Past Events and History
2018
Great St Bartholomew - June 2018
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A Journey Through Time - All the music in this concert was composed by British Choral Icons. We started in the modern world, with the church illuminated by electric light, singing music by living composers such as Roxanna Panufni, Charlotte Bray, and Kerry Andrews, and moved back to earlier generations of British composers with works by Britten and Tavener, Howells and Stanford.
After the interval, the electric lights were dimmed and we entered a candlelit world, beginning with Sullivan’s poignant The Long Day Closes and moving back through the centuries to the Golden Age of Purcell, Byrd, Tallis and John Shepherd. The concert concluded with music that was written when Great St Bart’s was newly-built, by composers such as John Farmer and William Cornysh, arriving at last at the oldest surviving piece of English music, possibly even older than Great St Bart’s itself - St Nicholas written by Saint Godric who died in 1170. St Bartholomew the Great was founded in 1123 and is London's oldest surviving church. It escaped the Great Fire of London of 1666 and was one of the few City churches to escape damage during the Second World War. The church has been featured in numerous films, including Four Weddings and a Funeral. |
UK Parliament and Channel 4 - June 2018
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The Fourth Choir was part of peaceful protest outside the UK Parliament, together with Amnesty International, Stonewall, and Liberty and singing together with The Pink Singers. The protest was timed to coincide with the EU Withdrawal Bill debates, which threatened to exclude crucial humans rights from UK law. The protest was featured on Channel 4 News.
https://www.channel4.com/news/may-appeals-to-tory-mps-ahead-of-crunch-brexit-votes |
Tate Britain - June 2018
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We were honoured to sing at the opening reception of Aftermath: Art in the Wake of World War One at Tate Britain. The exhibition marks 100 years since the end of World War One and looks at how artists responded to the physical and psychological scars left on Europe.
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Recording Session - June 2018
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The Choir had an exhausting but exhilarating day recording songs from our Love is Love programme. Watch this space!
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Love is Love - May 2018
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We performed a concert at Senate House as part of their exhibition Queer Between the Covers which ran January to June 2018. The exhibition examined the diverse ways in which literature has been central to the culture’s handling and understanding of the meaning of 'queerness'.
Our concert Love is Love was a celebration of nine centuries of same-sex love. With one exception, every work in this programme was composed by an LGBT+ composer or is a choral setting of words by an LGBT+ poet. The programme included works by Michelangelo, Shakespeare, Tchaikovsky, Camille Saint-Saëns, Francis Poulenc, Aaron Copland, Michael Tippett, Benjamin Britten, choir member Kit Burton-Senior, Jennifer Higdon, and Meredith Monk, and bore testament to the contribution that LGBT+ artists have made to global culture. Senate House also commissioned Stuart Beatch, the Fourth Choir’s newly-appointed resident composer, to compose a song which we premiered at the concert. The song I Am Like Many, comprises quotations from a 1958 debate when the UK Parliament discussed if homosexuality should be decriminalised. One MP quoted a letter from a gay constituent who had been sent to prison which finished “I do not pretend that I am good. But I am like many”. |
Vauxhall - March 2018
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For our Spring concert 'A Red, Red Rose', we sang songs about love from the medieval chants of Hildegarde of Bingen (1098–1179) who was inspired by visions to write O Dulcissime Amator 'O Lover Sweet' to living composers MacMillan, Whitacre, Chilcott, Cecilia McDowall, and Roxanna Panufnik.
Wheatsheaf Hall in Vauxhall is an exposed brick Victorian Mission Hall and was an atmospheric place to contemplate the greatest of human emotions. After performing at Wheatsheaf Hall, we went to Duckie to sing for the evening revellers at The Royal Vauxhall Tavern. |
Holocaust Memorial 'The Power of Words" - January 2018
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The Harrow Arts Centre invited us to sing at their annual Holocaust Memorial. This incredibly moving event started with representatives from eight different religions, plus the Humanist Society, lighting memorial candles. Children from a local school performed, speakers recounted their experiences of coming to this country as part of the Kindertransport and of surviving genocide in Bosnia. Singing was provided by the London Jewish Male Choir and The Fourth Choir.
It was the first time that the LGBT+ community had been represented at this event and we were honoured to be there to mourn the men who wore the pink triangle and everyone who suffered and died in the Holocaust. |
Essential Elle - Jazz Cafe - January 2018
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We returned to the Jazz Cafe as the headline act to pay homage to one of the most important voices in the history, Ella Fitzgerald.
We sang arrangements of Fitzgerald's greatest hits, including Summertime, My Funny Valentine, Dream a Little Dream, Crazy, What a Wonderful World, They Can't Take That Away From Me, I've Got You Under My Skin, It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't got That Swing, and others. |
2017
London Gay Symphony Orchestra Winter Concert - December 2017
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We joined the London Gay Symphony Orchestra at their Winter Concert at St Giles-without-Cripplegate to repeat a few songs from the 18th century splendour of Daquin's wonderful set of pastoral songs, and perform the timeless Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
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Joyeux Noël - December 2017
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The Fourth Choir combined forces with the London Gay Symphony Orchestra for an evening of traditional Christmas music - including the London première of Les Douze Noëls by baroque master Louis-Claude Daquin, at St Clement Danes on The Strand.
