About Us
London's LGBTQ + chamber choir
The Fourth Choir is London's LGBTQ + chamber choir for advanced singers. We focus on performing great choral works from early music to contemporary choral masterpieces. The choir was formed in September 2013, and our aim from the outset has been to represent the LGBT + community on London's world-class classical music scene.
We have performed in many of London’s iconic cultural venues including the Southbank Centre, the British Library, the British Museum, the V&A, Tate Britain and Kings Place. We have also performed at diverse venues such as The Jazz Cafe, Hampton Court Palace and the Tower of London; and in the heart of Westminster, both on the stage at the National Holocaust Memorial Ceremony, and on the pavement, protesting outside the House of Commons. Overseas, we have performed at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Queer Arts Festival in Antwerp and the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj in Rome. We have developed a particularly fruitful relationship with Shakespeare’s Globe, having given four concerts in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, appearing in the play After Edward and as well as appearing twice with Sandi Toksvig in The (Snow) Globe, both on stage in 2020 and as a virtual choir in the pandemic in 2021.
We have performed in many of London’s iconic cultural venues including the Southbank Centre, the British Library, the British Museum, the V&A, Tate Britain and Kings Place. We have also performed at diverse venues such as The Jazz Cafe, Hampton Court Palace and the Tower of London; and in the heart of Westminster, both on the stage at the National Holocaust Memorial Ceremony, and on the pavement, protesting outside the House of Commons. Overseas, we have performed at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Queer Arts Festival in Antwerp and the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj in Rome. We have developed a particularly fruitful relationship with Shakespeare’s Globe, having given four concerts in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, appearing in the play After Edward and as well as appearing twice with Sandi Toksvig in The (Snow) Globe, both on stage in 2020 and as a virtual choir in the pandemic in 2021.
Announcing our new Musical Director
Following a two-year process, The Fourth Choir is extremely excited to announce the appointment of Jamie Powe as our new Musical Director, following two successful concerts working together as well as an appearance at the Royal Albert Hall. Jamie's tenure will begin in September 2023 preparing a concert to celebrate the choir's 10th Anniversay.
Past EventsIn our first ten years, some of our highlights have been performing at the Shakespeare's Globe, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, at the Royal Festival Hall, Kings Place, Middle Temple Hall, British Museum, Colourscape, and on BBC2’s Newsnight.
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Musical DirectorOur Musical Director is Jamie Powe, who was appointed in 2023. The choir has also recently worked with a series of Guest Musical Directors including Esther Jones, Nic Chalmers, Hilary Campbell, and Ben Horden over our 2021–2022 seasons.
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The TeamWe have an experienced team of people running the choir including Trustees who are choir members with backgrounds in event direction, marketing, design, and finance, and collaborators such as Vocal Coaches, Composers and Project-based Conductors.
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Our Values
- We are proud to be a choir of LGBTQ+ singers and allies
- We are passionate about musical excellence, about improving our skills and having fun
- We nurture an inclusive space and celebrate diversity
- We are creative, collaborative and ambitious
- We are a supportive, big-hearted and welcoming community
Our charitable aims
In addition to our own charitable aims, we are proud to support other causes in our music making. We support and raise funds for other charities that share our values, such as LGBTQ+ organisations, other equality focused charities, education and the performing arts.
The choir welcomes experienced singers of all backgrounds and identities. While our members are not all LGBTQ, we assume that anyone who works with us celebrates diversity and equal rights. To register your interest in singing with us, visit the Join Us page.
The choir welcomes experienced singers of all backgrounds and identities. While our members are not all LGBTQ, we assume that anyone who works with us celebrates diversity and equal rights. To register your interest in singing with us, visit the Join Us page.
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Recent Recordings on iTunes and Spotify
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Our performance venues
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What's in the name?
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Hildegard of Bingen and other medieval mystics believed that the nine orders of angels were arranged into three choirs around the throne of God. But Hildegard had a fourth choir on earth - the nuns who sang her difficult compositions.
The Fourth Choir is named in honour of the anonymous singers of “fourth choirs” of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance who first sang the masterpieces of choral music and who used their voices to recreate the sounds of heaven here on earth. |
