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Huddersfield Choral Society

Choir from West Yorkshire, England


Summary

Choir from West Yorkshire, England

FieldValue
nameHuddersfield Choral Society
backgroundclassical_ensemble
originHuddersfield, West Yorkshire, England
genreClassical choral music
years_active–present
labelSignum Records
website

Huddersfield Choral Society is a choir based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1836, and is recognised as one of Britain's leading choirs. Over the years the choir has performed most of the major works in the choral repertoire, and has had numerous works commissioned for it, including works by Ralph Vaughan Williams and William Walton. The choir has made numerous recordings and broadcasts.{{cite web |url-status = dead Two of its albums made an appearance in the UK Albums Chart. These were The Hymns Album (1986, #8) and The Carols Album (1986, #29).{{cite book

The choir performs regularly with the leading orchestras in the north of England, including the Orchestra of Opera North, The Hallé, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Manchester Camerata and the Northern Sinfonia. The choir performs with many leading conductors, known by the choir as their 'family' of conductors instead of having one principal conductor. Martyn Brabbins is music director of the society and other notable conductors to work with the choir regularly include: Vasily Petrenko, Bramwell Tovey and Jane Glover (a former principal conductor and former principal guest conductor of the choir).

In August 2016 Huddersfield Choral Society appointed Gregory Batsleer as choral director. The team is completed by Associate Choral Director Fanny Cook, accompanist and assistant chorusmaster Daniel Gordon, deputy accompanist Malcolm Hinchcliffe musical director of the youth choirs Alison North.

The choir remains an amateur choir, with membership open to all via a brief audition while maintaining its performing commitments.

The Huddersfield Choral Society was in partnership with the University of Huddersfield; however, this relationship ended in 2012 for funding reasons.

Members of the Huddersfield Choral Society have drawn parallels between the 2025 film The Choral and their ensemble, as the plot of the film revolves around a 1916 performance of Edward Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius, which the Society had programmed that same year.

Discography

Year of recordingWork / AlbumArtistsRecord label
1946Messiah, G.F.HandelLiverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Malcolm Sargent (conductor)Columbia
1954Messiah, G.F.HandelLiverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Malcolm Sargent (conductor)Columbia
1959Messiah, G.F.HandelRoyal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Malcolm Sargent (conductor)HMV
1986The Hymns AlbumOwain Arwel Hughes (conductor)EMI
1986The Carols AlbumOwain Arwel Hughes (conductor)EMI
1993A Christmas CelebrationSellers Engineering Band, Brian Kay (conductor)title=Huddersfield Choral Society on Chandosurl=http://www.chandos.net/SearchRes05.asp?Action=ArtistSearch&Last=0&SoloArtistID=30729&Discography=+Huddersfield+Choral+Society%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3CSpan%20Class=publisher=Chandosaccessdate=12 September 2011}}
1994The Wreckers (world premiere recording)BBC Philharmonic, Odaline de la Martinez (conductor)Conifer Records Limited
2000A Christmas FantasyBlack Dyke Mills Band, John Foster (conductor)Chandos Brass
2002''Symphony No. 3 'The Muses''', Cyril ScottBBC Philharmonic, Martyn Brabbins (conductor)Chandos
2003Works for Chorus and Orchestra, Sir Arnold BaxBBC Philharmonic, Martyn Brabbins (conductor)Chandos
2006Messiah, G.F.Handel arr. W.A.MozartRoyal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Charles Mackerras (conductor)Signum Classics
2006The Hymns AlbumDarius Battiwalla (organ), Joseph Cullen (conductor)Signum Classics
2007The Carols AlbumDarius Battiwalla (organ), Joseph Cullen (conductor)Signum Classics
2009The Crucifixion, StainerDarius Battiwalla (organ), Joseph Cullen (conductor)Signum Classics
2010Messiah, G.F.HandelNorthern Sinfonia, Jane Glover (conductor)Signum Classics
2016Anthem: Great British Hymns & Choral WorksThomas Trotter (organ), Aidan Oliver (conductor)Signum Classics

References

References

  1. "Huddersfield Choral Society". Yorkshire Awards.
  2. (8 November 2025). "The Choral: 'It's got to be about us' says Huddersfield choir". BBC News.
  3. "Huddersfield Choral Society on Chandos". Chandos.
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