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THE PLAXTOL SCHOLARS' last concert was at St Bartholomew's Church in Otford, near Sevenoaks on Saturday 20th November, 2010.The choir sang a selection of sacred music by Wood, Purcell, Ley, Aston, Gibbons, Matthias, Greene and also a new work by Amanda Palez-Menzies in the first half to a 100 strong audience. The second half was more light hearted with folk song arrangements, Bob Chilcott's wonderful setting of Londonderry Air and Peter Gritton's fun 3 minute Messiah.

2011 has seen the choir sing at Lincoln Cathedral and Norwich and in October they will be travelling to Wells to sing the services in the Cathedral there.

For more information call Marius Carboni on 01732 888585 or email mcarboni@carbonimedia.com

The Plaxtol Scholars is a chamber choir which sings the length and breadth of the country. Consisting of some 26 singers, the main pre-requisite is that the voices have little or no vibrato.The choir celebrated their tenth anniversary in 2006 with a special birthday visit in the September of that year to Chichester Cathedral, the very first church to offer the choir the opportunity to sing the services. Since that day the choir has sung in many corners of the country. With over 20 cathedral and abbey churches under their belt, including St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Durham Cathedral and York Minster, the Plaxtol Scholars are well versed in the rituals of sung worship in the Church of England. They sang the services in Norwich Cathedral in February 2008 as well as on Low Sunday (the weekend after Easter) in Winchester Cathedral. The summer saw them at Southwark Cathedral and Ely Cathedral in the Autumn. In 2009 the Scholars visited Hereford Cathedral for the first time. See the Events page for more details.

The choir also gives a number of concerts each year, either a cappella or with their sister ensemble, the Plaxtol Chamber Players. Both forces opened the 2008 Plaxtol Music Festival with music by Bach and Haydn. Also in 2008, the Plaxtol Scholars participated in the Sevenoaks Summer Festival with a concert of folk songs and madrigals on 4th July and led a Christmas concert for Special Olympics Great Britain on 18th December in Southwark Cathedral.

The Choir made its first recording for UHRecordings in September 2008 for a Christmas release and they mace a further Christmas CD in 2009 (available on www.uhrecordings.co.uk, itunes and www.cdbaby/all/uhrecordings). The Choir also recorded an anthems disc which was released in the Autumn of 2010 and can be heard on this website and is available from POBox 308, Sevenoaks, Kent TN15 0ZW.

The choir members come from London, Bromley, Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells and Ashford areas of Kent, and also from Surrey and Sussex including Eastbourne.

Their director, Marius Carboni, was the first music graduate from Huddersfield Polytechnic to major in conducting. He has much experience in the choral field having conducted and sung in a number of other choirs. He left EMI Classics as their Head of Press 15 years ago to set up a Classical music marketing and public relations consultancy which he continues to run today. He returned to study a few years ago, and gained an MA at King’s College, London, and now lectures on the Music Business part-time at Hertfordshire University to both final year undergraduate and post-graduate music students. He was awarded a PhD in October 2010 which looked at the changes in marketing and business models in the classical music industry since 1989.

Check the Events page to see the most up-to-date concerts and cathedral visits that The Plaxtol Scholars are singing. The choir opened the 2008 Plaxtol Music Festival in Plaxtol Church on January 26th performing Haydn's Little Organ mass and Bach's Magnificat.The concert sold out.

If you are interested in booking or joining the choir please contact Marius Carboni on + 44 (0)1732 888585 (office) or + 44 (0) 7885 753272, or e mail mcarboni@carbonimedia.com.

Music festival return is sellout success

	Kent Messenger Friday 1st February 2008

AFTER an absence of nine years, the Plaxtol Music Festival has returned with a sellout concert.

The festival, which features several classical and jazz concerts during the year, opened on Saturday night with a concert in Plaxtol Church, near Sevenoaks, performed by the Plaxtol Scholars and Chamber Players. Their performance included pieces by JS Bach and Haydn.

Future events at the church will include a harp performance in May by Claire Jones, who regularly plays for The Prince of Wales, and a concert by cellist Julian Lloyd Webber, who performs in September.

Festival organiser and artistic director Marius Carboni said: "I was delighted with the support the village gave to the festival in making the first concert a sellout."

Mr Carboni, a former Plaxtol parish councillor, who conducted Saturday’s concert, gave up organising the festival nine years ago due to increasing work and family commitments.

"Lots of people said they would like to see it back up and running, but it was only when I stepped down from the council that I had the time to do it," he said.

Deputy Mayor of Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council, Chris Smith, officially opening the 2008 Plaxtol Music Festival, January 26th, 2008 with Marius Carboni, Artistic Director of the Festival