Louis-Claude Daquin (1694-1772) was a glittering musical star of his day who surpassed Rameau in the 18th century but whose fame faded after his death as he rarely transcribed his music, leaving us with only two full compositions. Like a modern day jazz musician, he improvised his compositions and so, without recordings, most of his wonderful music went to the grave with him. Luckily, these 12 Noëls made it onto paper, and arranged by Simon Wright, they capture the mystery and magic of Christmas in their sparkling Baroque elegance. Readings were interspersed between the songs, dramatically presented by actor Akiya Henry, and all solos were provided by choir members. "The Fourth Choir’s Christmas concert was a lovely event in a beautiful venue. The Choir’s lullaby to a real newborn baby was really touching and the singing was beautiful.” |
Victoria and Albert Museum - December 2017
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The Fourth Choir performed in the incredibly atmospheric Tapestry Room at the V&A on World Aids Day, as part of the V&A's Opera: Passion, Power and Politics exhibition. The evening included a talk by Matthew Story on Opera and Queer. With soloists from the choir and Jonatan Bougt on the Theorbo.
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Chiesa d'Oro - Songs from under the Venetian stars - October & November 2017
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We started the autumn season with a concert that we repeated at two venues - Fitzrovia Chapel and St Botolph without Aldgate.
Chiesa d’Oro – church of gold – has been the affectionate nickname of the San Marco basilica in Venice and San Marco and the stars of Venice are the inspiration for the repertoire for the concert. The first half was music written by composers who lived or studied in Venice when the Venetian Republic was at the height of its power and influence in the 16th and 17th centuries - music by Giovanni Gabrieli, born in Venice around 1555, who became principal organist at San Marco; and Giovanni Legrenzi and Claudio Monteverdi, both of whom held the coveted post of maestro di cappella at San Marco. We also sang works by two northern European composers who were heavily influenced by Italian music: Giaches de Wert, from Flanders and the German composer, Heinrich Schütz, who studied twice in Venice, first as a young man with Gabrieli in 1609 and later with Monteverdi himself in 1628. The second half of the concert took up the theme of stars and consists of music by living composers such as James Macmillan, Bob Chilcott, Eric Whitacre and Kim André Arnesen. |
National No2H8 Crime Awards 2017 - October 2017
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The National No2H8 Crime Awards is a coalition of organisations that work on tackling hatred, intolerance and prejudice. We were honoured to sing at their 2017 award ceremony.
The theme for 2017 was entitled, ‘Upstanders and Not Bystanders‘. It reflected on the need to challenge hatred, intolerance and bigotry safely and with added vigour given the sharp rises in hate incidents and crimes we have seen post Brexit and other national and international incidents. |
Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at Shakespeare's Globe - June 2017
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We were thrilled to be invited a second time to perform a concert in the candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse celebrating the 20th anniversary of Shakespeare's Globe for their Friends and supporters. The Playhouse is only lit by candles and it is one of the most beautiful intimate theatres in London. It was a sold-out concert with a wonderful festive atmosphere.
We sang a range of music from Shakespeare's time to contemporary arrangements of Shakespeare sonnets by Ward Swingle, Dominic Peckham and Nils Lindberg. We finished with three jazz pieces, including an arrangement by one of our our choir members Eleanor Wolff. Readings were provided by RSC actors Akiya Henry, Janie Dee and Brendan O'Hea and soloists were members of the choir Nigel Pilkington, Cat Jones, Oli Glynn, Sophia Allen, Luke Taylor, Ed Parry, and Eleanor Wolff. |
The Age of Enlightenment - 22 and 29 June 2017
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Our two Summer Gala Concerts were in a unique underground venue - the Grand Entrance Hall of the Thames Tunnel at Rotherhithe. When the Tunnel was opened in 1843, it was the eighth wonder of the world - the first tunnel anywhere in the world to run beneath a river. The Tunnel is still used by Overground trains but, last year, the Brunel Museum installed a new staircase into the Grand Entrance Hall, making it accessible to the public for the first time in 145 years.
