The New London Children's Choir was a children's choir which rehearsed at Highgate Primary School in

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nort ...

and, latterly, All Hallows, Gospel Oak, giving singing opportunities to members aged seven to eighteen. Members were from London and surrounding areas. It was founded in 1991 by Artistic Director

Ronald Corp Ronald Geoffrey Corp, (born 4 January 1951) is a composer, conductor and Anglican priest. He is founder and artistic director of the New London Orchestra (NLO) and the New London Children's Choir. Corp is musical director of the London Chorus, a ...

and held its last rehearsal in July 2022. As well as performing its own concerts, the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

sang with orchestras and ensembles in many concert halls and opera houses worldwide and features on several film and TV soundtracks and CDs.

History and organization

The choir was launched by its musical director

in 1991 with the aim of introducing children to the challenges and fun of singing and performing all types of music. It held its own concerts at the end of the Christmas and Summer terms, and also ran a residential Summer School during the holidays at a school in Berkshire. The choir appeared in major London concert halls working with symphony orchestras as well as in major festivals and concerts across the UK and abroad. It performed frequently at the Proms, made a number of film soundtrack and TV recordings, including the soundtrack to Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and been engaged for concerts and recordings with all the major London orchestras and opera companies such as the

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...

, and sing onstage at the

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English ...

. The choir was organised into three groups: Training Choir (for children aged 7–10), Senior Choir (for children aged 11–18; this element is the main performing auditioned choir) and Youth Choir (ages 14+ mixed SATB voices).

Performances

Recent highlights of the choir include: *Royal Opening of St Pancras International with

Katherine Jenkins Katherine Maria Jenkins (born 29 June 1980) is a Welsh singer. She is a mezzo-soprano and performs operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre, and hymns.Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

* Winner of Best Opera Recording at the

Grammys The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

2008 for Engelbert Humperdinck's ''

Hansel and Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; german: Hänsel und Gretel ) is a German fairy tale collected by the German Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). It is also known as Little Step Brother and Little Step Sister. Hansel ...

''- CHANDOS Label,

Charles Mackerras Mackerras in 2005 Sir Alan Charles MacLaurin Mackerras (; 1925 2010) was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. He was long associated with the Eng ...

/ Philharmonia *

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

Berlin Tour Europe 2007 and Summer 2008 *

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...

25th Memorial Concert at

Southwark Cathedral Southwark Cathedral ( ) or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge. It is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Southwark. ...

Damon Albarn Damon Albarn (; born 23 March 1968) is an English-Icelandic musician, singer-songwriter and composer, best known as the frontman and primary lyricist of the rock band Blur and as the co-creator and primary musical contributor of the virtual ...

''Plague Songs'' concert at the

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...

November 2007 *

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...

' ''

On the Transmigration of Souls ''On the Transmigration of Souls ''is a composition for orchestra, chorus, children's choir, and pre-recorded tape by the American composer John Adams (born 1947). It was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic and Lincoln Center's Great Per ...

'' - Barbican Centre 2007 with

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

and Choir * Blue Peter Prom 2007 Royal Albert Hall with

Connie Fisher Connie Fisher (born 17 June 1983) is a British actress, singer and TV presenter, who won the BBC One talent contest, '' How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?'' On 15 November 2006, she opened to excellent reviews in the part of Maria von Trapp ...

* Aldeburgh Festival 2007 * Soundtrack for BBC documentary on footballer

Walter Tull Walter Daniel John Tull (28 April 1888 – 25 March 1918) was an English professional footballer and British Army officer of Afro-Caribbean descent. He played as an inside forward and half back for Clapton, Tottenham Hotspur and Northampton Tow ...

* World premiere of Martynov's ''La Vita Nuova'' with the

* Barbican Centre's Twisted Christmas 2008 * Sass & Bide ''Shine Collective'' charity event * Carmina Burana with the Various Voices Festival Chorus 2009 Other highlights include:

Benjamin 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 ...

's ''War Requiem'' at The Royal Albert Hall, The Queen's 80th Birthday Prom, Mahler's Eighth Symphony at The

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

/Birmingham Symphony Hall with the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

, Richard Blackford's ''Voices of Exile'' at the Barbican, Humperdinck's ''Hansel and Gretel'' at the Barbican,

Tan Dun Tan Dun (, ; born 18 August 1957) is a Chinese-born American composer and conductor. A leading figure of contemporary classical music, he draws from a variety of Western and Chinese influences, a dichotomy which has shaped much of his life and ...

