BBC Singers
Encyclopedia
The BBC Singers are the professional chamber choir
of the BBC
. As one of six BBC Performing Groups, the 24-voiced choir has been in existence for more than 80 years. The BBC Singers have commissioned and premiered works by the leading composers of the past century, including Benjamin Britten
, Sir Michael Tippett, Judith Weir
and Sir John Tavener. They regularly perform alongside leading international orchestras and conductors, and make invitational appearances at national events such as the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales
in Westminster Abbey
.
The BBC Singers are based at the BBC’s Maida Vale Studios
. They perform across the country, tour internationally, and undertake nationwide outreach programmes. They have released several commercial CDs.
Notable former members of the group include the tenor Sir Peter Pears, the mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly
, the composer Judith Bingham
and the conductor Harry Christophers
(director of The Sixteen
).
’s Elijah, under the name of the Wireless Chorus. From this group emerged a professional consort, the Wireless Singers. This chamber-sized group would later become the BBC Singers in their current form. Guest conductors during these early years included Sir Edward Elgar, Igor Stravinsky
, Arnold Schoenberg
and a young Sir John Barbirolli.
In 1931 the Wireless Singers were invited to perform at the Festival of the International Society for Contemporary Music
, the first time this event had been held in Britain. Following the success of the event, they went on to establish themselves as the leading proponents of contemporary music in the UK, a reputation upheld by the BBC Singers today.
The tenor Peter Pears
was a member of the Singers when, in 1934, Benjamin Britten
composed the cantata A boy is born for the group. After meeting during rehearsals for the cantata, the pair became lifelong partners, with Pears serving as the muse for many of Britten’s compositions.
During the heavy bombing of the Second World War, the Wireless Singers were forced to relocate several times from their base in Maida Vale, briefly taking up residence in Bristol, Bangor and Bedford. Despite the chaos of these yea|rs, in 1945 they were able to give the premiere of Francis Poulenc
’s wartime cantata La figure humaine from the Concert Hall of Broadcasting House
.
From the late 1940s the Wireless Singers began to tour across Europe, appearing under the baton of such musical giants as Herbert von Karajan
, Wilhelm Kurtwängler and Bruno Walter
. In England they worked with George Enescu
, Sir Thomas Beecham, Otto Klemperer
and Igor Stravinsky
. From 1946 they became a staple feature of the new radio arts network, the Third Programme.
The middle years of the twentieth century provided an enormously rich list of new pieces for the Singers, including premieres of major works by Darius Milhaud
, Frank Martin
, Paul Hindemith
, Gerald Finzi
, Sir Michael Tippett, Pierre Boulez
, Sir Arthur Bliss and Karol Szymanowksi. In 1964 composer and conductor Pierre Boulez
began an association with the BBC Singers that continues to the present day.
From 1945 to 1962 the group was divided into two octets known as Singers A and Singers B, one specialising in less standard repertoire including Renaissance polyphony and madrigals, the other in light music and revue numbers. Singers A were typically paid £1 per week more than Singers B.
From 1962 these two groups were amalgamated to form a 28-voice group named the BBC Chorus. Finally, in 1989 the 24-voiced BBC Singers was established, under the direction of Simon Joly. The BBC Singers remains the only full-time professional choir in the country and are the only group whose regular repertory spans the history of music, from the earliest chant to the latest vocal techniques.
The appointment of Bo Holten
as Guest Conductor in 1991 marked a radical alteration in the group’s approach to Early Music, indicative of the changing musical scene of the day. The BBC Singers now work alongside specialists in the field including Peter Phillips
(Tallis Scholars
) and Robert Hollingworth (I Fagiolini
) giving several broadcasts a year. In addition, the BBC Singers continue to perform large-scale orchestral works with international conductors.
, now Conductor Laureate, was Chief Conductor of the BBC Singers from 1995 to 2007. In addition, he has been Director of Music at King’s College, Cambridge for the past 30 years, and has played a pivotal role in supporting contemporary choral composition through his work with both King’s College and the BBC Singers.
