About Us: Westminster Boys’ Choir enjoys a fine reputation both at home in the UK and abroad. The forty boys of the choir are educated at Westminster Under School, part of London’s historic Westminster School, established before 1179 as a monastic school of the Ben... moreWestminster Boys’ Choir enjoys a fine reputation both at home in the UK and abroad. The forty boys of the choir are educated at Westminster Under School, part of London’s historic Westminster School, established before 1179 as a monastic school of the Benedictine Abbey of St Peter. In 1560 the school was re-founded by Queen Elizabeth I for boys to be “liberally instructed in good books to the greater honour of the state.” Ever since, the school’s history has been intertwined with the momentous state events and political turmoils of the capital. Old Westminsters dominated Parliament for most of the eighteenth century and the output of leading politicians, statesmen and soldiers has continued to this day. The school’s contribution to literature, philosophy and the arts has been immense, from such alumni as Ben Jonson, John Dryden, Henry Purcell and Christopher Wren to A.A. Milne, Adrian Boult, John Gielgud and Peter Ustinov, from Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Stephen Poliakoff to Julian Anderson, Ian Bostridge, Helena Bonham-Carter and Dido.
Under its director, Jeremy Walker, the choir frequently performs at prestigious London venues, including Westminster Abbey, the Royal Festival Hall and St John’s Smith Square. They have also performed live on British television and radio and have recently appeared in concert with the English Chamber Orchestra and Jan Latham Koenig at Cadogan Hall, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Hilary Davan Whetton at the Barbican, with the great operatic baritone, Sir Thomas Allen, and with cellist, Julian Lloyd Webber.
The choristers of St Margaret’s Church, Westminster Abbey – the historic church of Parliament – are also drawn exclusively from the Under School and boys from the two choirs have performed at a number of state occasions: in the presence of HM the Queen, at Lambeth Palace, in the Houses of Parliament and at a royal wedding. They also sang for Pope John Paul II in St Peter’s Square and in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.
Biennial tours have taken the choir to sing throughout Europe, Canada and South Africa, and they have twice visited South America. In 2005 the choir toured Brazil, where their performances raised vital funds for children’s charities in the country and were broadcast on the O Globo TV network. Their return to Rio de Janeiro in 2007 followed a series of sell- out concerts in Chile and Argentina. Their performance at the Teatro Municipal in Santiago was heralded in El Mercurio as “the visit of one of the world’s greatest choirs.” In the same year, the conductor, Jan Latham-Koenig, invited the choir to perform in Orff’s Carmina Burana at the Canitiere Internazionale de Montepulciano, Italy. In April 2009 the choir embarked upon its first tour to the United States. Their itinerary included performances at Harvard and Columbia Universities; The Old North Church, Boston; Christ Church, Greenwich and at George Washington's Mount Vernon estate. They made their first tour of China in April 2011.
The boys have twice been finalists in the BBC Radio 3 Choir of the Year Competition and in November 2010 they competed at Birmingham Symphony Hall. Their highly acclaimed CD recordings have been featured on Classic FM Radio. less
Location: Adrian House, 27 Vincent Square, London, United Kingdom [map]
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