West London Chorus celebrates 50 years

West London Chorus

Playing the Cadogan Hall

The West London Chorus is celebrating 50 years. Though the big birthday is technically next year, this autumn marks the beginning of their 50th season. The Chiswick Calendar spoke to West London Chorus’ Musical Director Hilary Campbell.

“We have already started practising for next year’s big concert at Cadogan Hall”, Hilary told me.

They will be performing Handel’s Dixit Dominus on 12 July 2026. It is quite an accolade to sing at Cadogan Hall. The resident music ensemble there is the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and it has been used by the BBC for Prom recordings.

She had to go and meet them and demonstrate the choir’s scope. They clearly passed muster. Why choose to perform Dixit Dominus?

“It is a challenging and demanding piece which will stretch our singers. It’s a thrilling work”.

Hilary conducting

Raising the choir’s game

That the choir is even thinking about it is a measure of Hilary’s ambition for them, which she has nurtured since she took up the baton almost ten years ago.

Choirs are not just makers of music, they are little communities, families in which people get to know each other over months and years, working together on joint projects, with all that that entails, and providing members with a social life at the same time.

Chiswick Choir, as it was originally, was formed in 1976 by John Thackray, whose wife Sue still sings with the group.

Alistair Jones, the Musical Director who preceded Hilary ran it for 31 years. Hilary is now looking to broaden their musical repertoire.

“They had rarely ventured beyond 1750 before I took over. I made it my mission to widen the output. We performed the UK premiere of Bob Chilcott’s The Rainbow at St Stephen’s, Gloucester Rd”.

She feels it is important for a choir not to stick with the same canonical repertoire over and over again. No matter how expert they may become in their niche, they become stale.

Her mission has been to develop and evolve West London Chorus, presenting them with a more ambitious and varied programme, changing the focus of their repertoire and honing, finessing their choral sound.

Four years ago she felt they were good enough to make a record, and approached Priory Records, who specialise in church music. They were sufficiently impressed with the quality of Chiswick Choir’s work to offer to publish a recording, but thought the name was too parochial.

READ ALSO: Chiswick Choir changes name to make professional recording

Hence the name change to West London Chorus.

Hannah Crocker (soprano) – one of West London Chorus’s past choral scholars

Introducing choral scholars

To raise their sights, another of her innovations has been to introduce four young, professional choral scholars, whom the choir pay. The scholars gain experience, and the choir benefits from their confidence.

With one in each voice section leading their team, “they help expedite early progress and their confidence frees others around them. They support the singers around them and they support me”.

Typically, they come for a year, though some stay longer, and many of them have gone on to forge extremely impressive and varied careers.

Hannah Crocker (soprano) has covered for Woolf Works at the Royal Opera House, resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor’s experimental ballet triptych inspired by the works of Virginia Woolf.

Most recently, she performed as part of the Glyndebourne Chorus for both the 2025 Festival and Autumn season, making her solo debut as Tytania in their Talent Showcase.

George White (viola); Emily Hazrati (composer)

Emily Hazrati (composer) is Oxford Song’s Associate Composer for 2024-26, with premieres of her compositions at Oxford International Song Festival planned for 2025 and 2026.

She has written for the London Symphony Orchestra and has a new work for The Marian Consort on the Royal Philharmonic Society’s 2025 Composers programme.

George White (viola), an alumnus of Southbank Sinfonia, now freelances with ensembles across the UK and Europe, including London Mozart Players and the European Union Chamber Orchestra.

West London Chorus performing at St Michael & All Angels Church, Chiswick

“Balance is the key”

Hilary acknowledges there are limits. They are after all still an amateur choir. Potential members are auditioned, though she promises the auditions are “cuddly”.

“We try to make it as un-scary as possible, as we appreciate it is a really daunting experience”.

What makes a good choir?

“One which is committed, enthused and inspired, and has developed a good relationship with its conductor”.

She wants her choristers to be “liberated” and to give them “permission to be bold”.

The key, she says, is balance, being able to offer some comfort food in the musical diet, while stretching those who welcome it.

I wondered what the choir had made of her taking it by the scruff of the neck and shaking it.

“They hid their concerns well if they were concerned”, she laughed.

Hilary Campbell

Hilary celebrates ten years with the choir next year

Hilary is Director of Music at Kellogg College, Oxford; founder and Musical Director of Blossom Street; Musical Director of Bristol Choral Society, Assistant Chorus Director of London Symphony Chorus and Associate Conductor of Ex Cathedra, as well as being Musical Director of West London Chorus and West London Chamber Choir.

Her project work has included guest conducting ensembles such as the BBC Singers, Trinity Laban Chamber Choir and the Fourth Choir, chorus mastering the BBC Symphony Chorus and Royal Academy of Music Symphony Chorus, and she runs regular choral workshops for the Royal Opera House.

She is also a published and prize-winning composer and has released several award-winning Naxos recordings.

Next year will be her tenth anniversary with the choir, coinciding with the big five-O.

Mozart & Haydn

December concerts

The programme of events for the coming year includes the usual three main concerts – their Winter Concert of Mozart & Haydn is coming up on Saturday 6 December at St Michael & All Angels Church in Bedford Park:

‘Two contrasting masses, with Mozart’s light and almost humorous Sparrow Mass, written when he was comparatively young, and Haydn’s Mass in Troubled Times, written at the peak of his career as a mature composer’.

Tickets: Mozart & Haydn

Then on Monday 15 December at St Nicholas Church, they will give their Christmas Chorale Concert:

‘A seasonal concert from our Chorale Chamber Choir – with mulled wine and mince pies’.

The album the choir recorded in 2021

Spring concerts

Their Spring concert, on Saturday 21 March 2026 at St Michaels and All Angels, will be Hear my Prayer:

‘A selection of sacred pieces by Mendelssohn, Howells, Brahms and others’.

Then they’re off to Spain touring cathedrals. Foreign tours have become a feature of the past few years, as has providing holiday relief for cathedral choirs in England and Wales.

Next summer they will be performing at Derby cathedral. Previously they have sung at York Minster, Llandaff and Southwark, and scheduled for summer 2027 is Ely cathedral.

Taking break during the recording of their album at St John the Evangelist Church, South Norwood

Still making progress

Under Hilary’s directorship the choir’s membership has ggrown to over 100, and the age profile has come down a bit, which of itself means they are able to tackle more ambitious pieces.

I asked whether she had now got the choir’s sound to where she wanted it. She thought for a bit.

“If I said yes, I wouldn’t be curious and ambitious as a musician”.

She cited the famous cellist who at the age of 90 was asked why he still practised every day.

“I think I’m making progress,” he said.

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