Reading Festival Chorus
Reading Festival Chorus is a chorus which was formed in 1945 to give performances of larger scale choral works. It is based in the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. Rehearsals are held on Monday evenings in central Reading (RG1 4BW) and new members are alway welcome to come and try us out.
The Chorus appointed Greg Hallam as its Musical Director in 2018, and its patron is the pianist John Lill.
The Chorus is twinned with the Johanneskantorei of Düsseldorf, Germany, with whom they performed Handel's Messiah in October 2015 to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Chorus.
The chorus sings a diverse programme of classical music programme, with works such as Mozart's Requiem, Karl Jenkins' The Armed Man in 2005 to Beethoven's Missa Solemnis and a summer programme of English and American Folksongs by Tippett and Aaron Copland.
Their 2014-15 Season comprised the Brahms Deutches Requiem; Haydn, Mass in a Time of War and Parry, Songs of Farewell; Elgar's Music Makers and Chilcott, Aesop's Fables. In 2016-17 they performed a concert of Mozart at Douai Abbey, (including Mozart Solemn Vespers), Judas Maccabeus by Handel on 8 April 2017, and Rutter Requiem and The Mass of the Martyrs by their then-Musical Director Edward-Rhys Harry on 1 July 2017.
The 2017/18 Season included: Bach, Christmas Oratorio and Saint-Saens, Oratorio de Noel (December 2017); a programme of European and American choral classics with their interim Musical Director, Andrew Haase (24 March 2018); and Schubert, Mass in G, Handel, Dixit Dominus with Greg Hallam (14 July 2018).
The 2019 programme included Lenten Reflections (a seasonal programme including Bach: Komm, Jesu, Komm and Buxtehude: Membra Jesu Nostri) on 23 March and Verdi's Requiem (sung with RFC's twin choir, the Johanneskantori Dusseldorf on 22 June in the University of Reading, Great Hall, and again in Dusseldorf in September).
The 2019/20 season opens at Douai Abbey, Upper Woolhampton, Berkshire, on 30 November, with a concert of Advent music, entitled 'A Spotless Rose'; and will be followed by a programme including music by Rheinberger and the two-piano version of the Brahms Requiem at Leighton Park School and a programme of Shakespeare Songs and Sonnets in the summer term.
Former Musical Directors include Edward-Rhys Harry, Janet Lincé and Jacques Cohen.