The Hall has the acoustic of a cathedral and the Choir sang music from the era - appropriately on the theme of rivers - by Bach, Mozart, Victoria, Scarlatti, Monte, Tippett as well as some music which has historical connections with the Tunnel - “Slow Fresh Fount” by William Horsely whose daughter married Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the Tunnel’s engineer; and “Richte Mich Gott" by Mendelssohn, a family friend of the Horsleys, who was shown around the Tunnel by Brunel himself when he was on a visit to London in 1843 when the Tunnel first opened. The concerts also included a premièred performance of setting of a poem by Wilfred Owen “The Ghost of Shadwell Stairs”, the third piece commissioned by the Choir from award-winning composer Alexander Campkin. Owen's enigmatic poem of 1918 described his secret life cruising London’s dock area. "I am the Ghost of Shadwell Stairs... I walk till the stars of London wane and dawn creeps up the Shadwell Stair. But when the crowing syrens blare I with another ghost am lain." With Roland Anderson on cello and Chris Lee on continuo. |
Palazzo Doria Pamphilj in Rome - June 2017
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We were invited to perform in Rome at the 10th anniversary concert of Roma Rainbow Choir. We gave a joint concert inspired by the sonnets of Shakespeare and Michelangelo in the baroque splendour of the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj, home of Prince Jonathan Doria Pamphilj, his civil partner Elson Braga, and their two children. We received a extraordinarily warm welcome and joined the Roma Rainbow Choir on the Rome Gay Pride Parade as well.
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British Library - June 2017
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We were invited to perform at the launch of “Gay UK - Love, Law and Liberty”, an exhibition at the British Library celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Sexual Offences Act partially decriminalising male same-sex relationships in England and Wales in 1967 (Northern Ireland had to wait another 15 years). The keynote speaker was Lord Cashman, former Eastenders actor and one of the first out gay politicians.
The exhibition features film, original manuscripts and rare printed items tracing a history of troubles and triumphs for gay people, including Sarah Waters’ manuscript notebook for Tipping the Velvet, the diary of Kenneth Williams, the 1957 Wolfenden Report, the Gay Liberation Front Manifesto, and vinyl from the Pet Shop Boys. |
St Georges Bloomsbury - March 2017
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We marked the end of Winter and the start of Spring with a concert called 'Awakenings'. We were back in one of our favourite venues - St George's Bloomsbury - a Hawksmoor church with a stunning white interior. It also has a fabulous surround-sound acoustic and we sang the Renaissance polyphony of the De Lassus and Palestrina from different sides of the hall. The nineteenth century was represented by Mendelssohn, the twentieth century by Howells and the twenty-first century by Eric Whitacre, Roderick Williams and Bob Chilcott.
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Museum of the Order of St John - February 2017
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In February 2017, we returned to the Museum of the Order of St John, this time to perform in the medieval hall, rather than the priory. We were invited to perform a 30 minute concert for the attendees of the AGM of the British Neuropsychiatry Association.
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Concert and party at Wilton's Music Hall - February 2017
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After the previous week’s concert at Hoxton Hall, the Choir moved on to yet another East End music hall. This time we sang at a private black-tie event in the gob-smackingly atmospheric Wilton’s Music Hall. This hall came to life in 1859 when it was converted from five houses which date back to the 1690s. People literally gasp when they walk into the shabby-chic auditorium, so overwhelming is the sense of history. Perhaps that’s why Time Out recently included Wilton's in its list of the ten most romantic places in London.
Our concert included highlights from our Love Letters repertoire in the first half, whilst the second half had a much more cabaret feel to it, comprising our favourite Ella songs from the Jazz Café gig. Appropriately for a theatre where benign ghosts watch the performances from the balcony, the most dramatic moment of the evening was when the voice of Maria Callas singing “Casta Diva” suffused the theatre whilst the Choir accompanied her singing live and images of the great Diva were projected onto the back of the stage. As an encore, we premiered a new arrangement by Birgitta Kenyon of Somewhere Over the Rainbow, for soprano solo, choir and piano. The aching purity of soloist Eleanor Wolfe’s voice brought the evening to a gentle close as many eyes in the audience misted over and the ghosts returned to their slumbers… |
Love Letters - a Valentine's concert at Hoxton Hall - February 2017
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We marked Valentine’s Day with a celebration of the most powerful emotion of all – love! Love songs by British composers such as Vaughan Williams, Holst, Chilcott and Judith Bingham were contrasted with choral arrangements of songs by Prince, Cole Porter and Ward Swingle. Canadian composer Stuart Beatch attended, and we performed the European Première of his song ‘I Loved You First’.
The music was interspersed with readings of love letters from famous same-sex couples of the past – Oscar Wilde in triumph and despair; Vita Sackville-West’s disarming declaration of love to Virginia Woolf; and Tchaikovsky having a wild night out in Paris. The letters were read by the noted actor, writer and director, Neil Bartlett and by Akiya Henry, a regular performer with the RSC, Shakespeare’s Globe and the Royal National Theatre. The concert was at Hoxton Hall, another one in our series of concerts at London’s hidden architectural gems. Hoxton Hall is an extraordinary survivor from the past - an honest-to-God, actual East End music hall, built in 1863. 'Legends. Reppin. We have a lot of respect for this incredible choir.' Nonchalant London, London's Lesbian Lifestyle Website |
Essential Ella - The Jazz Cafe - February 2017
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Paying homage to one of the most important voices in the history, Ella Fitzgerald, The Fourth Choir had our debut headline performance at The Jazz Cafe in Camden.
