London Symphony Chorus

The London Symphony Chorus was founded in 1966 with the mission of performing vocal symphonic works jointly with the London Symphony Orchestra. At the same time, the Chorus, which currently includes some 150 singers, is not a subordinate part of the Orchestra but an independent organization and therefore also collaborates with other ensembles and institutions. At the center of its repertoire are the large-scale works of the 19th and 20th centuries, beginning with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, continuing through Rossini’s and Dvořák’s Stabat Mater settings, the Brahms Requiem, and Mahler’s symphonies to Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius, Britten’s War Requiem, and Tippett’s A Child of Our Time. More than 140 recordings document the work of the London Symphony Chorus; they have received no fewer than five Grammy Awards. The 2018-19 season will include performances of such works as Britten’s Spring Symphony with Sir Simon Rattle, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass with François-Xavier Roth, Bern-
stein’s Candide with Marin Alsop, and music by Charles Ives with Michael Tilson Thomas. The London Symphony Chorus has been directed by Simon Halsey since 2012. A native of London who was born in 1958, Halsey is a longtime associate of Sir Simon Rattle. They already started working together during Rattle’s tenure with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, whose chorus Halsey continues to direct. In later years, when Halsey helmed the Rundfunkchor Berlin from 2001 to 2015, they collaborated on numerous projects with the Berlin Philharmonic. This partnership now continues with concerts with the London Symphony Orchestra, including such opera performances as Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen, which they will perform in 2019.

LUCERNE FESTIVAL (IMF) debut on 28 August 1986 with Mozart’s Requiem led by Ulrich Meyer-Schoellkopf.

July 2018