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Graham Taylor founded the City of Glasgow Chorus in 1983 as The New Glasgow Singers, a small group of passionate choral singers looking to take on some of the less well-known works in the choral repertoire . Since then, it has grown into an organisation that has around 100 members singing a wide range of musical genres but still with the core wish to seek out and perform the less familiar pieces. The Chorus has established itself as one of the biggest independent choral groups in the West of Scotland and a significant player in Scotland’s arts environment.
The Chorus performs a regular series of concerts each year. The range of music includes serious classical works, programmes of choral classics, West End musical pieces and the lighter popular music included in the annual Christmas Cracker concert. Some notable past highlights have been Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Berlioz’s Grande Messe des Morts and Mahler’s Eighth Symphony - the Symphony of a Thousand. The Chorus has a long-standing relationship with the Orchestra of Scottish Opera, as well as having performed with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, the orchestra of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) and the Paragon Ensemble.
The Chorus has a policy of seeking to use selected students from The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland as soloists in its own concerts. In addition to providing first class performers, this policy gives the young singers valuable experience on the platform. Over the years the Chorus has also shared the stage with international stars such as José Carreras, Lesley Garrett, Lisa Milne, Sir Willard White, Maria Ewing, Anthony Michaels-Moore, Sarah Brightman and Russell Watson.
In international terms, the Chorus has toured abroad to the Czech Republic, to perform the Prague première of Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast, to Notre Dame Cathedral in Chartres, France and, most recently to Krakow and Opole in Poland, which included a performance of Verdi’s Requiem with the Opole Philharmonic Orchestra which was received with great acclaim. There is a tour planned to China for the Autumn of 2016.
The Chorus has made a number of recordings, the most recent of which is a recording of Choral Classics: Something Old, Something New made in the Caird Hall in Dundee, with organist David Hamilton, which was released in November 2014.
The City of Glasgow Chorus Trust is a Company limited by guarantee, with charitable status. It is registered in Scotland (113563), and its Registered Charity number is SC 004791.