BBC Symphony Chorus

The BBC Symphony Chorus has been performing in concert, for broadcasts, and on recordings since 1930, often with the BBC Symphony Orchestra or other ensembles. The group has appeared on well over 150 digital albums, plus many more during the LP era. The BBC Symphony Chorus has its origins in a small BBC Wireless Chorus founded as the BBC radio network developed in the 1920s. As larger works began to be broadcast, various choirs were brought into the studio to perform as the BBC National Chorus, and then, in 1930, a dedicated BBC Chorus was formed to accompany what was then the BBC Orchestra. That year saw the new group give the British premiere of Mahler's Symphony No. 8 in E flat major ("Symphony of a Thousand"), and the new group performed major works and attracted prestigious guest conductors almost from the start. From 1935 to 1977, the group was called the BBC Choral Society, and after that, it assumed its present name. The choir's first conductor, from 1928 to 1932, was Stanford Robinson; the tenure of Leslie Woodgate from 1934 to 1961 was especially durable. The chorus' activities were interrupted by World War II but resumed with enthusiasm as conditions in Britain stabilized. The tenure at the BBC Symphony of Malcolm Sargent, who favored large choral works like Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius, was especially productive for the chorus, which began a recording program that has remained prolific down to the present day. An early digital recording was one of Bach's Mass in B minor, BWV 232 (1990), with Otto Klemperer leading the Philharmonia Orchestra. The BBC Symphony Chorus has been predominantly associated with the BBC Symphony Orchestra but has performed and recorded with many other groups. The group is a fixture of British musical life, performing frequently at the Barbican Centre and the Royal Albert Hall and making many appearances at the BBC Proms with a great variety of visiting orchestras. The group has mounted many tours around Europe and beyond. It has shown a commitment to contemporary music, performing new works by James MacMillan, Judith Bingham, and Andrew Simpson, among others. A notable feature of the chorus's membership is that the singers are all amateurs. Later conductors have included Brian Wright (1976-1984), Gareth Morrell (1984-1988), Stephen Jackson (1989-2015), and, since 2017, Neil Ferris. Among the group's vast discography is a new recording of Michael Tippett's oratorio A Child of Our Time with the BBC Symphony Orchestra on the Chandos label in 2024. ~ James Manheim, Rovi