Since its establishment in 2003, the Choir of London has come to occupy a unique position in the UK concert scene. Composed of professional singers who share an ongoing commitment to charitable work, the ensemble also operates at the highest levels of excellence, making successful debuts during the course of 2006 at St John’s, Smith Square, and the South Bank Centre. Its first recording, the world première of the “Jerusalem Version” of Sir John Tavener’s Lament for Jerusalem, topped the UK core classical charts for several weeks. (Of the recording, BBC Music Magazine wrote, “It’s hard to imagine it better performed, or recorded,” Classical CD Review commented, “The performance is perfection,” and the Philadelphia Inquirer commended the choir’s “exceptional purity”.) The Choir has an admirable commitment to new music, with UK and world premières (aside from the Tavener) including works by Stephen Leek, Tarik O’Regan, Matthew Orlovich and Giles Swayne, with several commissions and new works planned for 2007. Immediately prior to the Palestine Mozart Festival the Choir of London will make its Cadogan Hall debut, performing John Rutter’s acclaimed Requiem under the composer’s direction.
In addition to its calendar of regular professional engagements, the Choir maintains an active programme of education and outreach activity, with a focus on supporting musicians and music-making in particularly difficult environments. Singers volunteer their time and energies for a variety of special projects which fall outside the usual ambit of professional choral work. Since its inception, the Choir of London has established a reputation for performance projects which couple this charitable commitment with outstanding musical quality. By 2004, it had established its own chamber orchestra, with which it has toured to the Middle East, including performances as part of the Palestine Bach Festival.
The Choir of London network has continued to expand steadily, developing into a thriving community of over sixty London-based singers and instrumentalists. Members are drawn from a number of Britain's leading chamber choirs and orchestras, and include some of the UK's most exciting young ensemble performers and soloists.
The Choir's first major international project – a series of groundbreaking collaborative events staged in the Palestinian Territories and Israel – took place in December 2004. Under the joint musical stewardship of Timothy Brown and Jeremy Summerly, the Choir and its orchestra worked alongside local musicians of all ages and backgrounds, staging choral workshops, orchestral masterclasses and joint concerts in Jerusalem, Ramallah and Bethlehem.
It has since returned to Palestine in 2006, among other events joining the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the Jerusalem Chorus, with performances in Jerusalem and Ramallah.
Choir of London (& Choir of London Orchestra)
Choir of London
Appearances
artist Index
