Exciting news! Award winning British born composer Alison Willis is to attend the world premiere of her piece Gold and Spices at Reading Phoenix Choir’s annual carol concert at the Reading Minster at 5pm on Saturday 14th December.
Gold and Spices is a wonderful new choral setting of words by Christina Rossetti. Alison Willis’ piece was a finalist in the inaugural Walter Hussey composition competition run by Reading Phoenix Choir last year.
Reading Phoenix Choir’s carol concert will be a mixture of many traditional favourites and newer pieces like Gold and Spices and O Oriens, a 21st century choral work with luxurious and exotic harmonies, written by Cecilia McDowall.
One of Alison Willis’ most recent works The Wind’s Warning is a setting of a poem by Ivor Gurney and was described by BBC Radio 3’s Katie Derham as “stunning”. It was premiered earlier this year by The Gesualdo Six. Co-incidentally, the musical director of The Gesualdo Six is Owain Park, who will be leading the judges in the next Walter Hussey Composition Competition, which is for composers aged between 16 and 24.