A CHOIR from a leading Japanese university will be singing in Malvern and Worcester later this month.

The All Saints Chapel Choir from Rikkyo University of Tokyo, are coming to the county as part of its 2016 tour of England.

On Wednesday, February 24, the choir will be singing in the historic surroundings of Great Malvern Priory.

The concert is entitled In Pursuit of Peace, following the theme of the tour, chosen to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in 1945.

The programme includes sacred music by Herbert Howells, Edward Elgar, Palestrina and Rachmaninov as well as spirituals, Japanese sacred music and traditional folk-songs, and a specially-commissioned piece, Shu yo (Peace), composed by Hina Sakamoto based on the ancient prayer of St Francis of Assisi.

The concert is free, with a retiring collection being taken.

The choir will also be singing on Saturday, February 27, at St Martin’s Church, London Road, Worcester, as part of its Coffee Concert series, starting at 10.30am.

The 56 members of the choir on this tour are accompanied by the Rikkyo Chapel organist, Yoko Sakiyama, and led by conductor and director of music Scott Shaw.

Rikkyo University is an Anglican institution established in 1874 by American missionary bishop Channing Moore Williams. 20,000 students are presently studying on its two campuses. The choir was established in 1919 by Englishman Edward Gauntlett, nephew of famous organist Henry Gauntlett.