We sang two sets of arrangements of Fitzgerald's greatest hits, including Summertime, My Funny Valentine, Dream a Little Dream, and It Don't Mean a Thing, if it Ain't Got That Swing, amongst others. It was a fantastically fun and memorable gig, and a big diversion from our usual musical fare. Presented by Dominic Peckham with Chris Hill on bass, Andrew McCormack on piano and solos by members of the choir. "Hugely warming evening, celebrating Ella Fitzgerald, @TheJazzCafe this evening. @thefourthchoir led by @DominicPeckham on scintillating form." John Leo Wilkie, opera director and founder of Opera Bohemia |
2016
An Archer Christmas Carol - December 2016
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The Fourth Choir joined the students of The Archer Academy, East Finchley, and the Archer Community Choir for a Christmas concert at All Saints Church. We sang several joint songs with the student choir and orchestra. Our members lead the evening with Alice Humphrey conducting the school choir, Cat Jones conducting the school orchestra, and Lara de Belder leading Archer Community Choir.
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Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at Shakespeare's Globe - December 2016
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We were utterly delighted to be invited by Shakespeare's Globe to perform at their Friends Christmas Concert, in the exquisite and intimate candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. It was a sold-out concert with a wonderful atmosphere. Readings were provided by RSC actors Akiya Henry, Dickon Tyrrell and Belinda Lang. An unforgettable concert for all of us.
"Venue of the season for me was the Sam Wanamaker Theatre attached to the Globe Theatre, a small, Shakespearean style playhouse lit only by candles. The programme was delivered by The Fourth Choir, who are members of London's LGBT+ community and they were absolutely stunning. The precision, the blend, the sparkle, the communication with the audience was as fine as any I've heard. And believe me, you hear a lot of choirs in 65 years. Well done, Fourth.” Siubhán Ó Dubháin, author of Kilbroney and The Fiddler of Kilbroney "The concert was wonderful and we have had such happy reports from all our friends. On top of the beautiful music the use of space was brilliant and everyone has said what a great concert it was." Marcel Bruneau, concert organiser |
Christmas at Versailles (in London) - December 2016
Rutter - Thy Perfect Love
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For our Christmas concert this year, the Fourth Choir joined forces with the baroque orchestra, the Meridian Sinfonia, for an evening of festive music with a French twist at St Clement Danes on the Strand.
The first half of the concert was a performance of Charpentier’s enchanting Messe de Minuit pour Noël. Written in 1690, this piece conjures up the glories of the court of Louis XIV. Soloists were provided by members of the choir. The second half was more traditional fare: Bach, Herbert Howells, Vaughan Williams and a piece by the popular contemporary British composer Cecilia McDowell. The French baroque theme was represented by Allons Pasteurs by Louis-Claude Daquin and Away in a Manger sung to a traditional Normandy melody. The audience donated £943 in a collection for Naz and Matt Foundation, a charity with the mission to stop religion from coming in the way of the unconditional love between parents and their LGBT+ children. |
Variety with the Stars - November 2016
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We were delighted to sing at Variety with the Stars, a thrilling evening of entertainment at the Charing Cross Theatre to raise funds for The Mark Evison Foundation. We were conducted by Birgitta Kenyon, with solos by choir members Anna Macham, Tracey Button and Luke Taylor.
Simon Callow hosted the show, which featured some of our most loved actors and musicians performing their favourite works – Penelope Wilton, Joanna Lumley, Lesley Sharp, Imogen Stubbs, Oliver Cotton, Tom Poster, David Campbell, the theatre group Incognito directed by David Sulkin. The Mark Evison Foundation encourages and enables young people to fulfil their own personal challenges and pursue their dreams. Lt Mark Evison died in 2009 from a gunshot wound while serving as a British army officer in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. He was attempting to get the platoon to safety following an ambush. The Foundation was set up in his memory, and his values and characters are a driving force within it. |
Reception for 1418-Now - November 2016
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The Fourth Choir was asked to perform Memorial Ground at the 1418-Now press and sponsors reception at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA).
Memorial Ground was commissioned by 1418-Now and the East Neuk Festival to mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme. Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang, Memorial Ground was premiered at the East Neuk Festival in July. Paul Hillier and his acclaimed Theatre of Voices performed with singers from the Scottish Chamber Orchestra Chorus and amateur choirs from around Fife. The work has subsequently been performed by choirs and singing groups across the country in the period up to Remembrance Sunday. 14-18 Now is a five-year government-sponsored programme of extraordinary arts experiences connecting us all with the First World War. Most notably, they commissioned the stunning Poppies: Wave and Weeping Window by Paul Cummins and Tom Piper. |
Companions of Angels - October 2016
Standing as I do Before God by Cecilia McDowell; soloist: choir member Annabelle Southern
Die mit Tränen säen by Heinrich Schütz
When David Heard by Thomas Weelkes
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A concert inspired by the Order of St John and its long history of nursing the sick and wounded, conducted by Andrea Brown. The concert started with “O gloriosissimi lux”, an incandescent choral masterpiece written by Hildegard of Bingen in the 12th century just after the Order was founded, and finished with “Standing as I do before God” by Cecilia McDowall, an intensely moving setting of the words of Edith Cavell, the WWI nurse executed by the Germans despite having tended both German and British wounded. We were honoured that Cecilia McDowall attended the concert.
