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London Concert Choir

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

London Concert Choir[1] (LCC) is one of London's leading amateur choirs. The choir was formed in 1960 (as the Brompton Choral Society), and the full-time membership consists of ca 150 singers of a wide range of ages.

Notable for its conviction and expressiveness in an unusually varied repertoire, LCC regularly appears with Music Director Mark Forkgen at London's premier concert venues, including the Barbican, the Southbank and Cadogan Hall, and has sung in cathedrals and other churches in and around London as well as touring to France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

The choir's 50th anniversary in 2010 was marked by two performances of Britten's War Requiem. Among other major works in recent seasons have been Mozart's Requiem with the London Mozart Players, Rachmaninov's choral symphony The Bells [2] with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and Elgar's Dream of Gerontius, Mendelssohn's Elijah, BrahmsGerman Requiem[3] and Vaughan WilliamsSea Symphony, all with Southbank Sinfonia.

Performances with the Counterpoint ensemble include Handel's Messiah, Bach's St Matthew Passion and Christmas Oratorio, Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 and Schubert's rarely-heard Mass in E flat. Operas in concert performance have ranged from Gluck's Orfeo to the London premiere of The Chalk Legend by Stephen McNeff. LCC has also performed Ellington's Sacred Concert, Will Todd’s Mass in Blue and a concert to mark Leonard Bernstein’s centenary.

The choir often gives concerts for charity and continues to commission new works, including A Light not yet Ready to Go Out by Alison Willis in aid of Breast Cancer Now, and Per Ardua ad Astra,[4] a major work by the baritone and composer Roderick Williams to commemorate the centenary of the Royal Air Force.

London Concert Choir welcomes new members, who are invited to attend a few rehearsals before an informal audition.

Musical Director

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Mark Forkgen has directed London Concert Choir since 1996. He is also Music Director of Canticum chamber choir and Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of Kokoro, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra's contemporary music group. He is Director of Music at Tonbridge School in Kent.

References

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  1. ^ "London Concert Choir". London Concert Choir. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  2. ^ "Rachmaninov: The Bells". London Concert Choir. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  3. ^ "Brahms: A German Requiem". London Concert Choir. 17 June 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  4. ^ "RAF Centenary Concert". London Concert Choir. 1 August 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
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