Elysian Singers

The Elysian Singers of London have had a visible place in Britain's choral scene, appearing at Windsor Castle in the 50th-birthday celebration for Prince Charles that also included cellist Mstislav Rostropovich and the English Chamber Orchestra. They have championed contemporary music and have an unusually broad repertory of works from the 20th century and beyond. The Elysian Singers of London, a choir of about 28 members, was founded in 1986 by Matthew Greenall, a Royal Academy of Music graduate who gathered a group of former members of small collegiate choirs from Oxford and Cambridge. The group stressed new music from the beginning. In 1991, they released Child of Light, which included world premieres of works by Sir John Tavener (who became a patron to the choir), Kenneth Leighton, and Peter Maxwell Davies. The Singers broadcast Henryk Górecki's Miserere in 1993, with the composer on hand. They have given concerts with cellist Stephen Isserlis and other high-profile soloists including violinist Tasmin Little, with whom they appeared at Wigmore Hall. Greenall remained director until 1999, when he was succeeded by Sam Laughton, formerly an organ scholar at Sidney Sussex College at Cambridge University. In 2000, the choir appeared in the finals of the televised Sainsbury's Choir of the Year competition at the Royal Albert Hall. The choir has also appeared at other major London concert venues, including the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and the Purcell Room, but many of their concerts are held in churches and cathedrals, in London and across Britain. The Singers' 2019 schedule includes appearances at Dore Abbey in Herefordshire, St Pancras Church in London, and St Paul's Covent Garden in London. The group has recorded for the Somm, Meridian, and Signum Classics labels, issuing the album Macmillan: One Equal Music on the latter in 2019.
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