Denstone College Tour, July 23

Denstone College enjoyed a collaborative tour to us in early July, based around an instrumental and choral partnership with the Lisieux Conservatoire.

Their tour began with the accompaniment of the prestigious Sunday Mass service at the Basilica of Saint Therese de Lisieux, a well-attended service in which the choir rose to the challenge of filling the huge acoustic of the basilica.

A visit to Cerza Zoo followed before the group returned to their accommodation at Chateau Kinnor. The following morning rehearsals took place with the Lisieux Conservatoire choir, with the Denstone musicians providing the instrumental accompaniment to Pinocchio by Touchard.

That evening the concert took place at the pretty village church of Fervaques, just next door to their accommodation. This concert involved the visiting students from Manchester High School for Girls as well as a number of young instrumentalists from the Lisieux Conservatoire. The Denstone big band brought the concert to a rousing finale!

The next day began with a visit to St Pierre Sur Dives, famous in the region for its beautiful abbey, before culminating in a packed evening concert at Chateau Canon where the collaborative works were all performed. The final item presented the opportunity for the younger French choir singers to try out their English supported by the Denstone singers, a lovely end to a great evening!

“Thanks again for organising everything – our guys have had a really good time, and it’s been an amazing experience.”

Luke Denstone
Director of Music, Denstone School