About Whitehall Choir
The Whitehall Choir is one of London’s leading amateur choirs. It has a varied repertoire including challenging unaccompanied pieces as well as larger choral works, and looks to present a selection of more rarely performed pieces alongside favourite classics. The Choir performs regularly at major central London concert venues, alongside professional orchestras and soloists, and has an extensive repertoire from the Renaissance to the twenty-first century.
Memorable concerts of recent years
The Choir's 2009-2010 season included Handel's Judas Maccabaeus at St John's, Smith Square, and Brahms' Requiem at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square.
During 2008 and 2009 the Choir performed music from their latest CD Fairest Flower of Any Field as well as a selection of Baroque music from Bach, Vivaldi and Purcell. 2008 also saw the choir make its debut at The Banqueting House, Whitehall, with a delightful programme of Elgar and Vaughan Williams for a summer evening (see photo).
• Details of concerts for the current season
Paul Spicer
Having been with the Choir since 2000, Paul Spicer has conducted at least three major concerts each year. On 31 March 2006, in St John's, Smith Square, Whitehall Choir and the Brandenburg Sinfonia performed the London premiere of Paul Spicer's work, The Deciduous Cross, a setting of poems by RS Thomas. Paul created a song cycle of five poems, from different collections, setting them to music which emphasised the contradictory and occasionally desolate subject Thomas had chosen. The setting uses wind instruments only, with a beguiling cor anglais solo between vocal movements. The thrilling word painting presented a rare and rewarding challenge to us, and was warmly received by an encouragingly large audience. During his time as the Choir’s conductor, Paul has extended the Whitehall Choir’s repertoire from early Renaissance to contemporary works. To view Paul's biography,
please click here 
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James Longford - accompanist
James Longford studied piano and organ at the Royal College of Music where he won the Tagore Gold Medal. He has performed with a variety of singers and ensembles in many major UK venues, such as the Barbican, Royal Festival Hall and Wigmore Hall, and throughout Europe, the Middle East and the US. James is one half of the longfordbrown piano duo, with New Zealand pianist Lindy Tennent-Brown, and also works as a freelance repetiteur, orchestral pianist and continuo player with a variety of organisations such as English National Opera, Gabrieli Consort & Players, Polyphony, Southbank Sinfonia, the Royal Opera and The Opera Group.
• Visit jameslongford.com and longfordbrown.com for more info
Tours
In May 2007, the Choir toured the Toulouse region of France, performing in central Toulouse and in the town Lisle-sur-Tarn (see photo).
Over the years, the Choir has made a number of other visits both abroad and in the UK including to Riga, Latvia. In partnership (touring as ‘Choeurs de Londres’) with Twickenham Choral Society, the Choir made two visits to Dieppe in France, and gave concerts at the historic church of St Rémy.
Other musical activities
Special events
Over the past few years, the Choir has recorded two CDs, one of rarely heard Christmas music, the other of Bruckner's Mass in E Minor and Paul Spicer's The Deciduous Cross. Read more
Other performances and workshops
Since November 2006, the Choir has hosted a 'come and sing' event at the Church of the Holy Spirit, Narbonne Ave, Clapham, SW4. These events, conducted by Paul Spicer, have explored Mozart's Requiem, Beethoven's Mass in C and other popular works, culminating in an informal early evening performance.
In addition to these informal events, the Choir organises day-long workshops, which provide an opportunity both to work on vocal technique and to enjoy some time together over lunch.
Choir archive
Anyone interested in the history of the Choir can read more about it in the archive.
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