The collection of thousands of vocal scores (with accompanying orchestral sets) contains choral favourites the Brahms Requiem, Handel’s Messiah and Duruflé’s Requiem, as well as contemporary pieces such as Ave Maris Stella by Cecilia McDowall, the Westminster Mass by Roxanna Panufnik, and music by Eric Whitacre.
Beginning with over 3,000 copies of choral works, the collection will expanded over the next three years.
Choral works are available on a first-call system to choirs in Surrey which belong to the library, and can be booked up to six months in advance in person, by email, or via an online form. Choirs from further afield may also ask their local library to borrow them from Surrey via the interlibrary loan service.
You can now browse through the Making Music Kirby Collection catalogue listing via the link below. The Making Music Kirby Collection has been created thanks to a generous legacy donation of £135,000 from Making Music’s first Chairman Alan Kirby, who was a leading figure in choral singing in Surrey in the mid-20th century. He and his wife Ethel were keen to ensure the continued success of choral singing in Surrey, and the Making Music Board decided in 2009 to use their legacy to purchase a collection of printed music. Please contact the library directly at performing.arts@surreycc.gov.uk for further information.
