Our flagship groups, The Constellation Orchestra and The Constellation Choir produce ambitious, multidisciplinary performance projects that tour around the world.
Central to our programming is the annual Springhead Festival, complemented by a series of seminars, encounters and smaller-scale events that will serve and enrich our community’s cultural landscape, spaced out across the seasons.
Click here for past projects.
A five day residential workshop for ten to twelve exceptionally talented young singers who are on the point of completing their training at conservatories or universities prior to entering the music profession.
Springhead Constellation is proud to launch its inaugural apprentice scheme for young adult singers from 9 to 14 April 2025. This will take the form of a five day residential workshop for ten to twelve exceptionally talented young singers who are on the point of completing their training at conservatories or universities prior to entering the music profession. They will be invited to take part in an intensive programme of individual and group coaching and ensemble singing under the guidance of Sir John Eliot Gardiner, assisted by a small team of experienced professionals who will act as their mentors.
Participants will be encouraged to delve into a wide range of vocal styles beginning with folk-songs, partsongs and canons and branching out into polyphony as well as exercises in improvisation. Beyond technical and artistic development and the mastery of singing in different languages, the programme will emphasise the need for close collaboration and connection both within the ensemble, but also with the spirit of place (or genius loci) of Springhead itself, with its magical lakeside garden and the surrounding chalk hills of North Dorset.
The residency will provide opportunities for personal reflection and growth, as well as time for group discussions and mentoring sessions. This will be slanted towards fostering a broader understanding of their potential role as cultural ambassadors as well as preparing them to meet the varied challenges of the music profession, helping the apprentices to feel well prepared and equipped before taking the plunge.
Springhead has a long-standing tradition of connecting its educational and creative activities with the local community. Since this is in perfect alignment with Springhead Constellation’s mission, there will be opportunities for local music teachers who can apply to attend some of the rehearsals and to observe the progress made by the apprentices as they develop as a vocal ensemble during their residency.
The workshop will conclude with an informal concert given in Springhead’s atmospheric Millroom introduced by John Eliot Gardiner. The performance will not only showcase the apprentices’ artistic growth over the five days’ workshop, but provide an opportunity for members of the public and friends of the Springhead Trust to experience the results of this innovative apprentice scheme.
The constellation Choir & Orchestra
Sir John Eliot Gardiner conductor
Hilary Cronin, Alexander Chance, Thomas Hobbs, Florian Störtz soloists
programme i:
Cantatas for the Sunday “Jubilate”
JS Bach Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, BWV 12
JS Bach Ihr werdet weinen und heulen, BWV 103
JS Bach Wir müssen durch viel Trübsal, BWV 146
programme ii:
Cantatas for the 16th Sunday after Trinity Sunday
JS Bach Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben, BWV 8
JS Bach Wer weiß, wie nahe mir mein Ende, BWV 27
JS Bach Christus, der ist mein Leben, BWV 95
JS Bach Komm, du süsse Todesstunde, BWV 161
Symposium and concert exploring the profound relationship between music and the land. Held at Springhead, the historic birthplace of Sir John Eliot Gardiner. A special concert will showcase music inspired by nature and locality, blending tradition and innovation.
The five-day Springhead Constellation event will feature a symposium and concert exploring the profound relationship between music and the land. The programme highlights themes of regeneration and transformation, with presentations and workshops by leading musicians, environmentalists, and creative thinkers. A special concert will showcase music inspired by nature and locality, blending tradition and innovation. Held at Springhead, the historic birthplace of Sir John Eliot Gardiner, this gathering will celebrate the connection between artistic creativity and environmental stewardship. The goal is to foster meaningful dialogue and inspire sustainable practices through cultural engagement and the arts.
The constellation Choir & Orchestra
Sir John Eliot Gardiner conductor
programme
F. Mendelssohn Erste Walpurgisnacht
F. Mendelssohn A Midsummer Night’s Dream
programme
With music by among others: William Byrd, Claudio Monteverdi, Orlando Gibbonss, Henry Purcell, John Dowland, John Taverner, Heinrich Schütz, Thomas Tallis and Pieterszoon Sweelinck.
Join Sir John Eliot Gardiner for a captivating journey through the evocative and richly textured world of Renaissance and Baroque polyphony and carols, inspired by his acclaimed recording Once As I Remember. This concert celebrates the timeless beauty of choral and instrumental works that weave together themes of memory, longing, and transcendence.
Drawing from centuries-old traditions, the program brings to life the profound human emotions encapsulated in sacred and secular music of the past. Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the Constellation Choir and Orchestra illuminate masterpieces with a sensitivity that speaks to their enduring relevance.
Gardiner invites the audience into a space where history, spirituality, and musicality converge. The programme not only revisits treasured works but also offers fresh perspectives, making this performance an unforgettable tribute to the resonance of music across time.
