About Us
Newcastle Choral Society was founded in 1954 by John Healy as the St Andrews Singers, becoming the St James and St. Basil Singers in 1957 before adopting its current name and persona in 1986.
Membership is drawn from around the North east with around 60 regular singers. We perform two major concerts each year ranging from the traditional choral repertoire to modern works, with professional orchestras and soloists. There are smaller events at Christmas time.
Leadership
Michael Chaplin
President
Nicholas Butters
Accompanist
Tim Cranfield
Musical Director
Heritage & Highlights
Our official 70th anniversary concert reunites us with Will Todd on piano in his Mass in Blue at the Banqueting Suite, Newcastle Civic Centre. See full details here.
The concert will also feature the world premiere of Two Miller Settings by award winning composer and pianist Kristina Arakelyan. The piece has been especially commissioned by the choir to mark the occasion and has been supported by the Northumberland Freemasons. The settings are based on poems by American poet Freeman Edwin Miller: My Mollie, O! Is a lively song which makes much use of syncopated rhythm and driving piano accompaniment, while Song of Might is, in contrast, more lyrical and contemplative.
The choir’s 70th anniversary year started with a March concert Haydn Nelson Mass and contemporary Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo’s Sunrise Mass, two very different versions of the Latin Mass. Gjeilo’s works are often described as cinematic and evocative, with a lush, harmonious sound. We love singing his works, but not without some challenges!
Sure on this Shining Night Traditional and contemporary choral works from Handel to Hagenberg, Boulanger to Beach and the beautiful melodies of Gjeilo and Lauridsen. Our choir continues to provide a diverse range of music for our audiences, including works by female composers now being given the attention they fully merit.
Michael Chaplin, celebrated author, accepted the role of Choir President.
Saw us collaborating with Newcastle Youth Choir Project in their showcase summer concert and again in December 2023 in conjunction with the North Tyneside Youth Symphony Orchestra. A great experience!
Vaughan Williams Sea Symphony and McCarthy ‘Codebreaker’ at Sage Gateshead in collaboration with the Hertfordshire Chorus. This concert drew the attention of the media. ‘’With NCS director Mark Anyan conducting Codebreaker, you could sense the eagerness to do justice to this work, the crackle of anticipation that would feed into a fabulous, full-blooded delivery’’ David Whetstone Culture North east
Britten War Requiem at Sage Gateshead in collaboration with Cleveland Philharmonic Choir and world class soloists.
Alexander L’Estrange’s Ahoy Sing for the Mary Rose A brilliantly inventive cantata for massed choirs and band with Alexander himself and his Call me Al quintet, at the impressive Turbine Hall on City Road Newcastle. The Narrator was Michael Chaplin, and we were joined by pupils from Eastlea Primary School, Cramlington; Seaton Sluice First School, Whitley Bay; St Godrics RC Primary School, Durham. It was a sell-out occasion with lots of proud parents in the audience and much appreciated by the participating schools.
Land of Singing Waters with Kevin Whately and family at the iconic Tyne Theatre and Opera House attracted a lot of media attention in the run up to the concert, as a ‘rooted in the north- east’ event.
By way of contrast, we were proud to be chosen to sing the national anthems of all teams in the three Rugby World Cup 2015 matches at St James Park, Newcastle in front of an audience of 59,000 each night! Quite a coup for the choir, earning it coverage in the local press and on TV.
In December 2015, Mass in Blue with the composer Will Todd and his Trio. We had a blast once we’d perfected those jazz rhythms!
our blockbuster 60th anniversary concert. Jenkins The Armed Man and a commissioned piece by Will Todd The Dream of the River funded by Arts Council. We were joined by members of Mid Northumberland Chorus, Tees Valley Youth Choir and local members of the National Youth Choir.
Michael Chaplin, celebrated writer, became our Ambassador and officiated at the concert with Will Todd present for the premiere of his commission.