Grammy-award winning musician David Hill
, current Chief Conductor, trained as an organist before taking up choral direction. As with his predecessor, Stephen Cleobury, Hill has a background in cathedral music. Between them, the pair have directed the choirs of St John’s College, Cambridge, King’s College, Cambridge, Westminster Abbey
, Westminster Cathedral
and Winchester Cathedral
.
Bob Chilcott
, one of two Principal Guest Conductors, was a member of the King’s Singers for 12 years and is well-known as the composer of music for children’s choirs as well as a large catalogue of works and arrangements for choirs of all sizes.
Paul Brough
, appointed Principal Guest Conductor in January 2011, is Director of Music at All Saints, Margaret Street
and is a Professor at the Royal Academy of Music
. He is respected as an orchestral conductor as well as a choral director, working with groups including the Britten Sinfonia
, the BBC Concert Orchestra
and the Manchester Camerata
.
, Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, John Casken
, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Thea Musgrave
, Edmund Rubbra
, Robert Saxton
, Sir John Tavener, Sir Michael Tippett and Iannis Xenakis
.
Select list of commissioned works:
In 2002 Edward Cowie became the BBC Singers’ first Associate Composer. In this role, Cowie produced multiple new works each year for performance by the Singers, and took part in workshops with young composers from schools, universities and music colleges.
Judith Bingham
was the next to fill this position, in 2004, and was succeeded in 2010 by Gabriel Jackson.
, and are regular guests at the BBC Proms. Broadcasts are given from locations around the country.
Select discography:
Chamber choir
A chamber choir or group of chamber singers is the choral equivalent of a chamber ensemble, using voices instead of instruments. This prestigious choir will usually consist of 20-40 elite and dedicated singers. Several chamber choir formats exist, ranging from barbershop groups to exclusively...
of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. As one of six BBC Performing Groups, the 24-voiced choir has been in existence for more than 80 years. The BBC Singers have commissioned and premiered works by the leading composers of the past century, including Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
, Sir Michael Tippett, Judith Weir
Judith Weir
Judith Weir CBE, is a British composer.-Biography:Her music has been appreciated by audiences and critics alike. She trained with John Tavener while still at school and subsequently with Robin Holloway at King's College, Cambridge, graduating in 1976...
and Sir John Tavener. They regularly perform alongside leading international orchestras and conductors, and make invitational appearances at national events such as the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
in Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
.
The BBC Singers are based at the BBC’s Maida Vale Studios
Maida Vale Studios
Maida Vale Studios is a complex of seven BBC studios on Delaware Road, Maida Vale, London.It has been used to record thousands of classical music, popular music and drama sessions for BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 4 from 1946 to the present...
. They perform across the country, tour internationally, and undertake nationwide outreach programmes. They have released several commercial CDs.
Notable former members of the group include the tenor Sir Peter Pears, the mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly
Sarah Connolly
Sarah Patricia Connolly CBE is an English mezzo-soprano.Sarah Connolly was educated at Queen Margaret's School, York and then studied piano and singing at the Royal College of Music, of which she is now a Fellow...
, the composer Judith Bingham
Judith Bingham
Judith Bingham is a British composer and mezzo-soprano singer.Born in Nottingham in 1952 and educated at High Storrs Grammar School for Girls in Sheffield, she attended the Royal Academy of Music , where her teachers were Malcolm MacDonald, Eric Fenby, Alan Bush and John Hall , and Jean...
and the conductor Harry Christophers
Harry Christophers
Harry Christophers is an English conductor. He attended the King's School, Canterbury and was a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral under choirmaster Allan Wicks and played clarinet in the school orchestra alongside Andrew Marriner...
(director of The Sixteen
The Sixteen
The Sixteen are a choir and period instrument orchestra; founded by Harry Christophers in 1979.The group's special reputation for performing early English polyphony, masterpieces of the Renaissance, bringing fresh insights into Baroque and early Classical music and a diversity of 20th century...
).
History of the BBC Singers
A BBC choir was formed in 1924 for a performance of Felix MendelssohnFelix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
’s Elijah, under the name of the Wireless Chorus. From this group emerged a professional consort, the Wireless Singers. This chamber-sized group would later become the BBC Singers in their current form. Guest conductors during these early years included Sir Edward Elgar, Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
, Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
and a young Sir John Barbirolli.
