Saint Michael's Singers :: About Us

Saint Michael's Singers is an amateur choir which works to achieve professional standards. In recent years the choir has diversified into a variety of musical genres. Thus, the choir is equally at home singing Monteverdi's Beatus Vir, Bach's St. Matthew Passion, Walton's Belshazzar's Feast or Gershwin's I Got Rhythm. Members of the choir are of all ages and from all walks of life, and are drawn from a wide area around Coventry, Warwickshire and beyond. Rehearsals are held each Tuesday evening at Coventry Cathedral. The choir is self governing, electing its own management committee at the Annual General Meeting.

Concerts

Saint Michael's Singers are always keen to broaden their experience by singing at a range of venues and working with a variety of conductors and orchestras. The choir's home base is Coventry Cathedral and it also regularly performs at other venues around the Midlands such as Tewkesbury and Pershore Abbeys, The Malvern Theatres and various churches around Warwickshire. Every other year the choir has the opportunity to take part in the International Church Music Festival in Coventry Cathedral.

In addition to its collaboration with the English Symphony Orchestra the choir is always pleased to be able to work with two excellent local orchestras - the City of Coventry Youth Orchestra and the Warwickshire Symphony Orchestra. Over the years the choir has worked with eminent conductors including Sir David Willcocks, Jane Glover, Paul McCreesh, Mstislav Rostropovich and Lord Menuhin, and also with some of the country's leading orchestras such as the Hallé, Royal Philharmonic, and Bournmouth Symphony Orchestras, the London Mozart Players and the Gabrieli Consort. The choir has appeared in many of the country's leading concert halls and cathedrals as well as numerous venues in France and Germany.

Broadcasts

The choir regularly makes radio and television broadcasts and is a frequent contributor to the BBC's Songs of Praise series. Television appearances have included a number of programmes from the Royal Albert Hall and Coventry Cathedral, and two Eastertide programmes recorded in and around Jerusalem and the Sea of Galilee. Radio broadcasts have included Duruflé's Requiem for BBC Radio 4.

Recordings

Newest Recording

Alison Smart, soprano; William Towers, counter-tenor; Michael Hart-Davis, tenor; Gavin Carr, baritone

More Recordings...

Recordings featuring the Saint Michael's Singers fall into a number of categories.The choir has promoted a number of its own recordings, including sets of favourite hymns and Christmas music, a collection of anthems from Royal occasions at Coventry Cathedral (to celebrate H. M. The Queen's Golden Jubilee) and a disc of lighter music containing Gershwin classics and songs from the shows. In these recordings the choir has been supported by the splendid Harrison and Harrison organ of Coventry Cathedral and the Fine Arts Brass Ensemble.

More than ten CDs have been released in the Hymnmakers series, featuring hymns by great writers from Isaac Watts and Charles Wesley to Graham Kendrick. These have been distributed worldwide and have been critically acclaimed in both Britain and the United States. The choir has also recorded a collection of worship songs with the American Catholic Singer John Michael Talbot. In addition a complete recording of Messiah has been released on the Nimbus label, with Saint Michael's Singers and the English Symphony Orchestra.