''A World Symphony for the Millennium'' (Albert Hall), yearly appearances at the BBC Proms, ''The Magic Pot''-

Lorin Maazel Lorin Varencove Maazel (, March 6, 1930 – July 13, 2014) was an American conductor, violinist and composer. He began conducting at the age of eight and by 1953 had decided to pursue a career in music. He had established a reputation in th ...

70th Birthday Celebration at the Barbican. The choir has performed in Italy (

RAI RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...

Television), France, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Holland and made its US debut in 2003 at the

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

, New York.

Recordings

The choir has appeared on a number of CDs in collaboration with other artists, as well as releasing discs of their own. Some of these include:
The choir recorded for various feature films and collaborated with artists including: Tarzan,

A Little Princess ''A Little Princess'' is a children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, first published as a book in 1905. It is an expanded version of the short story "Sara Crewe: or, What Happened at Miss Minchin's", which was serialized in '' St. Nicholas M ...

, The Seed of Chucky,

Roberto Alagna Roberto Alagna (; born 7 June 1963) is a French operatic tenor. He obtained French citizenship in 1981, while also retaining his previous Italian citizenship. Early years Alagna was born in Clichy-sous-Bois, outside the city of Paris, in 1963 to ...

Charlotte Church Charlotte Maria Church (born Charlotte Maria Reed, 21 February 1986) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress, television presenter and political activist from Cardiff. Church rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching i ...

Russell Watson Russell Watson is an English tenor who has released singles and albums of both operatic-style and pop songs. He began singing as a child, and became known after performing at a working men's club. He came to attention in 1999 when he sang "God ...

Fat Les Fat Les was a British band consisting of Blur bassist Alex James, actor Keith Allen, and artist Damien Hirst. Vocals on their singles were provided by Keith Allen (all), Alex James ("Vindaloo"), Lily Allen ("Who Invented Fish & Chips?"), An ...

, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace,

Katherine Jenkins Katherine Maria Jenkins (born 29 June 1980) is a Welsh singer. She is a mezzo-soprano and performs operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre, and hymns.Lemar Lemar Obika (born 4 April 1978), known as Lemar, is an English singer, songwriter and record producer. Initially rising to fame after finishing third on the first series of British talent show ''Fame Academy'', he was later signed to Sony BMG ...

, Sharon and

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

, and

The choir had a special commitment to commissioning and premiered over forty new works by composers such as

Diana Burrell Diana Elizabeth Jane Burrell (born 25 October 1948) is an English composer and viola player. Life and career Burrell was born on 25 October 1948 in Norwich, England. Her parents were Bernard Burrell, a schoolteacher by profession who served as ...

Simon Bainbridge Simon Bainbridge (30 August 1952 – 2 April 2021) was a British composer. He was also a professor and head of composition at the Royal Academy of Music, London, and visiting professor at the University of Louisville, Kentucky, in the United St ...

, Howard Skempton,

Philip Cashian Philip Cashian (born 1963) is an English composer. He is the head of composition at the Royal Academy of Music. Biography Philip Cashian was born in Manchester in 1963 and studied at Cardiff University and the Guildhall School of Music and Dr ...

, Patrick Nunn, Richard Causton,

Tansy Davies Tansy Davies (born 29 May 1973, Bristol) is an English composer of contemporary classical music. She won the BBC Young Composers' Competition in 1996 and has written works for ensembles such as the London Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Or ...

John Woolrich John Woolrich ( ; born 1954 in Cirencester) is an English composer. Biography Woolrich has founded a group (the Composers Ensemble), a festival (Hoxton New Music Days), and has been composer in association with the Orchestra of St John's and th ...

Michael Nyman Michael Laurence Nyman, Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 23 March 1944) is an English composer, pianist, libretto, librettist, musicologist, and filmmaker. He is known for numerous film soundtrack, scores (many written during his length ...

, Gary Carpenter and Morgan Hayes. It has performed the premieres of dozens of further works.

Patronage

The choir's patrons included

Louis Andriessen Louis Joseph Andriessen (; 6 June 1939 – 1 July 2021) was a Dutch composer, pianist and academic teacher. Considered the most influential Dutch composer of his generation, he was a central proponent of The Hague school of composition. Although ...

, the late

Oliver Knussen Stuart Oliver Knussen (12 June 1952 – 8 July 2018) was a British composer and conductor. Early life Oliver Knussen was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His father, Stuart Knussen, was principal double bass of the London Symphony Orchestra, and a ...

CBE, and

External links

New London Children's Choir

References

{{authority control London choirs Choirs of children Musical groups established in 1991 1991 establishments in England