About us
Founded in 1903 as The London Choral Society, The London Chorus has been practising and performing a challenging and varied repertoire and continually developing its tradition of excellence for over a century.
About us
The London Chorus was founded as the London Choral Society in 1903 to perform Edward Elgar‘s The Dream of Gerontius at a time when there was no major choir in central London. The choir established its tradition of innovation right from the start, giving many first performances in its early years. Indeed it continues to do so, performing a challenging and varied repertoire and continually developing its tradition of excellence.
In recent years the choir has promoted the first London performances of works by Samuel Barber, Frank Martin, Richard Blackford, Paul Patterson, Ronald Corp and others, as well as performing a wide variety of works ranging from plainsong, through the mainstream choral repertoire, to that of the present day, classical and lighter music.
The choir, founded by Arthur Fagge, has enjoyed the expertise of leading musical directors including Sir Simon Rattle, Dame Jane Glover, and Ronald Corp OBE, and is now led by William Vann.
The choir’s repertoire is extensive and diverse. It has performed works by all the major and lesser-known composers and performed at all London’s top venues including the Royal Albert Hall, the Royal Festival Hall and the Barbican. Over its 120 year history the choir has taken part in a number of performances at the BBC Proms.
The London Chorus was privileged to be chosen for the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Paralympics and the Centenary Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance in 2018 in the Royal Albert Hall.
The choir has been on many foreign tours including to Poland, South Africa, and Italy, and has justly been referred to as “London’s most versatile choir”.
Musical director – William Vann
A multiple-prize winning and critically acclaimed choral, orchestral and opera conductor and song accompanist, William Vann is equally at home on the podium or at the piano and is particularly renowned for his revival performances and recordings of lost and lesser-known works of vocal and choral music by British composers.
Born in Bedford, he was a Chorister at King’s College, Cambridge and a Music Scholar at Bedford School. He subsequently read law and took up a choral scholarship at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he was taught the piano by Peter Uppard, and studied piano accompaniment at the Royal Academy of Music with Malcolm Martineau and Colin Stone.
William is also the founder and Artistic Director of the London English Song Festival, the Director of Music at the Royal Hospital Chelsea and the Music Director of Dulwich Choral Society. He is an Associate of the RAM, a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists, a Trustee of the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society, a Samling Artist, a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Musicians, the Chairman of Kensington and Chelsea Music Society and a regular conductor and vocal coach at the Dartington and Oxenfoord International Summer Schools.
Conductor Laureate – Adrian Brown
Adrian Brown is one of our most distinguished conductors, descending from the renowned teaching tradition of Sir Adrian Boult. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Music in London, he studied intensively with Sir Adrian, who described him as “a musician of exceptional attainments.” In 1975, Brown became the only British conductor to reach the finals of the Karajan Conductors’ Competition, leading the Berlin Philharmonic in his first professional engagement.
He has since conducted many of the UK’s foremost orchestras, including the BBC Symphony, BBC Scottish Symphony, London Sinfonietta, and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestras. Internationally, his engagements have included the St. Petersburg Philharmonic and the Camerata Salzburg. A champion of contemporary music, Brown has given numerous premieres and inspired generations through his four-decade tenure with the Stoneleigh Youth Orchestra and work with national youth ensembles.
Honoured with the Classic FM Award, the Lady Hilary Groves Prize, the Berlioz Medal, and the Elgar Medal, Brown continues to make major contributions to British musical life. His Elgar Sinfonia, founded in 2018, has gained acclaim for performances of rare British repertoire and major choral works. With enduring associations across Britain, Adrian Brown remains a tireless advocate for musical excellence and education.
Artistic Associate – Edward Batting
Edward has a long-standing association with The London Chorus, where he has frequently appeared in concerts as organ accompanist and more recently as an ad hoc rehearsal conductor. He brings a wealth of choral and operatic experience to his work.
Edward is the Musical Director of St Alban’s the Martyr, Holborn and directs the professional choir there in works spanning from the Renaissance to the present day. Alongside his choral work, he has extensive experience as a repetiteur and vocal coach, including as a senior coach with the Jette Parker Programme at the Royal Opera House and in preparing singers for major international stages.
As a freelance organist, he has given recitals at Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral, and St Paul’s Cathedral, and performed concertos at St Martin-in-the-Fields, the Mayfield Festival, and the Teatro Regio in Turin.
Patron – HRH The Duke of Gloucester
HRH The Duke of Gloucester carries out a significant number of public duties and undertakes hundreds of official engagements in the UK and overseas each year. The Duke is associated with over 150 charities and organisations. His patronages reflect his professional and personal interests, which include international humanitarian issues, heritage and the built environment and military veterans.
The London Chorus is deeply grateful to the Duke of Gloucester for his support of the choir.
Vice Patrons
The London Chorus is exceptionally fortunate to have three British classical heavyweights as our vice-patrons.
Roderick Williams is one of this country’s most sought after baritones on the concert platform and in recital, encompassing a repertoire from the baroque to world premieres. In 2016 he won the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Singer of the year award.
Praised by Opera for her “dramatic wit and vocal control”, British soprano Mary Bevan is internationally renowned in baroque, classical and contemporary repertoire, and appears regularly with leading conductors, orchestras and ensembles around the world.
Petroc Trelawny is a British classical music radio and television broadcaster. He is one of the best-known voices across the BBC’s classical music programming. He currently presents the daily Breakfast programme on BBC Radio Three and has presented the BBC Proms on radio and television for twenty five years.
Chairman
Simon Heffer has been chairman of The London Chorus since 2022. He is Professor of Modern British history at the University of Buckingham, and the author of a number of histories and biographies. Among the latter is a short life of Ralph Vaughan Williams, who remains one of his favourite composers, along with others in the English choral tradition. He is also a columnist for The Daily and Sunday Telegraph, for which he has written on and off since 1985, and has been deputy editor of both The Daily Telegraph and of The Spectator. He has made a number of music documentaries for BBC Radio 3. He was educated at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, from which he holds BA and MA degrees in English and a PhD in History. He is married with two adult sons and lives in north Essex.
