About Amici
John Cole | Other Personalities | Join Amici’s ‘circle of friends’
Amici was founded in 1994 by John Cole, drawing on his wide network of friends in various areas of choral music. Many of the choir have solo careers in their own right, and are well known throughout the West. Amici have established a reputation for their superb vocal quality and flexibility of sound, musicianship and ability to communicate with their audiences. The choir is based in Taunton, but performs throughout the country and overseas.
Various composers have written works for Amici. After hearing their European premiere of his “Requiem”, the British composer Douglas Coombes wrote a setting of a number of Aesop’s Fables for the choir. This is a light-hearted work, and shows that while Amici takes all music seriously, we are always ready to get away from so-called ’serious’ music. The choir’s repertoire spans everything from the Middle Ages to the 21st century, accompanied or a capella, from devotional religious works to swing, jazz and barbershop.
Amici have several overseas tours to their credit, having performed in Italy (2003) and the United States (2005). Occasionally Amici’s travels result in something very special. So it was in the late Autumn of 2004, when we visited Ypres in northern Belgium. As well as seeing the beautiful but harrowing military cemeteries, we were privileged to be given the opportunity to provide the music one evening for the world-renowned Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate, a nightly act of remembrance of the millions who died in the Great War of 1914-1918.
In 2007 a short trip to Angoulême in the Bordeaux region of France was a great success. These trips are always a combination of musical challenge and sheer fun – this latter property is something we value very highly in Amici. The name we hope suggests the kind of group we are; a bunch of friends who get a huge kick out of performing great music as well as possible.
Amici is a registered charity, No:1122266, and is a member of the Taunton Association of Performing Arts (TAPA)
