New London Children's Choir
Encyclopedia
The New London Children's Choir is a children's choir which rehearses at Highgate Primary School in North London
, giving singing opportunities to members aged seven to eighteen. Members live in London and surrounding areas. It was founded in 1991 by Artistic Director Ronald Corp
. As well as performing its own concerts, the choir
has sung with orchestras and ensembles in many concert halls and opera houses worldwide and features on several film and TV soundtracks and CDs.
in 1991 with the aim of introducing children to the challenges and fun of singing and performing all types of music. It holds its own concerts at the end of the Christmas and Summer terms, and also runs a residential Summer School during the holidays at a school in Berkshire. The choir has appeared in major London concert halls working with symphony orchestras as well as in major festivals and concerts across the UK and abroad. It has performed frequently at the Proms, made a number of film soundtrack and TV recordings, including the soundtrack to Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
and been engaged for concerts and recordings with all the major London orchestras and opera companies such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra
, and sing onstage at the English National Opera
.
The choir is organised into three groups: Training Choir (for children aged 7-10), Senior Choir (for children aged 11-18; this element is the main performing auditioned choir) and Youth Choir (ages 14+ mixed SATB voices).
Other highlights include:
Benjamin Britten
's War Requiem at The Royal Albert Hall, The Queen's 80th Birthday Prom, Mahler's Symphony of 1000 at The Royal Albert Hall
/Birmingham Symphony Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
, Richard Blackford's Voices of Exile at the Barbican, Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel at the Barbican, Tan Dun
A World Symphony for the Millennium (Albert Hall), yearly appearances at the BBC Proms, The Magic Pot- Lorin Maazel
70th Birthday Celebration at the Barbican.
The choir has performed in Italy (RAI
Television), France, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Holland and made its US debut in 2003 at the Lincoln Centre, New York.
The choir has recorded for various feature films and collaborated with artists including: Tarzan, A Little Princess
, The Seed of Chucky, Roberto Alagna
, Charlotte Church
, Russell Watson
, Fat Les
, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Katherine Jenkins
, Lemar
, Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne
, and Lou Reed
The choir has a special commitment to commissioning and has premiered over forty new works by composers such as Diana Burrell
, Simon Bainbridge
, Howard Skempton, Philip Cashian, Patrick Nunn, Richard Causton, Tansy Davies
, John Woolrich, Michael Nyman
, Gary Carpenter and Morgan Hayes. It has performed the premieres of dozens of further works.
, Oliver Knussen
CBE, Mary King
, and Michael Nyman
.
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
, giving singing opportunities to members aged seven to eighteen. Members live in London and surrounding areas. It was founded in 1991 by Artistic Director Ronald Corp
Ronald Corp
Ronald Corp is a composer, conductor, and Church of England priest. He is founder and Artistic Director of the New London Orchestra and the New London Children's Choir. Corp is Musical Director of the London Chorus, a position he took up in 1994, and is also Musical Director of the Highgate Choral...
. As well as performing its own concerts, the choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
has sung with orchestras and ensembles in many concert halls and opera houses worldwide and features on several film and TV soundtracks and CDs.
History and organization
The choir was launched by its musical director Ronald CorpRonald Corp
Ronald Corp is a composer, conductor, and Church of England priest. He is founder and Artistic Director of the New London Orchestra and the New London Children's Choir. Corp is Musical Director of the London Chorus, a position he took up in 1994, and is also Musical Director of the Highgate Choral...
in 1991 with the aim of introducing children to the challenges and fun of singing and performing all types of music. It holds its own concerts at the end of the Christmas and Summer terms, and also runs a residential Summer School during the holidays at a school in Berkshire. The choir has appeared in major London concert halls working with symphony orchestras as well as in major festivals and concerts across the UK and abroad. It has performed frequently at the Proms, made a number of film soundtrack and TV recordings, including the soundtrack to Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the fourth film to be released in the Star Wars saga, as the first of a three-part prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy, as well as the first film in the saga in terms...
and been engaged for concerts and recordings with all the major London orchestras and opera companies such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra
London Philharmonic Orchestra
The London Philharmonic Orchestra , based in London, is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom, and is based in the Royal Festival Hall. In addition, the LPO is the main resident orchestra of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera...