The concert also included a performance of Memorial Ground by Oscar-nominated composer David Lang, written to commemorate the centenary of the Battle of the Somme. Every performance of the piece has been unique as David Lang composed a large body of musical material from which each choir selected melodies to sing to texts of their own choosing. Companion of Angels was part of the 1418 Now Programme. "That was such a beautiful performance of Standing as I do before God, most movingly sung by The Fourth Choir and soprano soloist, Annabelle Southern, all conducted with great sensitivity by Andrea Brown." Cecilia McDowall |
Shakespeare Concert, Antwerp - August 2016
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The Choir re-staged our April 23 Shakespeare programme which was one of the highlights of Antwerp’s Queer Arts Festival: a week-long festival preceding the city’s Pride celebrations. The concert took place in the beautiful chapel of a former monastery in the centre of Antwerp, now hotel and conference centre Gasthuis Elzenveld.
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Amasing Festival, Amsterdam Concertgebouw - August 2016
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The Choir performed abroad for the first time and in one of the world’s great concert halls – the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam – where we took part in Amasing, a wonderful festival of 14 European LGBT choirs during Europride. As well as performing our own set, we were honoured to collaborate with Galakoor, Amsterdam's classical LGBT choir, providing the soloist parts for Mendelssohn Psalm 42. We also made our debut European radio performance when we featured twice on Dutch NPO Radio 4, before and after the festival. Listen to us sing Ešenvalds' Only in Sleep at 1.07.56
Watch the performance on YouTube "It was an honour to have been invited to the Europride Choir Festival last Friday in the Concertgebouw. It was a true festival of joy, celebrating the wonder of singing within the context of the LGBT community. The Fourth Choir from London was also there. My goodness, how beautifully they sing. Let them touch your heart too." Nicolas Mansfield, director Nederlandse Reisopera |
Art Night, Duke of York Steps on The Mall - July 2016
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Inspired by Paris’s annual Nuit Blanche, London hosted its first ever Art Night in July this year. The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) asked The Fourth Choir to take part in 'Destination Moon. You must not look at her', a performance on the Duke of York Steps, developed by contemporary artist Linder, composer Maxwell Sterling, fashion designers Christopher Shannon and Louise Gray, Professor Surinder Singh and the Raj Academy as well as dancers and models to create an epic 5 hour performance piece.
Read the review in the Evening Standard > "I can't keep track of the amount of compliments, kind words and praise that people kept saying to me about you all. You breathed life into my arrangements and compositions and added a timbral colour and quality that no other choir could have done. Dominic's conducting and leadership of the choir is quite spectacular, and something that, I feel, is quite unique and rare. To watch the pieces grow and transform with Dominic's guidance and suggestions was such a joy for me." Maxwell Sterling |
Colourscape at Waddesdon Manor - June 2016
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We were invited to perform again in Colourscape in the large walk-in environment of colour and light. Each year Eye Music Trust commissions one new work for the final day of the festival. In 2015, The Fourth Choir's resident composer Alexander Campkin was asked to create a cross-media performance that filled the entire structure and brought to life the many journeys that can be taken through it.
Watch the video on YouTube > |
Sing Out! at Hackney Empire - May 2016
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Our Artistic Director Dominic Peckham led vocal workshops, and we performed with a stellar line up at Hackney Empire, including Sons of Pitches, Stratford East Singers led by Bryon Gold, Hackney Empire Community Choir, Vocalize (Hackney Empire youth choir), Bolder Voices, Tottenham Community choir, Reggae Choir with Hackney school children Solid Harmony.
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The Dark Lady & The Tender Churl - 23 April 2016
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The Fourth Choir presented a gala concert marking the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death in the stunning Middle Temple Hall, which is where the first performance of Twelfth Night took place in 1602, and the only surviving building in which Shakespeare himself performed.