In 1931 the Wireless Singers were invited to perform at the Festival of the International Society for Contemporary Music
International Society for Contemporary Music
The International Society for Contemporary Music is a music organization that promotes contemporary classical music.ISCM was established in 1922, in Salzburg. Its core activity is the World Music Days Festival, held every year at a different location. The festival includes cutting edge productions...
, the first time this event had been held in Britain. Following the success of the event, they went on to establish themselves as the leading proponents of contemporary music in the UK, a reputation upheld by the BBC Singers today.
The tenor Peter Pears
Peter Pears
Sir Peter Neville Luard Pears CBE was an English tenor who was knighted in 1978. His career was closely associated with the composer Edward Benjamin Britten....
was a member of the Singers when, in 1934, Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
composed the cantata A boy is born for the group. After meeting during rehearsals for the cantata, the pair became lifelong partners, with Pears serving as the muse for many of Britten’s compositions.
During the heavy bombing of the Second World War, the Wireless Singers were forced to relocate several times from their base in Maida Vale, briefly taking up residence in Bristol, Bangor and Bedford. Despite the chaos of these yea|rs, in 1945 they were able to give the premiere of Francis Poulenc
Francis Poulenc
Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc was a French composer and a member of the French group Les six. He composed solo piano music, chamber music, oratorio, choral music, opera, ballet music, and orchestral music...
’s wartime cantata La figure humaine from the Concert Hall of Broadcasting House
Broadcasting House
Broadcasting House is the headquarters and registered office of the BBC in Portland Place and Langham Place, London.The building includes the BBC Radio Theatre from where music and speech programmes are recorded in front of a studio audience...
.
From the late 1940s the Wireless Singers began to tour across Europe, appearing under the baton of such musical giants as Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...
, Wilhelm Kurtwängler and Bruno Walter
Bruno Walter
Bruno Walter was a German-born conductor. He is considered one of the best known conductors of the 20th century. Walter was born in Berlin, but is known to have lived in several countries between 1933 and 1939, before finally settling in the United States in 1939...
. In England they worked with George Enescu
George Enescu
George Enescu was a Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor and teacher.-Biography:Enescu was born in the village of Liveni , Dorohoi County at the time, today Botoşani County. He showed musical talent from early in his childhood. A child prodigy, Enescu created his first musical...
, Sir Thomas Beecham, Otto Klemperer
Otto Klemperer
Otto Klemperer was a German conductor and composer. He is widely regarded as one of the leading conductors of the 20th century.-Biography:Otto Klemperer was born in Breslau, Silesia Province, then in Germany...
and Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
. From 1946 they became a staple feature of the new radio arts network, the Third Programme.
The middle years of the twentieth century provided an enormously rich list of new pieces for the Singers, including premieres of major works by Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud was a French composer and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as The Group of Six—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions are influenced by jazz and make use of polytonality...
, Frank Martin
Frank Martin (composer)
Frank Martin was a Swiss composer, who lived a large part of his life in the Netherlands.-Childhood and youth:...
, Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith was a German composer, violist, violinist, teacher, music theorist and conductor.- Biography :Born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Hindemith was taught the violin as a child...
, Gerald Finzi
Gerald Finzi
Gerald Raphael Finzi was a British composer. Finzi is best known as a song-writer, but also wrote in other genres...
, Sir Michael Tippett, Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
, Sir Arthur Bliss and Karol Szymanowksi. In 1964 composer and conductor Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
began an association with the BBC Singers that continues to the present day.
From 1945 to 1962 the group was divided into two octets known as Singers A and Singers B, one specialising in less standard repertoire including Renaissance polyphony and madrigals, the other in light music and revue numbers. Singers A were typically paid £1 per week more than Singers B.
From 1962 these two groups were amalgamated to form a 28-voice group named the BBC Chorus. Finally, in 1989 the 24-voiced BBC Singers was established, under the direction of Simon Joly. The BBC Singers remains the only full-time professional choir in the country and are the only group whose regular repertory spans the history of music, from the earliest chant to the latest vocal techniques.
