About Us
London's LGBT chamber choir
The Fourth Choir is London's LGBT + 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.
Past eventsIn our first six years, some of our highlights have been performing at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, at the Royal Festival Hall, Kings Place, Middle Temple Hall, London Art Night at the ICA, Colourscape, the Café de Paris, King’s College London Chapel, Shakespeare's Globe and on BBC2’s Newsnight.
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Dominic Ellis-PeckhamOur Artistic Director, Dominic Ellis-Peckham, is one of the UK's leading choral conductors and works with both professional groups, such as the English National Opera chorus, and educational groups such as the National Youth Choir.
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The TeamIn addition to our Artistic Director Dominic ellis-Peckham, we have an experienced team of people running the choir including guest conductors Andrea Brown and Victoria Ely, and choir members with backgrounds in event direction, marketing, design, and finance.
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London's most exciting choirAt just over six years old, the choir is going from strength to strength. We have performed in some of the city’s top cultural venues, including Hall One at King’s Place, the Royal Festival Hall, the British Museum, St Peter’s Eaton Square and the stunning Two Temple Place. This year the choir performed overseas for the first time, singing in Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw as part of EuroPride’s choir festival and, one week later, staging a re-run of our Spring Shakespeare celebration in Antwerp’s Queer Arts festival.
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Our charitable aims
In addition to our own charitable aims, we are proud to support other causes in our music making. We celebrated the legalisation of same-sex marriages in the UK, appearing on Newsnight and singing at an event in 2014 where Sandi and Debbie Toksvig renewed their vows in front of an audience of thousands. In 2015 we donated proceeds from our Spring concert, raising over two and a half thousand pounds for local migrant support centres.
The choir welcomes experienced singers of all backgrounds and identities. While our members are not all LGBT, 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 LGBT, 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.
What's in the name?
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. |