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PROJECT DESCRIPTION

2026 sees the 15th anniversary of Sestina Music, and our 2025/26 season will culminate in a performance of Bach’s wonderfully joyous and festive Easter Oratorio (paired with Bach's Cantata no. 182 in the first half) - a perfect way to celebrate the group’s history and look forward to an exciting future. Our plan for this project is to bring together all the different strands of the ensemble’s work, with our Next Generation Artists, alumni from this scheme now working regularly with the group, a world-class line-up of soloists from or based in UK/Ireland, and some of the island’s finest period instrument specialists all sharing the stage in our hometown of Belfast. As Northern Irelands only professional period instrument/early music ensemble, we are uniquely placed to bring this exceptional work to our audience here, and this is possibly the first time such a group has performed Bach’s Easter Oratorio in NI.

Central to the project is the integration of our Next Generation Artists, offering them the opportunity to perform alongside their professional peers and mentors for the project’s entirety, as well as skill development and training leading up to the project, including language coaching and preparation sessions. We plan to have the largest cohort of NGA’s to date included in this project, with 8 early career singers invited to join as part of an extensive 6 month programme of professional development opportunities. That combined with 22 players and 8 professional choral singers and soloists, promises to bring Bach’s orchestration to life with a full, dynamic, and exciting sound.

This would be a one-off event, further emphasising the unique nature of the occasion. We would film the project using a local film production company the ensemble has worked with regularly in the past. This would allow us to release clips of the performance in the future, for both marketing and promotion, as well as enabling us to reach online audiences further afield with excerpts and highlights.

We would primarily be responsible for promotion of the event, as well as utilising the venue's large audience and community reach. We have a long-standing relationship with the venue as their ensemble in residence for the past year following multiple years of successful performances and events.

Our proposed date for performance is Friday 17th April 2026, and our expected audience numbers are:
100 full price tickets (£20)
20 student & under 18 tickets (£10)
30 promotional & accessible reduced rate tickets (£10)
30 complimentary tickets to Friends of Sestina, supporters, and invited guest from arts organisations and community groups.