The appointment of Bo Holten
Bo Holten
Bo Holten is a Danish composer and conductor.He has been the principal conductor for the vocal ensembles Ars Nova and Musica Ficta , as well as guest-conductor for the BBC Singers...
as Guest Conductor in 1991 marked a radical alteration in the group’s approach to Early Music, indicative of the changing musical scene of the day. The BBC Singers now work alongside specialists in the field including Peter Phillips
Peter Phillips (conductor)
Peter Phillips was born in Southampton on 15 Oct 1953. After winning a scholarship to St John's College, Oxford in 1972, Phillips was offered the opportunity to study Renaissance music with the influential musicologists David Wulstan and Denis Arnold...
(Tallis Scholars
Tallis Scholars
The Tallis Scholars are a British vocal ensemble normally consisting of two singers per part, with a core group of ten singers.Formed in 1973 by their director Peter Phillips, they specialise in performing a cappella sacred vocal music written during the Renaissance by composers from all over Europe...
) and Robert Hollingworth (I Fagiolini
I Fagiolini
I Fagiolini is a British vocal ensemble specialising in early music and contemporary music. Founded by Robert Hollingworth at Oxford in 1986, the group won the UK Early Music Network’s Young Artists’ Competition in 1988 and a Royal Philharmonic Society Award in 2006...
) giving several broadcasts a year. In addition, the BBC Singers continue to perform large-scale orchestral works with international conductors.
Current conductors
Stephen CleoburyStephen Cleobury
Stephen Cleobury CBE is an English organist and conductor. He was organ scholar at St John's College, Cambridge and sub-organist of Westminster Abbey before becoming Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral in 1979...
, now Conductor Laureate, was Chief Conductor of the BBC Singers from 1995 to 2007. In addition, he has been Director of Music at King’s College, Cambridge for the past 30 years, and has played a pivotal role in supporting contemporary choral composition through his work with both King’s College and the BBC Singers.
Grammy-award winning musician David Hill
David Hill (choral director)
David Hill , is a choral conductor and organist. His most high profile roles are as Chief Conductor of the BBC Singers from September 2007, and Musical Director of The Bach Choir from April 1998. He was previously Organist and Director of Music at St John's College, Cambridge, in succession to...
, current Chief Conductor, trained as an organist before taking up choral direction. As with his predecessor, Stephen Cleobury, Hill has a background in cathedral music. Between them, the pair have directed the choirs of St John’s College, Cambridge, King’s College, Cambridge, Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
, Westminster Cathedral
Westminster Cathedral
Westminster Cathedral in London is the mother church of the Catholic community in England and Wales and the Metropolitan Church and Cathedral of the Archbishop of Westminster...
and Winchester Cathedral
Winchester Cathedral
Winchester Cathedral at Winchester in Hampshire is one of the largest cathedrals in England, with the longest nave and overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe...
.
Bob Chilcott
Bob Chilcott
Robert "Bob" Chilcott is a British choral composer, conductor, and singer, based in Oxford, England.Born in Plymouth, Chilcott sang in the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, both as a boy and as a university student. He performed the Pie Jesu of Fauré's Requiem on the 1967 recording. In 1985 he...
, one of two Principal Guest Conductors, was a member of the King’s Singers for 12 years and is well-known as the composer of music for children’s choirs as well as a large catalogue of works and arrangements for choirs of all sizes.
Paul Brough
Paul Brough
Paul Brough is an English conductor, and a teacher of conducting. He began 2011 as the new Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Singers....
, appointed Principal Guest Conductor in January 2011, is Director of Music at All Saints, Margaret Street
All Saints, Margaret Street
All Saints, Margaret Street is an Anglican church in London built in the High Victorian Gothic style by the architect William Butterfield and completed in 1859....
and is a Professor at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
. He is respected as an orchestral conductor as well as a choral director, working with groups including the Britten Sinfonia
Britten Sinfonia
Britten Sinfonia is a chamber orchestra ensemble based in Cambridge, UK. It was created in 1992, following an initiative from Eastern Arts and a number of key figures including Nicholas Cleobury, who recognised the need for an orchestra in the East of England. It is a flexible ensemble composed of...
