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Join us for the 2003 Three Choirs Festival which is based at Hereford Cathedral. We will include two concerts in our touring programme, both on the final day of the Festival, finishing with the great Requiem by Verdi. The tour begins at the Queen's Hotel, Cheltenham on Thursday 21 August with a welcome reception and dinner in the hotel.

On Friday you will depart for Hereford arriving in time for an organ recital by John Scott (programme to be announced) in the great cathedral. This will finish in time for you to find lunch in the city and you can join your guide to visit the Mappa Mundi and the Chained Library exhibitions and other features of this ancient cathedral city. You will be free to wander on your own, or tour with your guide during the afternoon. We have arranged that a private room will be available from teatime onwards where you may relax and enjoy a cup of tea before an early dinner at 'Left Bank Village'. Centrally located next to the cathedral on the banks of the River Wye with stunning views over the River, your dinner will be held in a private room in time for you to walk the short distance to the cathedral for the highlight of the 2003 Festival, a stirring performance by the three cathedral choirs of Verdi's great Requiem. After this glorious musical experience you will return by coach to your Cheltenham Hotel.

On Saturday we have arranged a touring day related to the musical connections in this area. Firstly you will drive to Highnam church built by Hubert Parry's father; a high Victorian church with an amazing array of wall paintings. Next to Malvern where your guide will show you the Elgar residences in the years before his reputation became established, also the school where he taught, the homes of his friends and the theatre where his friendship with George Bernard Shaw developed. After lunch in Malvern you will visit the Elgar Birthplace Museum; formerly just a small humble cottage where he was born.

Return to your Cheltenham hotel via Worcester to pass the cathedral - one of the three choirs venues - where Elgar's early music was performed, his statue is here on the site of his parent's shop. Once back at the hotel you are free to depart or stay for an extra night (rate on application)

Price per person £330: Single Supplement £50: Non refundable deposit £50:

Includes :

• 2 nights bed and breakfast at the hotel
  
• 1 dinner at the hotel
  
• Welcome reception
  
• Tea and dinner in a private room at Left Bank Village, Hereford
  
• Reserved seats at two 3 Choirs Festival concerts
  
• Entries
  
• Professional guide and executive coaching