Choirs Werca together in Harmony to stage Warkworth concert

Warkworth will be alive with the sound of music and song as two leading choirs perform – and they are inviting locals to join in.

Northumberland’s famed all-female Werca’s Folk and Vermont’s Northern Harmony, specialists in world music, will be in the village on Saturday, March 2.

The United States musicians and singers will stage a workshop in the afternoon, before joining Werca’s Folk for a concert in the evening.

Werca's Folk entertain members of  Northumberland Federation of WIs.Werca's Folk entertain members of  Northumberland Federation of WIs.
Werca's Folk entertain members of Northumberland Federation of WIs.
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Northern Harmony made a big impact when performing its unique mix of world harmony songs and dances in Warkworth in 2016.

The group begins its 2019 tour of England, Wales and Scotland on February 23, before leaving for a tour of French and Spanish venues at the end of March.

Led by Larry Gordon, Northern Harmony’s 14 young singers’ programme will include South African songs and dances, traditional polyphony from Georgia, Corsica and the Balkans, American shape-note singing, and quartet gospel, as well as some Renaissance motets.

The choir will be leading a musical workshop in the United Reformed Church Hall at The Butts. Anybody may attend and try out their vocal skills alongside the American singers.

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Later at the same venue Werca’s Folk, conducted by founder Sandra Kerr, will join Northern Harmony to entertain with its unique blend of traditional Northumbrian songs and modern compositions.

The name of the Northumberland choir comes from ‘Werca’, from whom the village of Warkworth, where Sandra lives, derived its name. It relates to a person described variously as a “wild and witchy woman” and “saintly”.

Conductor Sandra is well known as the co-writer, with John Faulkner, of the music for Bagpuss, which was voted best loved BBC TV children’s programme in 1999.

Tickets for the three-hour workshop, which begins at 3pm, are £5.

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The concert starts at 7.30pm. Tickets are £10, £8 concs, and include a glass of wine or soft drink.

The tickets are available at Warkworth Village Shop, on the door on March 2, or from Marion Giles on 01665 711602.