, the BBC Concert Orchestra
BBC Concert Orchestra
The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five which is not a full-scale symphony orchestra....
and the Manchester Camerata
Manchester Camerata
The Manchester Camerata is a British chamber orchestra based in Manchester, England. The orchestra was founded in the 1971–1972 season. A sub-group from the orchestra, the Manchester Camerata Ensemble, specialises in chamber music performances....
.
Commissioned works
Over the past eight decades the BBC Singers have performed and commissioned more than a hundred new works. These include pieces by Michael BerkeleyMichael Berkeley
Michael Berkeley is a British composer and broadcaster on music.-Early life:His father was the composer Sir Lennox Berkeley...
, Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, John Casken
John Casken
John Casken is an English composer, born in Barnsley, Yorkshire, England.Casken read music at the University of Birmingham, studying composition and contemporary music with John Joubert and Peter Dickinson. He then went on to study in Poland with Andrzej Dobrowolski on a Polish government...
, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Thea Musgrave
Thea Musgrave
Thea Musgrave CBE is a Scottish composer of opera and classical music.-Biography:Born in Barnton, Edinburgh, Thea Musgrave studied at the University of Edinburgh and in Paris as a pupil of Nadia Boulanger...
, Edmund Rubbra
Edmund Rubbra
Edmund Rubbra was a British composer. He composed both instrumental and vocal works for soloists, chamber groups and full choruses and orchestras. He was greatly esteemed by fellow musicians and was at the peak of his fame in the mid-20th century. The most famous of his pieces are his eleven...
, Robert Saxton
Robert Saxton
-Biography:After early advice and encouragement from Benjamin Britten, Robert Saxton took private composition lessons with Elisabeth Lutyens. He went on to study with Robin Holloway at Cambridge University, with Robert Sherlaw Johnson as a post-graduate at Oxford University, and later with Berio....
, Sir John Tavener, Sir Michael Tippett and Iannis Xenakis
Iannis Xenakis
Iannis Xenakis was a Romanian-born Greek ethnic, naturalized French composer, music theorist, and architect-engineer. He is commonly recognized as one of the most important post-war avant-garde composers...
.
Select list of commissioned works:
- Judith BinghamJudith BinghamJudith Bingham is a British composer and mezzo-soprano singer.Born in Nottingham in 1952 and educated at High Storrs Grammar School for Girls in Sheffield, she attended the Royal Academy of Music , where her teachers were Malcolm MacDonald, Eric Fenby, Alan Bush and John Hall , and Jean...
– A Winter Walk at Noon - First broadcast 2 March 1986 - Benjamin BrittenBenjamin BrittenEdward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
– A Shepherd’s Carol & Chorale: Our Father Whose Creative Will - First broadcast 24 December 1944 - Sir Peter Maxwell Davies – Apple-Basket: Apple-Blossom - First broadcast 23 December 1990
- James DillonJames Dillon (composer)James Dillon, born October 29, 1950 in Glasgow, Scotland, is a Scottish composer often regarded as belonging to the New Complexity school. Dillon studied art and design, linguistics, piano, acoustics, Indian rhythm, mathematics and computer music, but is self-taught in composition.Honors include...
– Viriditas - First broadcast 24 April 1994 - Nicola Lefanu – The Story of Mary O’Neill - First broadcast 4 January 1989
- Thea MusgraveThea MusgraveThea Musgrave CBE is a Scottish composer of opera and classical music.-Biography:Born in Barnton, Edinburgh, Thea Musgrave studied at the University of Edinburgh and in Paris as a pupil of Nadia Boulanger...
– For the Time Being: Advent - First broadcast 18 July 1987 - Edmund RubbraEdmund RubbraEdmund Rubbra was a British composer. He composed both instrumental and vocal works for soloists, chamber groups and full choruses and orchestras. He was greatly esteemed by fellow musicians and was at the peak of his fame in the mid-20th century. The most famous of his pieces are his eleven...
– Veni, Creator Spiritus - First broadcast 5 August 1966 - Sir Michael Tippett – The Weeping Babe - First broadcast 24 December 1944
- Iannis XenakisIannis XenakisIannis Xenakis was a Romanian-born Greek ethnic, naturalized French composer, music theorist, and architect-engineer. He is commonly recognized as one of the most important post-war avant-garde composers...
