Christopher Monks director Chamber Choir of 30-50, Consort of 12-16, Baroque Orchestra of 7-30

Armonico Consort performs up to 60 concerts each year working with around 180 different musicians specializing in, but not exclusively, the repertoire of the renaissance and baroque period. The several different arms of the group include an opera company, orchestra of the baroque, chamber choir, and 12-16 voice consort.

We aim to present our programmes, be it opera, or mainstream repertoire, or newly discovered works to established audiences and new concertgoers in a lively and accessible manner. Our operas include a fusion of comedy, circus, dance and puppetry.

We also perform free singing workshops with over 10,000 children each year which now cover the entire country. We are a registered charity, and committed to developing and training young musicians at the start of their careers. We also do a large amount of work with children who have special needs, which includes running the UNESCO World Children’s Choir in the UK.

Sample Programme:

Purcell: King Arthur, set as a fully staged opera, World War I, a specially written script takes this opera into a different dimension. With trapeze, dance, and stunning lighting effects, this performance brings Purcell alive in a way not seen before.

Education:

We have a variety of education programmes, ranging from ‘Opera in a day’, to ‘Musical in a day’ to ‘How on earth does a choir work?’ to ‘Be a bang in an orchestra’ (an early instrument project), to larger scale projects including ‘Battlesounds in Battlegrounds’ and ‘Redemptio’.

Recordings:

2006 Purcell’s Fairy Queen (The Times four stars) (Deux Elles)
2007 Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (Deux Elles)

Performances:

13 May 07 Blumenthal Festival, Tel Aviv, Israel
28 Feb 07 St John’s Smith Square, London
27 Jul 07 Barbican, London

Contact:

Christopher Monks, Pageant House,
2 Jury Street, Warwick, CV34 4EW

Tel: 01926 410985

Email: cmonks@armonico.org.uk
Website: www.armonico.org.uk