 8th June.

Workshop for voices and instruments at A440 with Mark Wilson on 12th September
2026-09-12 10:30 - 17:00
Details to follow. Venue Stafford
Booking will open in August.
