Chester Festival Chorus will perform an evening of modern choral music exploring the theme of time at its annual concert this weekend.

The concert takes place at the Wesley Church Centre on St John Street on Saturday 4 July, starting at 7.30pm.

Audiences can expect a programme featuring works by Jonathan Dove, Dale Trumbore, Felix Mendelssohn, Johann Sebastian Bach and Arvo Pärt, performed by the choir alongside soprano Elspeth Piggott, bass Graham McCusker, violinist Matthew Chadbond and accompanist Graham Eccles.

It will also be the annual concert under the baton of the choir's new Musical Director, Joseph Judge.

Judge, a graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music, also serves as Chorus Director of Leeds Philharmonic Chorus, Artistic Director of the Exon Singers Festival, Musical Director of Chester Bach Singers and Director of the Hallé Choral Academy. He was recently Choral Director for the film The Choral, starring Ralph Fiennes.

The programme centres on Jonathan Dove's The Passing of the Year, a work setting poetry by Emily Dickinson, William Blake and Alfred Tennyson to explore the changing seasons and the passage of time.

It also includes Dale Trumbore's Stuck in the Middle, Mendelssohn's Sechs Sprüche, Bach's well-known cantata Wachet Auf and Pärt's Spiegel im Spiegel for violin and piano.

Chair of Chester Festival Chorus, Andy Ashton, said: "We are delighted to be joined by our new Musical Director Joseph Judge, accompanist Graham Eccles and our guest soloists, Elspeth Piggott, Graham McCusker and Matthew Chadbond for this special concert which showcases an eclectic mix of modern but listenable music.

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"All the pieces being performed are available to listen to on Spotify as a precursor to hearing them live. We can't wait to perform them in the wonderful surroundings of the Wesley Church Centre with its incredible acoustics."

Founded in 1981 by Martin Merry, one of the founders of the Chester Summer Music Festival, Chester Festival Chorus has become one of the North West's leading mixed-voice choirs, performing major choral works ranging from Handel and Mozart to Britten, Poulenc and Tavener.

Tickets and further information are available via the Chester Festival Chorus website.