Artists

Cambridge Singers:
The Cambridge Singers are a mixed-voice chamber choir, formed in 1981 by their director John Rutter for the express purpose of making recordings. The nucleus of the group was originally provided by former members of the chapel choir of Clare College, Cambridge (where John Rutter was director of music from 1975-1979), supplemented by former members of other collegiate choirs. The current generation of Cambridge Singers is formed of young professional singers who continue to share this common background.

Clare College Choir:
Since the founding of a mixed voice choir in 1972, the Choir of Clare College has gained an international reputation as one of the world’s leading university choirs. In addition to its primary function of leading services three times a week in the College chapel, the Choir keeps an active schedule recording, broadcasting, and performing. Former directors have included John Rutter and Timothy Brown. Under the direction of Graham Ross, Director of Music since 2010, it has been praised for its consistently ‘thrilling’ and ‘outstanding’ performances worldwide. In addition to live performances, the Choir has produced an impressive discography of more than forty recordings. Their recordings under Graham Ross on the Harmonia Mundi label have been released to great critical acclaim, earning praise for ‘impeccable ensemble’ and ‘immaculate performances’, a Le Choix de France Musique and a Diapason d’Or award, and garnering a Gramophone Award nomination.

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra:
For more than seven decades the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) has been at the forefront of music-making in the UK. Its home base since 2004 at London’s Cadogan Hall serves as a springboard for seven principal residencies as well as more than forty-five concerts per year in long-term partnership venues across the country, often in areas where access to live orchestral music is very limited. In London, the Orchestra’s regular performances at Cadogan Hall are complemented by a distinguished series at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall and a hugely popular series at the Royal Albert Hall. With a wider reach than any other UK large ensemble, the RPO has truly become Britain’s national orchestra.

Alongside its concert series, the RPO embraces 21st-century opportunities, including appearances with pop stars and on video game, film and television soundtracks, whilst its artistic priority remains paramount: the making of great music at the highest level for the widest possible audience.

Aurora Orchestra:
Aurora Orchestra was formed in 2004 by a group of like-minded friends who wanted to share their love of music with new audiences.
Under the continuing direction of Principal Conductor Nicholas Collon, today Aurora is one of Europe’s leading chamber orchestras; still driven by the same sense of camaraderie, adventure and enjoyment which brought them together.

Aurora Orchestra aspires to be the world’s most creative orchestra, combining the highest quality of performance with an exceptional breadth of artistic horizons and a trailblazing approach to concert presentation. It seeks to reach new audiences through an outward-looking and collaborative approach to orchestral music-making, built on an unparalleled range of creative partnerships and a consciously omnivorous approach to repertoire. Since its launch in 2005, it has worked with a roster of artists ranging from Ian Bostridge, Brett Dean, Anthony Marwood and Sarah Connolly to Edmund de Waal, Wayne McGregor and Björk. With some 80 concerts each year, the orchestra currently performs to over 30,000 people across the UK and internationally annually.

City of London Sinfonia:
The City of London Sinfonia was founded in 1971 by Richard Hickox. It is the orchestral home to over 40 outstanding professional musicians, who come together in the shared belief that music has the power to transform people across all areas of society.

The CLS give over 75 performances every year anywhere from an East London club to international concert halls, cathedrals and opera houses, or communities who because of location or opportunity would not otherwise experience outstanding professional music-making. They spend over 150 days every year in schools where social background often creates a barrier to creativity and ambition, hospitals for young people with severe and challenging conditions, and with older people dealing with loss of loved ones and memory.

They place equal value and bring the same approach to everything they do: the highest quality; a distinctive, ‘seriously informal’ style of performance that removes the barriers between musicians and audiences so that people can experience the transformative power of music; and a warmth of music-making that is created through their musicians sharing a wider range of experiences together beyond the concert platform.