Wimbledon Choral Commissions New Work

Press Release
6th May 2025

Wimbledon Choral commissions new mass from composer Tarik O’Regan : Critical Mass

On the second anniversary of the Coronation of King Charles III, Wimbledon Choral is delighted to announce that it has commissioned the prominent British-American composer Tarik O'Regan to compose a complete mass setting, Critical Mass. It will be created around his Coronation Agnus Dei, which was first sung at the Coronation in Westminster Abbey.  Wimbledon Choral, supported by the City of London Sinfonia, will perform the world premiere of Critical Mass in the Cadogan Hall on 18 April 2026.

Published by Novello, Critical Mass will reflect the spirit of the Coronation, combining solemnity and tradition with the sense of new beginning, full of purpose and hope. The work will reimagine the traditional mass setting through a humanistic lens. Using the Coronation Agnus Dei as a point of departure, each movement will feature a new text from a leading writer, chosen by O'Regan and commissioned by Wild Plum Arts.   Critical Mass aims to reflect our collective conscience.

Tarik O’Regan described this new commission as “elevating the liturgical form into a poignant meditation on humanity’s responsibilities and aspirations.” He added: “I want to merge the solemnity of tradition with a vibrant, forward-looking energy, challenging and inspiring listeners to engage with the world in a spirit of hope and action.”

Daniel Mahoney, Music Director of Wimbledon Choral, has said: “We are thrilled to work with Tarik O'Regan on this important new work. Wimbledon Choral is committed to commissioning and performing works by Britain's leading composers, and we are honoured that Tarik is expanding his Coronation Agnus Dei into a full-length piece. Reimagining the Mass is already an exciting project, but Tarik's work with Wild Plum Arts to bring to life new texts from outstanding writers makes this a truly groundbreaking initiative. We can't wait to receive the score and start preparing for next year's premiere."

Pacific Chorale will perform the US premiere in California.

Notes for Editors:

1. Wimbledon Choral is over 100 years old, established in the early months of the First World War as a result of an event to raise funds for Belgian refugees. Today it is a modern and dynamic auditioned choir of over 180 singers. It performs in major venues in and around London, including the Cadogan Hall, Southwark Cathedral, the Royal Festival Hall and the Royal Albert Hall, as well as in more local venues in Wimbledon and Southfields. The choir’s repertoire ranges from the major classical to more contemporary pieces. It is proud of having commissioned several works, including, to mark its centenary, a requiem mass from Cecilia MacDowell, the Da Vinci Requiem. The choir performed the premiere at the Royal Festival Hall in 2019 and, after the pandemic, finally released the recording in 2022.  Opera Today said of the premiere: “Wimbledon Choral Society were magnificent, the intonation and timing exquisite.”  More information can be found at www.wimbledon-choral.org.uk.

2. Tarik Hamilton O'Regan is a London-born composer based in San Francisco.   In recent years much of his work has investigated and been influenced by his dual Arab and Irish heritages.

   Tarik’s output, recognised with two GRAMMY(R) nominations and two Ivors(R), has been recorded on over 47 albums, and is published exclusively by Novello. He maintains a long-standing commitment to education and service to the arts in general. This has been acknowledged by his election to an Honorary Fellowship of Pembroke College, Oxford, his inclusion in the Washington Post’s 2022 list of creative artists who are “changing the classical landscape”, and his being awarded the Yaddo Artist Medal in 2024.

   In 2023 he was awarded the Coronation Medal by His Majesty King Charles III for his Agnus Dei, commissioned for the Coronation Service in Westminster Abbey.  Oratorio of Hope, a project which O’Regan helped devise, was nominated for a 2024 Royal Philharmonic Society Award, and the commissioning of his Requiem for the Estranged received a major grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) ahead of its premiere in 2026.

   More information about Tarik O'Regan can be found here: www.tarikoregan.com.

3. More information about Daniel Mahoney can be found here: www.danielmahoneymusic.com.

4. More information about Wild Plum Arts and Pacific Chorale can be found here www.wildplumarts.org.uk and here www.pacificchorale.org.

5. Wimbledon Choral’s next concert is at Wimbledon High School on 14 June, where it will be performing John Rutter’s Mass of the Children and premiering a piece from Russell Hepplewhite’s new Living Voices project. More details and booking information are here: www.wimbledon-choral.org.uk/livingvoices.

Please contact Ian Gleeson on vicechair@wimbledon-choral.org.uk for any questions.