INTERNATIONALLY renowned tenor James Oxley will be among the line-up of soloists when the choir of Hereford Cathedral performs J S Bach’s St Matthew Passion on Tuesday, March 31 in Hereford Cathedral.

Geraint Bowen, director of music at the cathedral, who will be conducting the concert, said: "We have been privileged to have James join us for a number of performances in recent years, and it has been a great experience for us all, and the choristers in particular, to work with such distinguished artists. Concerts like this give the whole choir the opportunity to sing some of the greatest pieces of music ever written.

"We are also looking forward to welcoming Anthony Gregory, who will be singing the tenor arias. Anthony was a chorister here at Hereford in the mid 1990s, and has now embarked on a hugely promising career as a singer. We were delighted to learn that he was recently selected as Breakthrough Artist in the 2015 What’sOnStage Opera Poll for his role as Quint in Benjamin Britten’s opera The Turn of the Screw."

The choir is joined for this performance by Marches Baroque, playing on period instruments, and the work will be sung in German.

The full line-up of soloists is James Oxley (Evangelist), Giles Underwood (Christus), Lucy Bowen (soprano), James Neville (countertenor), Anthony Gregory (tenor) and Marcus Farnsworth (bass). Tickets are available from Hereford Cathedral Shop; Outback Records, Hereford; and by credit card from Hereford Cathedral Perpetual Trust (01432 374261). The performance is supported by the Alan Cadbury Charitable Trust.