Two of the best-loved pieces of choral music top the bill at Aberystwyth Arts Centre this Saturday (28 May).

Vivaldi’s brilliant, ecstatic ‘Gloria’ and Handel’s magnificent ‘Zadoc the Priest.’ Rescheduled from April, Aberystwyth Choral Society’s spring concert offers a string of musical gems in a programme showcasing the only large choir in West Wales specialising in the great choral/orchestral repertoire.

Sharing the stage with the singers will be Sinfonia Cambrensis, The professionally-based orchestra that works regularly with the choir. They start the evening with William Boyce’s sparkling and tuneful Sinfonia to ‘The Shepherd’s Lottery.’ Sparkle and melody also overflow from Mozart’s ‘Exsultate, jubilate.’ A showpiece for soprano soloist, Claire Wild, the work culminates in the hugely famous ‘Alleluja!’

Claire, a soloist with both Welsh and English National Operas and at Covent Garden, appears with the choir for the first time. It’s also a first for mezzo soloist, Stephanie Windsor-Lewis. Stephanie now lives locally but travels the world to fulfil prestigious engagements at New York’s ‘Met’ or partnering José Carreras in Singapore. Her solo spot features Gluck’s celebrated aria, ‘Che faro senza Euridice.’

There’s also a surprise item – music from the film ‘High Pass’ by Ukrainian composer Myroslav Skoryk.

Conductor David Russell Hulme told the Maes: “As guest conductor with the Zaporozhye Symphony Orchestra, I’ve many friends in Ukraine. As a tribute to them, I have arranged this lovely miniature by Skoryk specially for our concert on the 28th. We shall also be making a collection to support the aid centre the orchestra is running from its concert hall.”

There is more music from the choir, too. The timeless serenity of Bach’s ‘Jesu Joy of man’s Desiring,’ with its wonderful weaving accompaniment, contrasts with the exuberance of ‘Haydn’s C major ‘Te Deum’ – a brilliant finale to a great evening of live music.