, and sing onstage at the English National Opera
English National Opera
English National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden...
.
The choir is organised into three groups: Training Choir (for children aged 7-10), Senior Choir (for children aged 11-18; this element is the main performing auditioned choir) and Youth Choir (ages 14+ mixed SATB voices).
Performances
Recent highlights of the choir include:- Royal Opening of St Pancras International station with Katherine JenkinsKatherine JenkinsKatherine Jenkins is a Welsh mezzo-soprano. She is a classical-popular crossover singer who performs across a spectrum of operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre and hymns.-Early life and education:...
in the presence of HM Queen - Winner of Best Opera Recording at the Grammys 2008 for Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel- CHANDOS Label, Charles MackerrasCharles MackerrasSir Alan Charles Maclaurin Mackerras, AC, CH, CBE was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan...
/ Philharmonia - Lou ReedLou ReedLewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
Berlin Tour Europe 2007 and Summer 2008 - Falklands 25th Memorial Concert at Southwark Cathedral
- Damon AlbarnDamon AlbarnDamon Albarn is an English singer-songwriter and record producer who has been involved in many high profile projects, coming to prominence as the frontman and primary songwriter of Britpop band Blur...
Plague Songs concert at the Barbican November 2007 - John Adams' On the Transmigration of SoulsOn the Transmigration of SoulsOn the Transmigration of Souls, for orchestra, chorus, children’s choir and pre-recorded tape is a composition by composer John Adams commissioned by The New York Philharmonic and Lincoln Center’s Great Performers shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks.Adams began writing the piece in...
- Barbican 2007 with London Symphony OrchestraLondon Symphony OrchestraThe London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
and Choir - Blue Peter PromThe PromsThe Proms, more formally known as The BBC Proms, or The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in London...
2007 Royal Albert Hall with Connie FisherConnie FisherConnie Fisher is a Welsh actress and singer, who won the BBC One talent contest, How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?... - Aldeburgh Festival 2007
- Soundtrack for BBC documentary on footballer Walter Tull
- World premiere of Martynov's La Vita Nuova with the London Philharmonic Orchestra
- Barbican Centre's Twisted Christmas 2008
- Sass & Bide Shine Collective charity event
- Carmina Burana with the Various Voices Festival Chorus 2009
Other highlights include:
Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
's War Requiem at The Royal Albert Hall, The Queen's 80th Birthday Prom, Mahler's Symphony of 1000 at The Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
/Birmingham Symphony Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It tours widely, and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's national orchestra"...
, Richard Blackford's Voices of Exile at the Barbican, Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel at the Barbican, Tan Dun
Tan Dun
Tan Dun is a Chinese contemporary classical composer, most widely known for his scores for the movies Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero.-Early life in China:...
A World Symphony for the Millennium (Albert Hall), yearly appearances at the BBC Proms, The Magic Pot- Lorin Maazel
Lorin Maazel
Lorin Varencove Maazel is an American conductor, violinist and composer.- Early life :Maazel was born to Jewish-American parents in Neuilly-sur-Seine in France and brought up in the United States, primarily at his parents' home in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood. His father, Lincoln Maazel , was...
70th Birthday Celebration at the Barbican.
The choir has performed in Italy (RAI
RAI
RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
Television), France, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Holland and made its US debut in 2003 at the Lincoln Centre, New York.
Recordings
The choir has appeared on a number of CDs in collaboration with other artists, as well as releasing discs of their own. Some of these include:| Composer/Artist | Title | Label | Distribution no. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benjamin Britten | A Ceremony of carols; Friday Afternoons & Three Two part Songs | Naxos | 8.553183 |
| Betty Roe | Family Tree | Somm | CD209 |
| New London Children's Choir | Pigs Could Fly | Naxos | |
| Kindred Spirits | Kindred Spirits | EMI Classics (2007) | 509950974726 |
| Charlotte Church | Dream a Dream | Sony CB | 811CDKCF |
| Russell Watson | Outside In | 2007 |
The choir has recorded for various feature films and collaborated with artists including: Tarzan, A Little Princess
A Little Princess
A Little Princess is a 1905 children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It is a revised and expanded version of Burnett's 1888 serialized novel entitled Sara Crewe: or, What Happened at Miss Minchin's Boarding School, which was published in St. Nicholas Magazine.According to Burnett, she...
