Mrs Sunderland festival closes with spectacular finale

Mar 1 2010 By Emma Davison

AN EVENING of music brought this year’s Mrs Sunderland Festival to a spectacular finale.

Some of the best performers of the nine-day competition showcased their talents at a grand gala concert at Huddersfield Town Hall on Saturday evening.

David Hirst, festival vice-chairman, said the event was a fitting end to what has been yet another successful year for music lovers.

“Over the last two years we have seen a big surge in audiences and it remains one of the best music festivals in the country,’’ he said.

“The standard this year has been excellent, the highlights being the choir classes – which we had over 900 people coming to see on one day – and the string solo classes.

“The final concert itself had a packed audience and it was a superb evening of really high quality music.

“The winning choir, the Brythoniaid Male Voice Choir from Caernarfon, generated a particularly tremendous applause as this very rich sound of a Welsh choir filled the auditorium.”

included pianist Daniel Chappell who won several classes including the open Chopin class and French piano music class.

Another performer taking to the stage was aspiring opera singer Jenny Stafford.

The 22-year-old from Kirkburton was named this year’s Kirklees Young Musician of the Year and delighted the crowd by performing two pieces.

A highlight of the gala concert was the Choir Prize Winners’ Challenge which six choirs who had won previous classes competed in.