Addison Singers
The Addison Singers is a West London group of choirs formed more than 30 years ago. They have four choirs:
The Oratorio Choir
Oratorio Choir is a non-auditioned choir open to all singers who perform much of the standard repertoire, as well as a wide range of new and more recent music, including several works written especially for them.
They rehearse every Wednesday at the Malinova Room in The Polish Centre, 238 King Street, Hammersmith W6 0RF.
Previous works performed include Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Magnificat, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Faure’s Requiem and Vivaldi’s Gloria.
The Chamber Choir
The Addison Chamber Choir is an auditioned choir of between 20-30 voices who sing a large repertoire but have become particularly known for the performance of music by a wide range of contemporary composers, many of whom have written pieces especially for the choir. They performed with the Gavin Bryars Ensemble at the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music for example.
The choir frequently join concerts given by the Addison Oratorio Choir, often having their own performing spot and making a pleasing contrast to the larger scale works sung by the bigger choir. A high level of commitment and rehearsal attendance and practice at home is expected.
They also rehearse on Wednesdays at The Polish Centre in Hammersmith.
The Jazz Choir
The Jazz Choir is a non-auditioned, all-female group of approximately 45 singers who explore well-known jazz songs from the 1930s onwards, plus other popular music. There are a variety of approaches to develop group arrangements and fluency in jazz performance.
Their repertoire includes popular music and jazz standards:
Duke Ellington, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Stephen Sondheim
Lorenz Hart & Richard Rodgers
George & Ira Gershwin
Arthur Freed & Nacio Herb Brown
Bernstein: West Side Story
Loesser: Guys and Dolls
The Jazz Choir rehearses on Monday evenings at the Polish Centre in Hammersmith.
The Jazz Ensemble
The Jazz Ensemble is a small auditioned jazz singing group for experienced men and women singers. A high level of commitment with rehearsal attendance and practice at home is expected.
Its versatile repertoire includes more complex jazz arrangements of popular music such as Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan and Abba to the classic jazz standards from Irving Berlin, Duke Ellington, George & Ira Gershwin, Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer and many others.
The Jazz Ensemble rehearses on Monday evenings at the Polish Centre in Hammersmith.
Classes
The Addison Singers also runs classes.
Learning to Read Music
A small class for people who wish to acquire a basic knowledge of music theory to help them make sense of a vocal score. It could also be a refresher course for those returning to singing after a long break. Beginners often join the Oratorio or Jazz Choirs and take this class in order to help them follow the score.
Vocal Development & Vocal Technique
The Vocal Development class is a short class with technique + some group singing. It’s a space where members can develop their voice in a supportive group environment.
The Vocal Technique class aims to train voices by improving their technique, quality, breath support and range with each participant keen to hone their skills so it makes for a complete spectrum of singing competence.
Musicianship for Singers
The Musicianship for Singers class is intended for those with some knowledge of basic theory, (rhythm and pitch) but who wish to build upon this to improve their sight reading and to become more confident in their choral singing.
