Chiswick Choir
The Chiswick Choir was founded in 1976 in London W4 by John Thackray, a passionate musician who served as conductor for multiple London choirs. Between 1984 and 2015 the Choir grew and extended its musical repertoire under the musical direction of Alistair Jones and since January 2016 the choir has flourished under the inspired directorship of Hilary Campbell, an award-winning composer and conductor. Over its lifetime the Choir has built a repertoire principally based on the European tradition from the 16th to 20th centuries. In recent years the choir has performed contemporary pieces, including the premieres of compositions by Alistair Jones, and works by Bob Chillcot, John Rutter and Will Todd’s Mass In Blue in 2016. The choir’s repertoire includes most of the major works suited to a choir of its size – the Bach Passions, the Mass in B minor, oratorios by Handel, works by Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelssohn and so on. Excursions into the 20th century have included performances of Britten’s Saint Nicolas, Tippet’s A Child of Our Time, Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius, Stravinsky’s A Symphony of Psalms and many works by Vaughan Williams.
The Choir rehearses on Tuesday evenings during term time at St Michael’s Church Centre, Elmwood Road, Chiswick W4 3DZ. It performs three concerts a year, with a full professional orchestral accompaniment for the Autumn and Spring concerts. The Summer Concert is usually a lighter programme, and in recent years has been based on spirituals, opera choruses and jazz settings. Well attended concerts are held in various Chiswick churches. In 2016 the Choir started engaging choral scholars for each section; young singers at college or at the start of their music careers, who help the Choir learn new works and sometimes sing solo parts in concerts. Choir members are regularly asked to help with various choral events. In recent years members have sung in Songs of Praise broadcasts, performed as the chorus in local opera performances and joined in various carol performances. Other events are held throughout the year including socials and a Christmas Party. The Choir is fortunate to have much support from Chiswick businesses who provide very valuable sponsorship and advertising that does much to offset the considerable cost of concerts.
New members are always welcome and should write to enquiries@chiswickchoir.org.uk. They will be expected to attend an informal audition with the music director. More information is available from the Chiswick Choir website.
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