– Sea Nymphs - First broadcast 16 September 1994
In 2002 Edward Cowie became the BBC Singers’ first Associate Composer. In this role, Cowie produced multiple new works each year for performance by the Singers, and took part in workshops with young composers from schools, universities and music colleges.
Judith Bingham
Judith Bingham
Judith Bingham is a British composer and mezzo-soprano singer.Born in Nottingham in 1952 and educated at High Storrs Grammar School for Girls in Sheffield, she attended the Royal Academy of Music , where her teachers were Malcolm MacDonald, Eric Fenby, Alan Bush and John Hall , and Jean...
was the next to fill this position, in 2004, and was succeeded in 2010 by Gabriel Jackson.
Performances
The BBC Singers can be heard in concert, on the radio, on recordings and in education workshops. They are often invited to perform alongside other BBC Performing Groups, in particular the BBC Symphony OrchestraBBC Symphony Orchestra
The BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
, and are regular guests at the BBC Proms. Broadcasts are given from locations around the country.
Select discography:
- Judith BinghamJudith BinghamJudith Bingham is a British composer and mezzo-soprano singer.Born in Nottingham in 1952 and educated at High Storrs Grammar School for Girls in Sheffield, she attended the Royal Academy of Music , where her teachers were Malcolm MacDonald, Eric Fenby, Alan Bush and John Hall , and Jean...
- Remoter Worlds - David HillDavid Hill (choral director)David Hill , is a choral conductor and organist. His most high profile roles are as Chief Conductor of the BBC Singers from September 2007, and Musical Director of The Bach Choir from April 1998. He was previously Organist and Director of Music at St John's College, Cambridge, in succession to...
(conductor) 2008, Catalogue No. Signum Classics SIGCD144 - Judith WeirJudith WeirJudith Weir CBE, is a British composer.-Biography:Her music has been appreciated by audiences and critics alike. She trained with John Tavener while still at school and subsequently with Robin Holloway at King's College, Cambridge, graduating in 1976...
- The Welcome Arrival of Rain - BBC Symphony OrchestraBBC Symphony OrchestraThe BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
, Martyn BrabbinsMartyn BrabbinsMartyn Brabbins is a British conductor. He studied at Goldsmiths College, London University, and later was a conducting student of Ilya Musin at the Leningrad Conservatory....
(conductor) 2008, Catalogue No. NMC D137 - Janacek - The Excursions of Mr Broucek - BBC Symphony OrchestraBBC Symphony OrchestraThe BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
, Jirí BelohlávekJirí BelohlávekJiří Bělohlávek is a Czech conductor. His father was a barrister and judge. In his youth Bělohlávek studied cello with Miloš Sádlo and was later a graduate of the Prague Conservatory and the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague...
(conductor) 2008 - Elizabeth MaconchyElizabeth MaconchyDame Elizabeth Violet Maconchy Le Fanu DBE was an English composer, most noted for her cycle of thirteen string quartets.-Biography:...
- Music for voices - Odaline de la MartinezOdaline de la MartinezOdaline de la Martinez is a Cuban-American composer and conductor, currently residing in the UK. She is the artistic director of , a London-based contemporary music ensemble which she co-founded in 1976 with New Zealander flautist , and was the first woman to conduct at the BBC Promenade Concerts ...
(conductor) 2007, Catalogue No. LNT127 - Rachmaninoff - Francesca di Rimini - BBC PhilharmonicBBC PhilharmonicThe BBC Philharmonic is a British broadcasting symphony orchestra based at Media City UK, Salford, England. It is one of five radio orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation. The orchestra's primary concert venue is the Bridgewater Hall....
, Gianandrea NosedaGianandrea NosedaGianandrea Noseda is an Italian conductor. He studied piano, composition and conducting in Milan. He furthered his conducting studies with Donato Renzetti, Myung-Whun Chung and Valery Gergiev....
(conductor) 2007, Catalogue No. Chandos 10442 - Bob ChilcottBob ChilcottRobert "Bob" Chilcott is a British choral composer, conductor, and singer, based in Oxford, England.Born in Plymouth, Chilcott sang in the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, both as a boy and as a university student. He performed the Pie Jesu of Fauré's Requiem on the 1967 recording. In 1985 he...