Mark Anyan, General Manager of the National Youth Choir, was appointed as Musical Director. In addition to traditional choral works, adventurous programming has led to new commissions and to the promotion of works by young composers. Collaborative concerts in a variety of venues have brought exciting opportunities, especially for youth participation. Our repertoire expanded to include Rutter, Carter, Campling, Chilcott, Ramirez, Nyman, Orff and Whitacre.
We performed the northern premieres of a number of Karl Jenkins works including Peacemaker with the haunting Shakuhachi (Japanese flute) soloist, Requiem and Stabat Mater with ethnic instruments and extraordinary vocals.
With the support of charitable funders and several local businesses over the years, we have staged further memorable concerts at Sage Gateshead and other venues, often in collaboration with other choirs.
The choir expanded its horizons giving its first concert at Sage Gateshead, with Vaughan Williams Sea Symphony, and again in 2007 with Elgar Dream of Gerontius, Len’s final concert with the choir.
Our Golden Jubilee brought the first Tyneside performance of Jenkins The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace, as well as a repeat performance of African Sanctus, with David Fanshawe himself in attendance. A daunting but thrilling experience!
A little known fact! The choir were asked to be the backing singers for Elvis the King at the Telewest Arena. Elvis appeared on a giant video screen and sing to the noisy audience who were predominantly Elvis ‘lookalikes’ with false quiffs and tight white suits! Who knows what we actually sang but we were ably assisted by the Sweet Inspirations, members of Elvis’s original backing singers.
Walton Belshazzars Feast joint concert with the Newcastle upon Tyne Bach Choir with Thomas Allen
Len composed several outstanding pieces for the choir: Requiem, Earth Song and Glimpses of Graingertown were particularly well received by audiences.
From 1990, for over 15 years the choir took part in the North east Last Night of the Proms at the City Hall in aid of research into blood cancers. NEPAC (North east Promenaders against Cancer) Charity Trust was formed by George and Ros Walker. George, a friend and colleague of Len’s, underwent treatment for non-Hodgkins’s lymphoma in Newcastle’s RVI and in 1990 organised the first Proms which became an annual event until his death in 2001. The concerts continued to be staged in aid of the charity by Ros and her family.
Another name change, to Newcastle Choral Society and a new logo with a dash of pink! The change coincided with the Newcastle Maritime Festival and the start of the 1986 Cutty Sark Tall Ships Race from the River Tyne.
The choir enjoyed some unique occasions, such as performing David Fanshawe’s African Sanctus in 1989 in the newly opened Metro Centre. The backdrop of trees and water provided a unique and dramatic setting for this spellbinding work!
John Healy resigned and Len Young, head of Music at Heaton School, was appointed as Choirmaster. Under Len’s leadership choir numbers grew and the classical repertoire expanded to include contemporary works by Rutter, Carter, Chilcott, Jenkins, Todd, Lloyd Webber, Nyman, and Whitacre.
The choir’s 20th anniversary concert took place in St Andrews Church and repeated in St James and St Basil Church with a selection of Palestrina, Victoria, Bach, Holst, Boyce, and the choir’s founder John Healy.
In this period, the choir continued to repeat the choral classics such as Bach St Matthew Passion, Handel Messiah, Mozart Requiem, Bach B Minor Mass with occasional feature concerts such as the opening concert of the Newcastle Arts Festival in April 1961, and Holst Neptune The Planets with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra December 1962. Soloists were drawn from the choir ranks; such was the quality of the voices.
A change of name, to St James and St Basil Singers, when John became organist at that church in Fenham. The choir continued to perform to great acclaim from eminent critics: ‘an ambitious undertaking by young singers who came through with flying colours’: ‘their tone was as bright and clear at the end as at the beginning’.
Founded as the St Andrew’s Singers by John Healy, eminent organist at the Parish Church of St Andrew, Newcastle, the choir was created for young singers with no previous experience of singing together to perform choral church music of the highest quality.
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If you’re enthusiastic and with a love of music, be a part of one of the North east’s most successful amateur choirs with a reputation for tackling bold and challenging works and delivering high standards.