Truro Cathedral Choir and The Eden Project Choir in concert to help flood survivors: Truro Cathedral, Friday, November 11, 7pm
Two top choirs are staging a unique concert at Truro Cathedral on November 11 to raise money for people rebuilding their lives and homes after last year's mid Cornwall flood.
Truro Cathedral Choir will be performing Cloudburst, inspired by a tropical storm and one of the most popular choral works composed in the last decade, as well as a haunting arrangement of the American folksong Shenandoah.
Cloudburst was written by the American composer, conductor and lecturer Eric Whitacre, one of the most performed composers of his generation.
It was released in 2008 by the British ensemble Polyphony on Hyperion Records and became an international best-seller, topping the classical charts and earning a Grammy nomination.
Inspired by the poetry of the Mexican writer Octavio Paz and a desert cloudburst, Whitacre composed his work to include finger snaps to simulate rain and thunder sheets. It adds piano and percussion to an unaccompanied chorus for dramatic effect.
Joining the traditional male voice ensemble are The Eden Choir who will be singing acapella versions of Anthony and the Johnsons' Hope There's Someone, Fleet Foxes' Mykonos and You Got The Love by Candi Staton and the Source.
The Eden Choir is an acapella group made up of Eden Project staff and associates with an eclectic repertoire of modern pop classics.
The charity concert will see all proceeds going to the Cornwall Flood Fund, set up by the Cornwall Community Foundation, to raise money for people whose homes were damaged by the flood which struck many towns and villages in mid Cornwall last November.
The fund helps people, some of whom are still living in temporary accommodation, to buy items such as replacement household goods, make repairs and carry out prevention work.
Guest speakers at the event are flood survivor Diana Mullis from Lostwithiel, Tim Smit, chief executive of the Eden Project, and Oliver Baines, a trustee of the Foundation.
Representatives from Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service, Devon and Cornwall Police and South Western Ambulance Service who played a key role during the flood will also be in attendance.
The concert is a partnership between the Foundation, Truro Cathedral and the Eden Project.
Chris Gray, Truro Cathedral's Director of Music, said: "This will be a truly special concert and quite unlike anything we've ever done before.
"The programme will be compelling and moving for people of all musical tastes and backgrounds, whether or not they have ever set foot in the Cathedral or the Eden Project."
Vicky Abbott, Eden's choir mistress, said: "This promises to be an amazing moment for The Eden Choir after five years together - performing in the wonderful setting and acoustics of Truro Cathedral on the same bill as one of the country's best traditional choral choirs."
Diana Mullis said: "After the flood was no longer in the news many people like me had a lot of clearing up to do and hard work to try and get their lives together - and that hard work goes on. The donation I received from the Cornwall Flood Fund was really appreciated.
"The concert is a wonderful way of recognising the strength of spirit in the communities affected and to raise much-needed funds for those people getting their households back together nearly a year after the flood."
Tickets to the concert which starts at 7pm on Friday, November 11, cost £10 and are available from the Eden Project Box Office on 01726 811972. There are a limited number of free tickets available for under-18s.