Nova Cantica is an a cappella chamber choir based in Embleton, near Cockermouth in Cumbria, UK. We specialise in Mediaeval and Renaissance music, but also venture into the 20th and 21st centuries, with both existing works and specially commissioned pieces and arrangements.

There is a core of fourteen singers, as well as our director, Douglas Cook, who also sings tenor when called upon. We put on two main concerts a year in our home venue of St Cuthbert's Church, Embleton, and in addition we perform both as a choir and in smaller ensembles, in fundraising concerts, weddings - in fact wherever we're invited.

We are a versatile lot, singing in Latin, Russian, Georgian, Swedish, German, Italian, Catalan, French, Old French and Old English, as well as our native tongue. Recently we have added Hungarian, Estonian and Czech. Although we specialise in early music, our repertoire ranges from the 11th century to the present day, encompassing church music and secular songs of love, lust and drinking, both merry and sad.

We like to include instrumentalists in our programme and frequently share a programme with members of the recorder consort Piping Hot. Other musicians have included David Gibbs (until recently Assistant Organist at Carlisle Cathedral) and Jean Altshuler, harp, and various Nova Canticans have sung (in Georgian costume!) at Wordsworth House in Cockermouth, twice as part of their Christmas events, and in March in a concert to launch the new harpsichord. In 2006 we were delighted to welcome lutenist Laurence Jay, who also brought his vihuela and theorbo. He returned last year (with theorbo) as part of the consort for our summer concerts, along with Sue Johnson, Jemimah Middleton and Nicola McConkey (violins), Sam Coan (cello), Rachel Hecht McConkey and Val Hetherington (recorders) and with Frances again playing the spinet, for Act 1 of Monteverdi's Orfeo, which we performed to mark the 400th anniversary of the first production. This was great fun, and another 'first' for us; we have never dipped our toes in the operatic pond before, and may never do so again, the logistics being quite a challenge!

For details of our future programme, click on the 'coming up' link, or contact our secretary if you would like to be on our mailing list. We look forward to seeing you at our next concert.