The Sixteen
| The Sixteen | |
|---|---|
| Seat: |
 London
|
| Founding: | 1977 |
| Genus: | mixed choir |
| Founder: | Harry Christophers |
| Head : | Harry Christophers |
| Voices : | 16 ( SATB ) |
| Website : | http://www.thesixteen.com/ |
The Sixteen is a British choir founded by and under the direction of Harry Christophers .
history
In 1977 Harry Christophers put together a group for a concert, which continued to exist in their unnamed formation for several years until they gave their first officially paid concert at Magdalen College Chapel in May 1979 . That same month the choir premiered in London at St John's Church in Smith Square, London.
In the following decade, the choir gained international renown through recordings and television appearances. His first album under the title Salve Regina: Music from the Eton Choirbook was released in 1980 on the Meridian label . The choir had its first BBC appearance in 1981.
In 1986, for the first Messiah performance of the choir in St John's, Smith Square, with a live recording for Hyperion Records, a separate orchestra was founded under the name Symphony of Harmony and Invention , today renamed The Orchestra of The Sixteen . In 1987 the choir made an intensive concert tour from London to Barcelona and Italy with ten concerts in 13 days at which the oratorio was performed. In 1988 the Messiah and John Taverner's Missa Gloria Tibi Trinitas were awarded the Grand Prix du Disque , both of which were released by Hyperion. With increasing international recognition, The Sixteen first appeared at the Salzburg Festival in 1989 . In the same year, a tour of Brazil followed for the first time, followed by Japan the next year .
The 1990s brought the choir various prizes such as the Gramophone Award , the Diapason d'or and several times the German Record Critics' Prize . There were also tours all over the world - for the first time to Australia in 1992 , to the USA for the first time in 1993 , to Israel on its most important stage, the Mann Auditorium in Tel Aviv , in 1994 - and invitations to festivals such as the Macau Festival .
In 2001 a separate music label was introduced under the name Coro . Since 2002 the choir has carried the title The Voice Of Classic FM from the renowned British broadcaster of the same name. In 2005, The Sixteen received the Classical BRIT Award on the TV show. In addition, an international jury appointed by the British magazine Gramophone selected The Sixteen as fourth among the best choirs worldwide.
Individual evidence
- ^ Composer Eric Whitacre on great British choirs. Gramophone, December 10, 2010, accessed November 2, 2013 .