About Lewisham Choral Society
A large and lively community-based classical music choir, with over a hundred singers from all ages and backgrounds, Lewisham Choral Society traces its origins back to 1950 and still holds most of its concerts within the London Borough of Lewisham.
Our aim is simply to be the best amateur choir in South London. Under the direction of Dan Ludford-Thomas and his deputy Andrew Dutson, LCS performs a wide range of music, from the sixteenth century to the twenty-first, performing regularly with professional soloists and musicians.
In recent years, our repertoire has ranged from the 40-part motet Spem in Alium by Thomas Tallis and Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 to the London premiere of Naji Hakim's Gloria, Paul Patterson's Magnificat and John Adams' Harmonium.
Our concerts have featured the traditional repertoire such as the Requiem by Fauré, Bach's monumental Mass in B minor and the Verdi Requiem, as well as large-scale oratoria including Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle, Orff's Carmina Burana and Elgar's Dream of Gerontius. .
LCS also enjoys singing more intimate, and often challenging contemporary and 20th century works by composers such as Jonathan Dove, Cecilia McDowall, Arvo Part, Philip Glass, Samuel Barber and Eric Whitacre.
2009-10 saw the début of Dan Ludford-Thomas as Music Director, with a thrilling opening concert celebrating the music of Handel and Haydn. In March, LCS staged a lively "Classical Meets Jazz" concert, featuring George Shearing's Songs and Sonnets and Will Todd's Mass in Blue with the composer himself at the keyboard.
The season ended with a joint concert in aid of the Mayor's Charity, the Lavender Trust. Performed in collaboration with the Choeur d'Antony from Lewisham's twin town in Paris, the concert included Britten's Choral Dances from Gloriana, Schubert's Stabat Mater and a moving performance of Fauré's Requiem.
LCS members take part regularly in other arts events in London. These have ranged from ENO's St John Passion, Flashmob - the Opera for Radio 3, Jonathan Dove's Tobias and the Angel at the Young Vic, and the Young Vic production of Kurt Weil's Street Scene, which won the Evening Standard Best Musical Award, 2008.
We have also had the opportunity to give the premiere of Happiness, a new work for choir and instrumental ensemble by Robert Percy commissioned with the support of the Society for the Promotion of New Music (SPNM).
LCS is proud to be supported by the London Borough of Lewisham and to be a member of Making Music
