Described as “phenomenal” (The Times) and “devastatingly beautiful” (Gramophone Magazine), award-winning choir Tenebrae is one of the world’s leading vocal ensembles, renowned for its passion and precision.

For purity and precision of tone, and flawless intonation, Nigel Short’s chamber choir Tenebrae is pretty much unbeatable.

– The Times

Under the direction of Nigel Short, Tenebrae performs at major festivals and venues across the globe, including the BBC Proms, Wigmore Hall, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Rheingau Musik Festival and Sydney Festival. The choir has earned international acclaim for its interpretations of choral music ranging from the Renaissance through to contemporary masterpieces, and it regularly commissions new music. Previous commissions have included works by Judith Bingham, Joanna Marsh, Owain Park, Josephine Stephenson, Joby Talbot and Roderick Williams. Tenebrae has enjoyed collaborations with some of the UK’s leading orchestras, appearing alongside the London Symphony Orchestra, Aurora Orchestra, the Academy of Ancient Music and Britten Sinfonia. The choir also produces an annual Holy Week Festival in partnership with St John’s Smith Square, London.

Choral development is central to Tenebrae’s ethos, and through its Associate Artist Programme it provides crucial training and performance opportunities to young professional singers. Alongside its performance and recording schedule, the choir also runs a thriving Learning & Connection programme which encompasses partnerships with Music Centre London and London Youth Choirs, Tenebrae Effect workshops with amateur choirs, and its newest programme Singing Schools. Run in partnership with Ealing Music Service, Singing Schools aims to embed a long-lasting singing culture in local schools which might otherwise face barriers to music-making.

A concert by the British choir Tenebrae is more than a performance. It’s an experience that envelops the audience… this is one of the best choirs in the world.

– St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Tenebrae’s ever-increasing discography has brought about collaborations with Signum, Decca Classics, Deutsche Grammophon, EMI Classics, LSO Live and Warner Classics. In 2012 Tenebrae was the first-ever ensemble to be multi-nominated in the same category for the BBC Music Magazine Awards, securing the accolade of ‘Best Choral Performance’ for the choir’s recording of Victoria’s Requiem Mass, 1605. In 2016 Tenebrae received its second BBC Music Magazine Award for a recording of Brahms and Bruckner Motets, the profits from the sale of which benefit Macmillan Cancer Support. In 2018, the choir received its first Grammy nomination for its album of part songs from the British Isles, Music of the Spheres.

Signum’s current roster includes many excellent ensembles but the choral jewel in the crown is surely Tenebrae – Nigel Short’s outstanding chamber choir.

– Gramophone Magazine

‘Passion and Precision’ are Tenebrae’s core values. Through its continued dedication to performance of the highest quality, Tenebrae’s vision is to inspire audiences around the world through dramatic programming, flawless performances and unforgettable experiences.

The King's Singers have set the gold standard in a cappella singing on the world’s greatest stages for over 55 years. They are renowned for their unrivalled technique, musicianship and versatility, which stem from the group’s rich heritage and its drive to bring an extraordinary range of new and unique works, collaborations and recordings to life. The King’s Singers’ extensive discography has led to numerous awards, including two Grammy Awards, an Emmy Award, and a place in Gramophone magazine’s inaugural Hall of Fame.

The King’s Singers were officially formed in 1968 when six recent choral scholars from King’s College, Cambridge gave a concert at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall. By chance, the group was made up of two countertenors, a tenor, two baritones and a bass, and the group has stuck to this formation ever since.

In the last few years, the group has recorded a series of diverse, collaborative albums that showcase the huge breadth of their repertoire. One honours two great English Renaissance composers: Thomas Weelkes and William Byrd; another is centred around Romantic music; a third honours 100 years of Disney, with 28 brand-new arrangements of iconic Disney songs; a fourth is a double-album focussed on the group’s library of signature ‘close harmony’ arrangements; and another celebrates the group’s extraordinary body of commissioned new music.

Growing the global canon of choral music has always been one of the group's key aims, and The King’s Singers have now commissioned more than 300 works by many of the most prominent composers of the 20th and 21st centuries. These composers include John Tavener, Joe Hisaishi, Judith Bingham, Eric Whitacre, György Ligeti, Luciano Berio, Penderecki and Toru Takemitsu. All this new music joins their body of bespoke a cappella arrangements, including many by King’s Singers past and present.

Alongside their demanding performing and recording schedule – with over 100 concerts worldwide every season – the group leads educational workshops and residential courses across the globe, working with ensembles on their approaches to group singing. To mark their 50th anniversary in 2018, they founded The King’s Singers Global Foundation (based in the USA), to provide a platform to support the creation of new music across multiple disciplines, to coach a new generation of performers, and to provide musical opportunities to people of all backgrounds.

BBC Singers Chief Conductor David Hill Principal Guest Conductors Paul Brough and Bob Chilcott Conductor Laureate Stephen Cleobury Associate Composer Judith Weir The BBC Singers hold a unique position in British musical life. Performing everything from Byrd to Birtwistle, Tallis to Takemitsu, their versatility is second to none. The choir’s unrivalled expertise in performing the best of contemporary music has brought about creative relationships with some of the most important composers and conductors of the 20th and 21st centuries, including Poulenc, Britten, Judith Bingham and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies.
Following a successful 90th anniversary season, the BBC Singers’ 2015-16 season is as thrilling and diverse as ever. A third season of concerts in London’s newest concert venue, Milton Court Concert Hall, includes Monteverdi’s Vespers with I Fagiolini, Handel’s Saul with a host of first-rate soloists, a magical presentation of Dylan Thomas’s A Child’s Christmas in Wales led by Chief Conductor David Hill and a poignant concert remembering the battle of the Somme. The Singers at Six series of early-evening concerts in the atmospheric surroundings St Giles’ Cripplegate continues with American Songs and music by Elgar, Judith Bingham and James MacMillan.
Based at the BBC’s Maida Vale Studios, the BBC Singers also give free concerts at St Paul’s Knightsbridge, as well as appearing at major festivals across the UK and beyond.
This world-class ensemble is committed to sharing its enthusiasm and creative expertise through its nationwide outreach programme. This includes frequent collaborations with schoolchildren, youth choirs and the amateur choral community, as well as with the professional composers, singers and conductors of tomorrow.

The London Quartet is one of Britain’s longest established vocal ensembles. Since they became widely known in the early nineteen-eighties they have mastered a wide array of musical styles which they have taken to a worldwide audience, always remaining true to their core vocal texture which is unmistakably rooted in the great English choral tradition. The London Quartet’s origins at Cambridge University, where they were founded as Cantabile, lay in revue as well as in music, and their flair for the stage continues to keep them in demand in theatres and cabaret as well as in concert halls and at festivals; indeed, they featured for over a year in London’s West End. They have appeared in an enormous variety of venues, singing programmes encompassing early polyphony, jazz and contemporary music. Although essentially an a cappella group they have appeared with a range of leading artists and ensembles, from big band to symphony orchestra. “Mark, Mike, Richard and Steven have few opportunities to play cricket, but take every opportunity to sing about it, which they do wonderfully well. They are now synonymous with the game’s music.”