Kingston Choral Society
| Kingston Choral Society | |
|---|---|
| Choir | |
Concert programme cover
July 1987 |
|
| Origin | Kingston upon Thames, England, United Kingdom |
| Founded | December 1949 |
| Genre | Classical |
| Music director | John Wilkinson (1949–1980) Robin Page (1980–2008) Graham Ross (2008–2010) Andrew Griffiths (2011– present) |
| Website | www |
Kingston Choral Society is a large mixed-voice choir based in Kingston upon Thames in the UK. Originating in 1949, the choir in 2016 had around 140 auditioned members. It stages four concerts each year with professional musicians and soloists. Most of these concerts are held at All Saints Church, Kingston upon Thames, at St Andrew's Church, Surbiton, or at Cadogan Hall in central London.
The history of Kingston Choral Society began in December 1949 when the Mayor of Surbiton gathered local church choirs to sing Handel's Messiah in March 1950. A nucleus of these singers stayed together and became ‘Surbiton Oratorio Society’. By 1985 the Society had become more closely involved with the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and adopted its current name.
In 1980 the choir was in the middle of rehearsals for a concert of Fanshawe's African Sanctus when John Wilkinson, its conductor of 30 years, left suddenly. Robin Page stepped into the breach to conduct that concert and stayed on as the choir's musical director for 27 years. During that time the choir commissioned a new work from Nicholas O'Neill, The Clocks of Cassiodorus, and performed it in 1999. In 2003 Kingston Choral Society joined with 46 other choirs to commission The Kestrel Road from Peter Maxwell Davies, under the auspices of Making Music, in celebration of his 70th birthday. The choir gave a concert performance of the work in 2005.
The choir occasionally performed abroad, notably in Delft (which was at that time twinned with Kingston upon Thames) in 1990, in Venice in 2004 and in New York City and Connecticut in 2007. Robin Page was also principal conductor of three orchestras and taught at the Royal Military School of Music.
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