The Dark Lady and the Tender Churl focused on the tortured love triangle portrayed in the Sonnets between Shakespeare, the Dark Lady and the handsome younger man referred to in the first Sonnet as the Tender Churl. Tobias Menzies performed some of the most beautiful and moving of the Sonnets. And choral music included compositions by Tomás Luis de Victoria, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Jaakko Mäntyjärvi, Alfred Janson, and Ward Swingle. A highlight of the concert were four world premières of the winning entries of a competition launched by the Fourth Choir for a new choral setting of one of the Sonnets. "... how things have changed, I thought as I sat in Middle Temple Hall for an impressive concert by the The Fourth Choir. Life in Britain isn’t perfect, but when bastions of conservatism like the Temple celebrate diversity, you have to smile. We’re getting there." Michael White for Rhinegold Publishing |
Shakespeare Choral Composition Competition
Three Years by Ian Lawson
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In November 2015, The Fourth Choir launched a competition for a new choral setting of some of the “Tender Churl” Sonnets which were written to or about the handsome young man that Shakespeare fell in love with. The prize for winning first place was £1000. By January 2016, we had received 96 entries from 17 countries around the world - Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Greece, Holland, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, Sweden, UK, and the USA. The entries were judged anonymously, and the judges were Dominic Peckham, our Artistic Director, Andrea Brown, our Associate Director, and Alexander Campkin, our Composer in Residence.
First place: Ian Lawson (Wales, UK) Runners up: Benjamin Cramer (Minnesota, USA, studying in Scotland), Stuart Beatch (SK, Canada) Honorable mentions: Justin Rubin (Minnesota, USA), Manos Panayiotakis (Crete, Greece) |
Physical - An evening with poet Andrew McMillan - March 2016
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A performance as part of the Words series at Kings Place. The poet Andrew McMillan won the 2015 Guardian First Book Award for his brilliant collection of poems Physical, on the subject of Gay masculinity. As well as readings of the Physical poems, the event also featured conversations with the poet about his work, and music performed by The Fourth Choir. Sponsored by The Rimbaud and Verlaine Foundation and Poet in the City.
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Had I Not Seen The Sun - February 2016
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A Celebration of Winter Nights and Northern Lights at St Sepulchre-without-Newgate. Our winter concert looked north, to learn from Slavic, Scandinavian, and Celtic composers how to love the winter sunlight. Music included a Norwegian version of “Agnus Dei”, a Swedish version of a Shakespearean Sonnet and a Russian version of the “Our Father”. The concert was completed by dazzling settings by Tarik O’Regan of two beautiful Emily Dickinson poems including “Had I Not Seen the Sun”.
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British Museum Great Court - February 2016
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The British Museum has a large number of objects that provide evidence that desire between members of the same sex has always been an aspect of human existence and experience. We sang two concert sets at a special LGBTQ event 'Love throughout history' at the British Museum, which was part of LGBT History Month.
Find out more about A Little Gay History > |
2015
A December Song - December 2015
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We returned for the third year to St Giles-in-the-Fields for a candlelit concert of seasonal choral music by Tavener, Vaughan Williams, Whitacre, Warlock, Howells and Allain. RSC actor Ian Drysdale delivered two readings from a short secular story by gay writer Truman Capote called “Christmas Memory”. And two of our members read short poems and blessings from the Moslem and Hebrew traditions. The audience donated £805 in a collection for Mermaids UK, a charity that provides family and individual support for teenagers and children with gender identity issues.
"Musically, two highlights for me were the wonderful ‘Lux Aurumque’ (Whitacre, Esch, Silvestri) and ‘Coventry Carol’ (Allain). The harmonies were breathtaking. Exquisite. My bones were resonating. The female soloists shone throughout the evening. On the whole, The Fourth Choir are surprisingly good and they are quickly going from strength to strength under the leadership of Dominic Peckham." Matthew James Hunt (Writer and author of 'I am not Gog') |
An Archer Christmas Carol - December 2015
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The Fourth Choir joined the students of The Archer Academy, East Finchley, for their first Christmas concert at All Saints Church. We sang several joint songs with the students, as well as performed several songs of our own, within a varied programme provided by the school. Our members lead the evening with Alice Humphrey conducting all the choirs, Lara de Belder leading the warm up, and Elly Barnes giving a little talk about celebrating our differences.
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A Partsong and a Pint - October 2015
Only in Sleep by Ēriks Ešenvalds, solo by choir member Anna Macham
Trilo - traditional
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We celebrated our second anniversary and 20th performance at St George's Bloomsbury, using the natural surround-sound acoustics in this stunning church dating from 1730. The concert included early partsongs by Byrd, Lobo, Gibbons, Bennet and Wilbye, paired with contemporary songs by MacMillan, Villette, and Esenvalds.
“Thanks to you all for such glorious singing - sheer joy!" Jonathan Blake (of LGSM featured in the movie Pride 2014) |
Colourscape Festival - September 2015
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The Fourth Choir was invited to perform in the finale of the Colourscape Music Festival on Clapham Common - in the large walk-in environment of colour and light. Each year Eye Music Trust commissions one new work for the final day of the festival. This year, The Fourth Choir's resident composer Alexander Campkin was asked to create a cross-media performance that filled the entire structure and brought to life the many journeys that can be taken through it. The aims of Eye Music Trust are to open up contemporary music to the largest possible audiences, and Colourscape has proved to be the perfect environment to increase the appreciation of some of the most innovative and creative music to audiences of all ages.
