Our centrepiece for this Christmas concert is Latvian composer Eriks Ešenvalds' beautiful choral piece, Stars.

Born in 1977, Eriks Ešenvalds is a prolific composer of mainly choral works, winning acclaim and awards for his compositions.  He is currently serving as Head of the Department of Composition at the Latvian Academy of Music.

Stars was commissioned in 2011, setting to music a poem by the American poet Sara Teasdale (1884-1933).  The lyrics evoke a sense of immensity and grandeur, which is amplified by the ethereal tuned wine glasses which accompany the choir.

As you can seen, Chandos members have been practising diligently during the rehearsal break with their wine glasses (filled for this purpose with water, of course).  Come and hear the results on 5 December - book now for tickets.