LANGCLIFFE Singers will celebrate the centenary of the birth of American composer Leonard Bernstein in their spring concert on Saturday, April 14.

Perhaps most famous for his musical scores – most notably West Side Story, On The Town and Candide – Bernstein also wrote a range of other compositions, including three symphonies and many shorter chamber and solo works.

In 1963, Bernstein was commissioned by the Dean of the Cathedral of Chichester to write a piece for the 1965 Southern Cathedrals’ music festival.

The result was the Chichester Psalms, a setting of six psalms from the Hebrew bible, and it is this work that forms the heart of this concert programme.

The performance will be accompanied by Alistair McKenzie (organ), Georgina Wells (harp) and Max Heaton (percussion), and features countertenor Stephen Hogg.

To continue the American theme, the choir will also be singing Lux Aeterna, a five-movement quasi-Requiem, written in 1997 by acclaimed American composer Morten Lauridsen. Its London premiere was described by critics as ‘a classic of new American choral writing’. The programme also features Agnus Dei by Samuel Barber, a choral setting of his famous Adagio, Alleluia by Randall Thompson and harp and organ solos.

The concert takes place at Giggleswick School Chapel at 7.30pm. Tickets, which cost £10, will be available from Cappella, Settle, Skipton Camera Centre and on the door.