Watch the video on YouTube > |
Summer Party & Cabaret - June 2015
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The Fourth Choir ended the 2014-2015 year with a cabaret, with performances by members of the choir. Selections included Angels, Punks and Raging Queens from Elegies, Hello from The Book of Mormon, Money Money from Cabaret (Kander & Ebb), Burlington Bertie From Bow (Hargreaves), Gnu Song (Flanders & Swann), The Girl In 14G (Chenoweth), Love is Where You Find It (Brown), Cuckoo Song (Quilter & Williams), Nothing (Hamlisch), The Cat Duet, (Rossini), By The Sea (Sondheim), Quiet (Reid Gealt), Blackbird (Swingle Singers) and some original compositions from members of the choir.
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Baroque Summer Solstice - June 2015
Photo by Cara Rainbow
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We performed the Vivaldi Gloria at St Peter's Eaton Square with the Meridian Sinfonia, as well as other Renaissance and Baroque music by Bach, Palestrina, Schütz, and Tallis.
A highlight was the UK premiere of “Apparuit Deus Moysi", a jazzy chant and double choir piece by Antonio Maria Abbatini (1597-1672) which was hidden in the Vatican archives for over 350 years, until the manuscript was discovered by Giuseppe Pecce, one our members, whilst carrying out research in the Vatican library. Another highlight was the world premiere of our latest commission from Alexander Campkin, “The First Kiss”, a poignant and daring Epigram by Greek philosopher Strato, which was written to be paired with Baroque music and uses a Baroque orchestra. The concert was part of the London Pride Arts Festival 2015, and a donation was taken for Pride in London. |
Two Choir Coalition! - May 2015
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We were delighted to present a joint concert with Chantage Choir and James Davey, at Holy Redeemer, Exmouth Market, Clerkenwell, on the day after the UK elections. The choirs performed several joint numbers, including Faire is the Heaven for double choir, by William Harris. Chantage performed songs from their recent Album 'My Promise', and selections from Frank Martin Mass for double choir, and The Fourth Choir sang James McMillan, J.A.C. Redford, and Chinese choral songs only performed once before in the UK.
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Benefit concert - March 2015
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The Fourth Choir performed a concert in aid of Haringey Migrant Support Centre and Hackney Migrant Centre, at St Mary's Church in Stoke Newington. The choir donated our services, and all proceeds raised on the night (£2540) went directly towards providing immigration, housing and welfare advice for migrants in need of support.
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Spring Songs - March 2015
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We performed in the wonderful panelled Great Hall at Two Temple Place (featured in Downton Abbey) as part of The Bulldog Trust's annual art exhibition 'Cotton to Gold' - a collection of watercolours, oil paintings, Japanese prints, medieval manuscripts, woodcuts, and natural history. We sang choral songs about nature, including Britten's Five Flower Songs, Ralph Vaughan-Williams's atmospheric settings of Three Shakespeare Songs plus arrangements of Scottish folk songs by Sir Hugh Roberton.
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Berwin Leighton Paisner - March 2015
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The Choir was delighted to sing once again for the LGBT network at Berwin Leighton Paisner and their guests. BLP sponsored our initial launch party and performance. Supporting highly visible LGBT+ groups like The Fourth Choir is an important way for major corporations to give to the LGBT+ community. A collection of £250 was taken for The Albert Kennedy Trust, to help them mark their 25th anniversary.
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Recording session - January 2015
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By January 2014, the Choir had doubled in size since our first recording session in March 2014, so it was time to put document our new sounds. We recorded "Unleash the beauty of your eyes”, our first commission by acclaimed British composer Alexander Campkin.
"I was really excited to be writing a piece for The Fourth Choir, because I knew that the level of standard was very, very high, and I felt that I was able to write whatever I imagined in my head." Alexander Campkin |
2014
Shades of Light - December 2014
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We returned to the newly restored St Giles-in-the-Fields in December. Music included ancient and modern songs of transcendent beauty including Praetorius accompanied by period instruments, Arvo Pärt, Tallis, Tavener, and Hildegard von Bingen, with secular seasonal favourites and carols. We were delighted to have special guest speaker Jonathan Blake, honoured in the film "Pride".
The audience donated £900 in a collection for The Albert Kennedy Trust, an LGBT+ charity which was chosen by the choir to help them mark their 25th anniversary. The Trust supports lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans homeless young people in crisis. |
Southbank Centre - August 2014
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Big Wedding Weekend - We were privileged to sing at the Southbank Centre for the joint wedding of ten couples in the Royal Festival Hall. To celebrate the year in which same sex marriage became legal, Southbank Centre invited groups of couples, gay or straight, young or old, to marry or renew their vows during the Big Wedding Weekend, which was part of the Festival of Love. The choir was conducted by Andrea Brown, our Associate Music Director.
