At the end of a challenging year, when choirs and orchestras were unable to physically meet due to coronavirus restrictions, the Parliament Choir was delighted to be able to partner with Shelter to produce an online Christmas concert - Home. Hope. Song. The concert was prerecorded in private, with the choir and orchestra socially distanced. Online stream available between 9 December 2020 and 6 January 2021. An excerpt, including our own Three Kings of Orient - Lord German, Sir Bernard Jenkin MP, and David Lammy MP - gives a flavour of the occasion - https://twitter.com/i/status/1339638742852616193 | |
For more information, see: | https://www.sjss.org.uk/parliament-choir |
Nicholas O'Neill, Chorus Master and Composer in ResidenceThe performance of ‘Dream of Gerontius’ in Westminster Cathedral in November 2019 will surely remain as one of the high water marks of the Parliament Choir's near 20-year existence. Twelve months or so since the first rehearsal on the work we were joined by friends from various choirs, Southbank Sinfonia, and a stellar line up of soloists to perform Elgar's monumental work under the direction of our Music Director Simon Over. Simon has long held a desire to tackle this piece, so important to him and to the composer, so this represented the culmination of many years of planning and an ambitious aim. |
Nicholas O'Neill, Chorus Master and Composer in ResidenceThe Guards' Chapel was a new venue for the Parliament Choir, which I felt worked very well for us. The acoustic is resonant without being overwhelming, and our placement allowed the sound to project vividly and clearly into the building itself. It was a little worrying to find leaflets in the chapel which described the organ as “at the end of its useful life”, but I soon found out that this description was wide of the mark, as the instrument seemed to be some way beyond that point... |