Through this extraordinary collection of pieces, Once As I Remember invites you to reflect on the continuity of human expression and the unbroken threads of inspiration that connect us to our cultural heritage.
The constellation Choir & Orchestra
Sir John Eliot Gardiner conductor
programme
Bach Easter oratorio BWV 249
Bach Cantata BWV 6 Bleib bei uns
Bach Cantata BWV 31 Der Himmel lacht
A five day residential workshop for exceptionally talented young singers who completing their training at conservatories or universities prior to entering the music profession.
Springhead Constellation is proud to launch its inaugural apprentice scheme for young instrumentalists in April 2026. This will take the form of a five day residential workshop for ten to twelve exceptionally talented young instrumentalists who are on the point of completing their training at conservatories or universities prior to entering the music profession. They will be invited to take part in an intensive programme of individual and group coaching and ensemble playing under the guidance of Sir John Eliot Gardiner, assisted by a small team of experienced professionals who will act as their mentors.
Participants will be encouraged to delve into a wide range of performing styles beginning with folk-music and branching out into concertato works as well as exercises in improvisation. Beyond technical and artistic development, the programme will emphasise the need for close collaboration and connection both within the ensemble, but also with the spirit of place (or genius loci) of Springhead itself, with its magical lakeside garden and the surrounding chalk hills of North Dorset.
The residency will provide opportunities for personal reflection and growth, as well as time for group discussions and mentoring sessions. This will be slanted towards fostering a broader understanding of their potential role as cultural ambassadors as well as preparing them to meet the varied challenges of the music profession, helping the apprentices to feel well prepared and equipped before taking the plunge.
Springhead has a long-standing tradition of connecting its educational and creative activities with the local community. Since this is in perfect alignment with Springhead Constellation’s mission, there will be opportunities for local music teachers who can apply to attend some of the rehearsals and to observe the progress made by the apprentices as they develop as an instrumental ensemble during their residency.
The workshop will conclude with an informal concert given in Springhead’s atmospheric Millroom introduced by John Eliot Gardiner. The performance will not only showcase the apprentices’ artistic growth over the five days’ workshop, but provide an opportunity for members of the public and friends of the Springhead Trust to experience the results of this innovative apprentice scheme.
The constellation Choir & Orchestra
Sir John Eliot Gardiner conductor
programme
JC Arriaga Symphony in D major
WA Mozart Concerto for clarinet and orchestra K.622
FJ Haydn Symphony No. 49 “La Passione”
Symposium and concert exploring the profound relationship between music and the land. Held at Springhead, the historic birthplace of Sir John Eliot Gardiner. A special concert will showcase music inspired by nature and locality, blending tradition and innovation.
This event will feature a symposium and concert exploring the profound relationship between music and the land. The programme highlights themes of regeneration and transformation, with presentations and workshops by leading musicians, environmentalists, and creative thinkers. A special concert will showcase music inspired by nature and locality, blending tradition and innovation. Held at Springhead, the historic birthplace of Sir John Eliot Gardiner, this gathering will celebrate the connection between artistic creativity and environmental stewardship. The goal is to foster meaningful dialogue and inspire sustainable practices through cultural engagement and the arts.
The Constellation Choir & Orchestra
Sir John Eliot Gardiner conductor
programme
JS Bach Cantata “Schwingt freudig euch empor” BWV 36
Charpentier Messe de minuit pour Noel
JS Bach Cantata “Unser Mund sei voll Lachens” BWV 110
Here is a one-off opportunity to experience live one of today’s most persuasive and respected interpreters of Bach’s works, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, launching his new hand-picked ensembles, The Constellation Choir and The Constellation Orchestra. Gardiner has been studying and performing Bach ever since he learnt all six of Bach’s motets by heart as a treble. The fruits of his lifetime’s immersion in Bach’s oeuvre are grounded in the most recent scholarship, but moving far beyond it, his interpretations are characterised by his deep understanding of the context of how this music came into being, how Bach worked, how his music is constructed, and how it achieves its effects— dance-like and joyous at one level, as in these two spectacular Christmas cantatas, contemplative and tender at another. This together with the French Baroque composer Marc Antoine Charpentier’s Messe de minuit pour Noël (Midnight Mass for Christmas), this is music to quicken the pulse, gladden the heart, as well as a chance to bask in the virtuosity of the instrumentalists and singers who make up Gardiner’s ensembles.
The Constellation Choir & Orchestra are the flagship ensembles for Springhead Constellation a new interdisciplinary arts organisation, which creates accessible, engaging, and educational performances that resonate across both generations and geographies. Under the visionary leadership of Gardiner, Springhead Constellation produces ambitious touring projects which examine the themes of transformation, regeneration, and intersections between music and environmental sciences.
Orkest van de Achttiende Eeuw
Herengracht 62
1015 BP Amsterdam
info@springheadconstellation.com