18 CHINA-BOUND

Mark Pirie

A local trio will be part of a Scottish choir set to take China by storm next month.

Audrey McKirdy and Stephen Lipton, both from East Kilbride, and Brenda Bain, of Eaglesham, will join the City of Glasgow Chorus as they take to the stage at the famous Beijing Concert Hall for a performance of ‘A Sea Symphony’ by Vaughan Williams.

They will be joining ranks with the Beijing International Festival Chorus and the Peking Sinfonietta on October 16, with 85 singers travelling from Scotland with the group. The choir will then head south to Nanjing where they will give a performance of Brahms’ ‘German Requiem’ in the Nanjing University of Arts Concert Hall later that week.

To finish this momentous trip the Brahms ‘German Requiem’ will be repeated in the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Hall on Friday, October 21 before the choir returns to Scotland.

The Chorus is taking some homegrown talent from outside the usual singers with them, as soprano Charlotte Drummond and baritone Paul Keohone will perform in all three concerts.

In between concerts and rehearsals, the singers will also have the opportunity to take in some sightseeing in the three cities visited including the Forbidden City, Tian’anmen Square, the Great Wall, The Bund and the Oriental Pearl Tower.

Brenda told the News: “We are hugely excited at the prospect of representing Glasgow and Scotland in China, performing in three amazing venues, as well as enjoying the camaraderie of being part of such a large group on tour.”

Graham Taylor, the Chorus’ music director, said: “It’s always a privilege to take the Chorus to new venues and new audiences and it’s particularly exciting