 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "CBSO Chorus" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(February 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
TheCBSO Chorus is achorus based inBirmingham, England.
It was founded in 1973 as theCBSO Chorus.[1]Simon Halsey has served as Chorus Director since 1983.[2] Between 1995 and 2009 was known officially as The City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus (CBSC). The chorus is allied with theCity of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO), but unlike the orchestra, the singers areamateur.
Because of its close association with the CBSO, the chorus regularly performs with the orchestra and prioritises its time to the CBSO.[2] It has also performed with other major orchestras such as theLeipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, theVienna Philharmonic Orchestra, theBerlin Philharmonic Orchestra, and theSan Francisco Symphony Orchestra. The chorus has travelled and toured to all the major concert halls around the UK and has touredEurope,North America,Asia and Australia. It has recorded with both the CBSO and other orchestras, mainly on theEMI Classics label. The chorus rehearses at theCBSO Centre in Birmingham, and its home venue isSymphony Hall.
Membership of the chorus is by audition. All members are reauditioned every other year. Members come from all walks of life; many are professionals, others are students. Long service awards are presented for every 10 years of service.
The standard is very high and with around 12 - 15 concerts per year. The chorus rehearses on Wednesday evenings and at other times as required for concerts, and has a full-time management team.
The choir performedMahler'sSymphony of a Thousand at the opening of theSydney Olympic Arts Festival in 2000 during the chorus's World Tour. In Birmingham in October 2000 the chorus was joined by the City of Birmingham Choir for the centenary performances ofElgar'sThe Dream of Gerontius.
The chorus and youth chorus performed Mahler's Symphony of a Thousand on three occasions in 2002: with theBBC Philharmonic andGianandrea Noseda at theBridgewater Hall to open theCommonwealth Games Festival in July 2002 (and also at Symphony Hall and theBBC Proms in August). In May 2002 the chorus accepted an invitation to record live for EMI at theVienna Musikverein singing inBeethoven'sNinth Symphony with the Vienna Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle. After two performances, the chorus received complimentary reviews such as from theWiener Zeitung noting that "the CBSC met Rattle's demands with transparency, clarity and perfect execution".[This quote needs a citation]
In January 2004 the chorus flew toHelsinki to join theFinnish Radio Symphony Orchestra for the Finnish premiere of Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius (they performed later in the year with the CBSO in Birmingham andAmsterdam). On 31 January 2004, the chorus celebrated its 30th anniversary with a choral programme and, in June, live concert recordings for EMI of Mahler's Symphony of a Thousand with the CBSO and Sir Simon Rattle. In September 2004 the chorus performed for the first time with theBerlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle at the BBC Proms and at Symphony Hall in performances of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
In February 2006 the chorus appeared inHong Kong at the Hong Kong Cultural Festival, giving a performance of Mahler'sSecond Symphony with theHong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra underEdo de Waart and performingFauré'sRequiem under Simon Halsey. October 2006 saw the chorus joining the City of Birmingham Choir and the CBSO to give the Centenary performances of Elgar'sThe Kingdom.
In June 2007 the chorus took part in the 150th Anniversary ofEdward Elgar's birth by performing The Dream of Gerontius, The Apostles and The Kingdom over three days with Sakari Oramo and the CBSO. The chorus then performed The Apostles again with Oramo and the CBSO at The Proms in August and The Dream of Gerontius in St. George's Chapel, Windsor in September at the Windsor Festival with Christopher Robinson and the CBSO.
The 2007–2008 season saw the chorus taking part in the reopening of the Town Hall, Birmingham. In April 2008 the chorus travelled toKuala Lumpur to perform Vaughan Williams' A Sea Symphony with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra under Martyn Brabbins. In June 2008 they performed Beethoven'sNinth Symphony for the 50th time in the final concert under Sakari Oramo as music director of the CBSO.
In 2013 to mark the centenary of the birth ofBenjamin Britten, the CBSA chorus accompanied the orchestra and three solo singers to perform Britten'sWar Requiem atCoventry Cathedral.[3]
The chorus claims many recordings to its credit, including five award-winning releases: Mahler's Symphony No. 2 conducted by Sir Simon Rattle which won Gramophone Record of the Year in 1988;Sir Michael Tippett'sA Child of Our Time, conducted by the composer, which was awarded thePreis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik;Szymanowski'sStabat Mater conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, which was awarded the 1995 Gramophone Best Choral Recording. At the 2000Gramophone Awards the chorus was awarded Best Opera recording for its EMI release of Szymanowski'sKing Roger with the CBSO and Sir Simon Rattle, and Best Choral recording for itsChandos release of works byLili Boulanger with the BBC Philharmonic andYan Pascal Tortelier in 1999. Other recent releases includeWalton'sBelshazzar's Feast, and Mahler'sSymphony No. 3 with the CBSO, and choral works by Fauré with the BBC Philharmonic. In 2006 the chorus released its first completely choral CD under Halsey on the EMI label. In 2007 the chorus featured on a new recording ofThe Dream of Gerontius with theCBSO andOramo released for the Elgar 150th birthday celebrations on the CBSO's own label.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