- Man I Sing - Bob ChilcottBob ChilcottRobert "Bob" Chilcott is a British choral composer, conductor, and singer, based in Oxford, England.Born in Plymouth, Chilcott sang in the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, both as a boy and as a university student. He performed the Pie Jesu of Fauré's Requiem on the 1967 recording. In 1985 he...
, (conductor) 2007, Catalogue No. Signum Classics SIGCD100 - Brian FerneyhoughBrian FerneyhoughBrian John Peter Ferneyhough is an English composer. His music is characterized by the extensive use of complex rhythmic tuplet notation which features in all his works...
- Choral works - LontanoOdaline de la MartinezOdaline de la Martinez is a Cuban-American composer and conductor, currently residing in the UK. She is the artistic director of , a London-based contemporary music ensemble which she co-founded in 1976 with New Zealander flautist , and was the first woman to conduct at the BBC Promenade Concerts ...
, Odaline de la MartinezOdaline de la MartinezOdaline de la Martinez is a Cuban-American composer and conductor, currently residing in the UK. She is the artistic director of , a London-based contemporary music ensemble which she co-founded in 1976 with New Zealander flautist , and was the first woman to conduct at the BBC Promenade Concerts ...
(conductor) 2007, Catalogue No. Metier msv28501 - Michael TippettMichael TippettSir Michael Kemp Tippett OM CH CBE was an English composer.In his long career he produced a large body of work, including five operas, three large-scale choral works, four symphonies, five string quartets, four piano sonatas, concertos and concertante works, song cycles and incidental music...
- Choral Images - Stephen CleoburyStephen CleoburyStephen Cleobury CBE is an English organist and conductor. He was organ scholar at St John's College, Cambridge and sub-organist of Westminster Abbey before becoming Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral in 1979...
(conductor) 2007 Catalogue No. Signum Classics SIGCD092 - Paul DukasPaul DukasPaul Abraham Dukas was a French composer, critic, scholar and teacher. A studious man, of retiring personality, he was intensely self-critical, and he abandoned and destroyed many of his compositions...
- Ariane et Barbe-BleueAriane et Barbe-bleueAriane et Barbe-bleue is an opera in three acts by Paul Dukas. The French libretto is adapted from the symbolist play by Maurice Maeterlinck....
- BBC Symphony OrchestraBBC Symphony OrchestraThe BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
, Leon BotsteinLeon BotsteinLeon Botstein is an American conductor and the President of Bard College . Botstein is the music director and principal conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra and conductor laureate of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, where he served as music director and principal conductor from 2003-2010...
(conductor) 2007, Catalogue No. TELARC 80680 - Britten - Death in VeniceDeath in Venice (opera)Death in Venice is an opera in two acts by Benjamin Britten, his last. The opera is based on the novella Death in Venice by Thomas Mann. Myfanwy Piper wrote the English libretto. It was first performed at Snape Maltings near Aldeburgh, England on 16 June 1973.The astringent score is marked by some...
- City of London SinfoniaCity of London SinfoniaThe City of London Sinfonia is an English chamber orchestra based in London. In London, the CLS performs regularly at Cadogan Hall and St Paul's Cathedral. It is also the resident orchestra at Opera Holland Park. The CLS has annual residencies in four towns in Southern England: Ipswich, King's...
, Richard HickoxRichard HickoxRichard Sidney Hickox CBE was an English conductor of choral, orchestral and operatic music.-Early life:Hickox was born in Stokenchurch in Buckinghamshire into a musical family...
(conductor) 2005, Chandos 10280(2) - One Star, At Last - A selection of carols of our time - Stephen CleoburyStephen CleoburyStephen Cleobury CBE is an English organist and conductor. He was organ scholar at St John's College, Cambridge and sub-organist of Westminster Abbey before becoming Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral in 1979...
(conductor) 2005, Catalogue No. Signum Classics SIGCD067 - Alexander Levine - Kolokolà - James Morgan (conductor) 2005, Catalogue No. Albany TROY736