Crouch End Festival Chorus

Founded in 1984, Crouch End Festival Chorus has established a reputation as one of the world’s leading symphonic choirs, repeatedly commended for its communicative power and versatility. Under David Temple MBE, its conductor and co-founder, the choir gives concerts that illuminate the choral world with imaginative and bold programming, in which established choral works are mixed with commissions of great variety and innovation. The Chorus is much in demand among the top orchestras in the UK and performs regularly for the BBC, recently participating in the UK premiere of John Luther Adams’s work for massed choirs In the Name of the Earth at the 2019 BBC Proms. It has appeared in recent concert performances of Prokofiev’s Cantata for the Twentieth Anniversary of the October Revolution under Vladimir Ashkenazy and Berlioz’s Grande Messe des morts under François-Xavier Roth, among others. In constant demand for recording work and live promotions, the Chorus has worked with musicians from the rock and pop world and with television and fi lm composers; recent highlights include recording the Grammy-nominated soundtrack for Rocketman and the music for the TV series Good Omens. It has also enjoyed regular collaborations with Sir Ray Davies, Ennio Morricone, Noel Gallagher and Hans Zimmer, all of whom are patrons of the choir. Recent recordings include the first in forty-five years of J.S. Bach’s St John Passion sung in English, which was released by Chandos Records in 2017 and continues to garner critical acclaim; the world-premiere recording of Hubert Parry’s oratorio Judith, released in March 2020 also on Chandos Records; and the American composer Arnold Rosner’s Requiem – another world-premiere recording.
The mission of the BBC Concert Orchestra is to bring inspiring musical experiences to everyone, everywhere, with the ensemble’s great versatility as the key. The Orchestra can be heard regularly on BBC Radio 2’s Friday Night Is Music Night and on BBC Radio 3 exploring a wide selection of classical and contemporary music. The Orchestra has performed on many TV soundtracks, including the original Blue Planet and Serengeti, as well as being seen courtside for The No.1 Court Celebration from Wimbledon.
The BBC Concert Orchestra appears annually at the BBC Proms, with concerts last season celebrating the summer of 1969 and the legacy of Proms founder-conductor Henry Wood, as well as at Proms in the Park in Hyde Park alongside world-class headliners Barry Manilow and Chrissie Hynde. It is an Associate Orchestra at the Southbank Centre, where highlights of the 2019 - 20 season included the European premiere of Flower Power by Julia Wolfe, a performance as part of the EFG London Jazz Festival, and a noir-inspired audio drama by Kurt Elling The Big Blind. Along with its regular engagements throughout the UK, the Orchestra tours internationally. The BBC Concert Orchestra, alongside the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, BBC Singers and BBC Proms as part of Get Involved, offer family concerts and enjoyable, adventurous and innovative education work which includes singing workshops, family-friendly introductions to concerts, the BBC Family Orchestra; Chorus and more. As part of the 2019 - 20 season, Principal Guest Conductor Designate Anna-Maria Helsing conducted our family concert at the Southbank Centre, Musical Roots. There is something for everyone – schools, families, students and amateur musicians of all ages.