, The Seed of Chucky, Roberto Alagna
Roberto Alagna
Roberto Alagna is a French-Italian tenor. He was born in Clichy-sous-Bois, Seine-Saint-Denis, France.-Early years:Alagna was born outside of the city of Paris in 1963 to a family of Sicilian immigrants . As a teenager, the young Alagna began busking and singing pop in Parisian cabarets for tips...
, Charlotte Church
Charlotte Church
Charlotte Maria Church is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress and television presenter. She rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching into pop music in 2005. By 2007, she had sold more than 10 million records worldwide including over 5 million in the United States...
, Russell Watson
Russell Watson
Russell Watson is an English tenor who has released singles and albums of both operatic-style and pop songs. The self-styled "People's Tenor" had been singing since he was a child, and became known after performing at a working men's club...
, Fat Les
Fat Les
Fat Les is a British band consisting of Alex James from Blur, actor Keith Allen and artist Damien Hirst. Vocals on their singles were provided by Keith Allen , Alex James , Lily Allen , Andy Kane , Lisa Moorish and Michael Barrymore .Fat Les created the...
, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Katherine Jenkins
Katherine Jenkins
Katherine Jenkins is a Welsh mezzo-soprano. She is a classical-popular crossover singer who performs across a spectrum of operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre and hymns.-Early life and education:...
, Lemar
Lemar
Lemar Obika , professionally known simply as Lemar, is an English recording artist. Obika has had a run of chart success in the UK, Europe and Australia...
, Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
, and Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
The choir has a special commitment to commissioning and has premiered over forty new works by composers such as Diana Burrell
Diana Burrell
Diana Burrell is an English composer.-Life and career:She was born in Norwich and attended Norwich High School for Girls before studying music at Cambridge University. She began her career as a viola player, but soon became well known for her compositions and became a full-time composer.Her first...
, Simon Bainbridge
Simon Bainbridge
Simon Bainbridge is a British composer, and a professor and former head of composition at the Royal Academy of Music, London, and visiting professor at the University of Louisville, Kentucky in the United States.-Biography:...
, Howard Skempton, Philip Cashian, Patrick Nunn, Richard Causton, Tansy Davies
Tansy Davies
Tansy Davies is a British composer.As a youth, Davies sang and played guitar in a rock band. She developed an interest in composition in her teens, and subsequently began music studies at the Colchester Institute in French horn and composition...
, John Woolrich, Michael Nyman
Michael Nyman
Michael Laurence Nyman, CBE is an English composer of minimalist music, pianist, librettist and musicologist, known for the many film scores he wrote during his lengthy collaboration with the filmmaker Peter Greenaway, and his multi-platinum soundtrack album to Jane Campion's The Piano...
, Gary Carpenter and Morgan Hayes. It has performed the premieres of dozens of further works.
Patronage
The choir's patrons include Louis AndriessenLouis Andriessen
Louis Andriessen is a Dutch composer and pianist based in Amsterdam. He teaches composition at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague...
, Oliver Knussen
Oliver Knussen
Oliver Knussen CBE is a British composer and conductor.-Biography:Oliver Knussen was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His father, Stuart Knussen, was principal double bass of the London Symphony Orchestra. Oliver Knussen studied composition with John Lambert, between 1963 and 1969 and also received...
CBE, Mary King
Mary King
Mary King may refer to:*Mary King , professor at the University of Peace, author and non-violence activist * Mary King , British equestrian and Olympic silver medallist...
, and Michael Nyman
Michael Nyman
Michael Laurence Nyman, CBE is an English composer of minimalist music, pianist, librettist and musicologist, known for the many film scores he wrote during his lengthy collaboration with the filmmaker Peter Greenaway, and his multi-platinum soundtrack album to Jane Campion's The Piano...
.