The Fairhaven Singers is a chamber choir based in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, UK, directed by

Ralph Woodward Ralph Woodward (born 17 November 1971) is an English classical conductor, arranger and organist. His main focus is on conducting choirs. Early life and education Ralph Woodward was born in Stockton-on-Tees, England. He attended Durham Chorister ...

. The choir is a mixed ensemble of about 48 amateur singers singing choral repertoire from the 15th century to the present. Among the major works it has performed are

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

's ''

St John Passion The ''Passio secundum Joannem'' or ''St John Passion'' (german: Johannes-Passion, link=no), BWV 245, is a Passion or oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, the older of the surviving Passions by Bach. It was written during his first year as direc ...

'' and ''

St Matthew Passion The ''St Matthew Passion'' (german: Matthäus-Passion, links=-no), BWV 244, is a '' Passion'', a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It sets ...

'',

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

's ''

Requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

'',

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...

' ''

'', and

James MacMillan Sir James Loy MacMillan, (born 16 July 1959) is a Scottish classical composer and conductor. Early life MacMillan was born at Kilwinning, in North Ayrshire, but lived in the East Ayrshire town of Cumnock until 1977. His father is James MacMi ...

's ''Seven Last Words from the Cross''. It has commissioned and premiered new works from composers that have included

Jonathan Dove Jonathan Dove (born 18 July 1959) is an English composer of opera, choral works, plays, films, and orchestral and chamber music. He has arranged a number of operas for English Touring Opera and the City of Birmingham Touring Opera (now Birmin ...

Will Todd Will Todd (b 14 January 1970) is an English musician and composer. He is a pianist, who performs regularly with others in his own works. Biography and work Todd was born in County Durham, attended Durham School and joined the choir of St Oswald ...

Bob Chilcott Robert "Bob" Chilcott (born 9 April 1955) is a British choral composer, conductor, and singer, based in Oxfordshire, England. He was a member of the King's Singers from 1985 to 1997, singing tenor. He has been a composer since 1997. Earl ...

, Carl Rütti and Cecilia MacDowall. It performs mainly in Cambridge, most often in Trinity College Chapel, St John's College Chapel and

Queens' College Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...

Chapel. It has also appeared at

Snape Maltings Concert Hall Snape may refer to: Places * Snape Island, Hudson Bay, Canada * Snape, North Yorkshire, a village in England * Snape, Suffolk, a marshland, a village and an arts center in England People * Andrew Snape (1675–1742), headmaster of Eton College ...

, Suffolk, including concerts at the

Aldeburgh Festival The Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on Snape Maltings Concert Hall. History of the Aldeburgh Festival Th ...

and

Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

War Requiem The ''War Requiem'', Op. 66, is a large-scale setting of the Requiem composed by Benjamin Britten mostly in 1961 and completed in January 1962. The ''War Requiem'' was performed for the consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral, which was b ...

at the Britten Festival; at

Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is an Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral has its origins in AD 672 when St Etheldreda built an abbey church. The presen ...

; at venues in London, including

St Martin-in-the-Fields St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. It is dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. There has been a church on the site since at least the mediev ...

and

St John's Smith Square St John's Smith Square is a redundant church in the centre of Smith Square, Westminster, London. Sold to a charitable trust as a ruin following firebombing in the Second World War, it was restored as a concert hall. This Grade I listed churc ...

; and at concert venues in Europe, including

St Mark's Basilica The Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark ( it, Basilica Cattedrale Patriarcale di San Marco), commonly known as St Mark's Basilica ( it, Basilica di San Marco; vec, Baxéłega de San Marco), is the cathedral church of the Catholic Chu ...

, Venice. It has also been featured on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

, and Classic FM. The choir was founded in 1980, and is under the patronage of Lord Fairhaven of Anglesey Abbey.

Commissions and premières

* Will Todd, ''Magnificat,'' 1997 * Richard Lloyd, ''A Garland of Praise,'' 1998 * Jake Howarth, ''Pied Beauty'', 2008 * Graham Lack, ''Sanctus'', 2009 (UK premiere) * Will Todd, ''Requiem'', 2009 * Bob Chilcott, ''Ave Maria'', 2010 * Carl Rütti, ''Amen'', 2011 * Will Todd, ''Songs of Peace'', 2012 *

Joseph Phibbs Joseph Phibbs (born 25 April 1974) is an English composer of orchestral, choral and chamber music. He has also composed for theatre, both in the UK and Japan. Since 1998 he has written regularly to commissions for Festivals (including for Chelten ...

, ''Lullay, lullay, thou lytil child'', 2012 * Will Todd, ''Te Deum'' (string-orchestra version), 2013 *

Thomas Hewitt Jones Thomas Hewitt Jones (born 24 October 1984) is a British composer and music producer, working predominantly in the fields of contemporary classical and commercial music. Thomas scored the music for the London 2012 Olympics Mascots animated films. ...

and Andrew Motion, ''Formation'', 2013 *

Somtow Sucharitkul S. P. Somtow (a rearrangement of his real name Somtow Papinian Sucharitkul; th, สมเถา สุจริตกุล; ; born 30 December 1952) is a Thai-American musical composer. He is also a science fiction, fantasy, and horror autho ...

, ''ClareVoyance'', 2014 *

Ēriks Ešenvalds Ēriks Ešenvalds (born January 26, 1977) is a Latvian composer. From 2011 to 2013 he was Fellow Commoner in Creative Arts at Trinity College, University of Cambridge. Biography Ēriks Ešenvalds was born in Priekule, Latvia in 1977. He studie ...

, ''The Time Has Come'' * Ralph Woodward, ''Summer Happiness'', 2016 * Cecilia McDowall, ''God is Light'', 2016 *

Ola Gjeilo Ola Gjeilo ( , ; born May 5, 1978) is a Norwegian composer and pianist, living in the United States.Alan Bullard Alan Bullard (born 4 August 1947) is a British composer, known mainly for his choral and educational music. His compositions are regularly performed and broadcast worldwide, and they appear on a number of CDs. Early career and education He was ...

, ''Beauty, Joy,'' 2021

Discography

*''The Blue Skies that Sparkle'' (2007) *''Will Todd, Requiem'' (2009) - awarded five stars by Choir and Organ magazine

Alan Bullard Alan Bullard (born 4 August 1947) is a British composer, known mainly for his choral and educational music. His compositions are regularly performed and broadcast worldwide, and they appear on a number of CDs. Early career and education He was ...

, ''Choir & Organ'', Mar/Apr2010, Vol. 18, Issue 2, p71. *''Full of Grace: Songs to the Virgin'' (2011) *''Into the Stars'' (2015) - music composed for the Fairhaven Singers

References

External links

Official website
* Conducto
Ralph Woodward
{{authority control English choirs Cambridge choirs Musical groups established in 1980