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Hackney Empire - July 2014
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The choir performed in the beautiful historical Hackney Empire, at the Sing Out! Festival compered by former BBC Last Choir Standing judge Sharon D Clarke, featuring professional and local choirs from across London. We were joined by The ACM Gospel Choir, The Reapers Choir, Enchorus, The Reggae Choir and The Hackney Empire Community Choir led by Sharon D and Joseph Roberts. It was an amazing and inspirational evening of choral diversity. The choir was conducted by Andrea Brown, our Associate Music Director.
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Circle Songs - June 2014
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Our Circle Songs concert on Midsummer's Eve was a night of choral soundscapes sung in the round, in the atmospheric byzantine King’s College London Chapel.
The programme included music by Bobby McFerrin, Victoria, Nusch, Duruflé, Gumpelzhaimer, James Taylor - ancient songs combined with contemporary works and improvisation. The performance featured the world premiere of “Unleash the beauty of your eyes”, a new work by acclaimed British composer Alexander Campkin which is a setting of a love poem by the 7th century BC Greek lyric poet Sappho (who famously lived on the island of Lesbos). We performed the premiere around a statue of Sappho (by German sculptor Ferdinand Seeboeck) located in the King’s Building foyer in the presence of the composer and his family. |
Toksvig Wedding - March 2014
This Marriage by Ed Rex
Salve Regina by Lars Jarisson; Arr Gunnar Eriksson
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The Fourth Choir had the honour and pleasure of singing at Sandi and Debbie Toksvig's Wedding on March 29, which was the day that The Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act came into force. It was a moving family event attended by 2000 people at the Royal Festival Hall. We shared the stage with The London Gay Men's Chorus, Sharon D Clarke, and Rick Wakeman.
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BBC Newsnight - March 2014
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The Fourth Choir were featured in the lead story on BBC Newsnight in the week leading up to The Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act. The story covered a BBC poll revealing that 22% of people would not accept an invitation to a gay wedding. This poll shows the amount of work still to be done before LGBT+ people will be fully integrated and accepted. We are passionate about our mission to affect human rights and equality through cultural impact, by singing at events and venues under-represented by the LGBT+ community, and by commissioning LGBT+ relevant choral music.
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Recording session - March 2014
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With 16 singers, the Choir recorded four songs from our Love & Adoration concert. Of those, we chose to video Ed Rex's 'This Marriage', so that we could send our positive message about the Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act across the UK and the rest of the world on YouTube.
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Love & Adoration - February 2014
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The Fourth Choir celebrated the coming into force of the Westminster Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act with a concert at the fabulous Old Finsbury Town Hall. Entitled Love and Adoration – the Sacred and Profane, the concert was a musical exploration of 500 years of choral music on the theme of love. Beginning with music composed in the 16th century by Thomas Tallis and Henry Purcell, the programme included works by Saint-Saens, Duruflé and Eric Whitacre. The emotional highlight of the concert was the performance of ‘This Marriage’ – a setting by young composer Ed Rex of an ecstatic love poem by 13th century Persian poet Rumi. The poem’s (gender neutral) words culminate in the lines “May this marriage be a sign of compassion, a seal of happiness, here and hereafter. I am out of words to describe how spirit mingles in this marriage.” We were delighted that Ed Rex was able to attend the concert.
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Kaleidoscope Gala Dinner - January 2014
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The Fourth Choir was delighted to be invited to sing at Kaleidoscope Trust's major fundraising event of the year, set amidst the splendour of London's legendary Cafe de Paris.
Kaleidoscope works hard to defend the basic human rights of LGBT+ people around the globe and has been active on the ground in many of those places, meeting activists in Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, Malawi, Trinidad and Tobago, Sri Lanka and India. |
2013 - the year we began
A Babe is Born - December 2013
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The choir performed its debut concert at St Giles-in-the-Fields in December. Music included Christmas choral music from across the world, including Richard Allain, Benjamin Britten, and a special tribute to John Tavener who passed away in November 2013. Renowned political campaigner Peter Tatchell spoke at the concert about the struggle for global LGBT+ rights. He began his address with the wry words “I am not accustomed to being invited to speak in churches…”.
The audience donated almost £1000 in a collection for Kaleidoscope Trust, an LGBT+ charity which was chosen by the choir because of current events affecting LGBT+ people in India, Uganda and Russia. |
Launch Party - 15 November 2013
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The Fourth Choir was co-founded by Kathleen Holman and Francis Nwokedi, with 16 LGBT+ singers all wishing to sing classical and modern choral works to the highest possible standard. Led by artistic director Dominic Peckham, one of the UK’s finest young choral conductors, the choir has set out to represent the LGBT+ community in London’s world-class classical music scene.
Our first performance was at our Launch Party held at 80 Leonard Street Gallery. The event introduced the ambitions of the Choir to the music community, potential sponsors and friends, enabling us to raise the funds for projects in 2014, which includes supporting students and unwaged members, commissioning LGBT+ relevant choral works, making recordings of the choir, and holding vocal workshops that will develop the choir's collective abilities. The event was sponsored by Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP. |
