The Choir

The Edinburgh Singers was formed as an amateur choir in 1952. Whether singing in support of local and national charities, or performing in major venues such as the Usher Hall, the choir has been part of the city's music scene ever since. Under the direction of Dominic Peckham for the last 3 years, the Edinburgh Singers goes from strength to strength.

The past 12 months have been the choir's busiest and most successful year to date. Following our Spring 2007 concert “Sunrise”, we were privileged to be invited to sing at Evensong in Rosslyn Chapel. This was followed in June with the performance of two Masses – by Beethoven and Vaughan-Williams – in St Mary's Cathedral in Palmerston Place.

Around 40 Singers travelled to Tuscany in October, singing to packed audiences in Florence, Montecatini Terme, and San Gimignano. The varied programme of classical, modern, and Scottish pieces was anchored by the beautiful Mass in G minor by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Back home, the choir immediately moved on to our next ventures, recording two pieces by John Rutter for BBC’s Songs of Praise, before preparing for our annual Christmas concert in Greyfriars Kirk, entitled "On Bethlehem Down".

Most recently, the Edinburgh Singers performed alongside the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Opera and the Glasgow University Chapel Choir in the world premiere of a major new work by Scottish-based composer Ronald Stevenson. “Praise of Ben Dorain” was performed in the City Halls, Glasgow as part of this year’s Celtic Connections festival, and was broadcast live on BBC radio. Although testing the choir’s command of the Gaelic, the piece, and the composer, received a 5 minute ovation.

Our concert for Spring 2008 has as its centrepiece Antonio Vivaldi’s “Gloria”. One of the best known pieces in the choral repertoire, it is joyful and uplifting, and helps us to look to the brighter, sunnier days of Spring ahead. It is some 14 years since the Edinburgh Singers last performed the Gloria, and we hope you enjoy its return. To accompany the Vivaldi, we will be singing the two Rutter songs which we recorded with the BBC, and the beautiful and haunting “Sleep” by Eric Whitacre. Looking to the future, we will be taking part in the second round of the BBC’s Choir of the Year competition in April, and our Summer concert this year will be a performance of Bach’s Mass in B minor.