Saint Peter's Singers of Leeds

Saint Peter's Singers (SPS) is a chamber choir associated with Leeds Parish Church, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.

Background

Saint Peter's Singers (SPS) is a chamber choir of approximately forty mixed voices. It forms a key component of the choral foundation of the famous Leeds Parish Church (St Peter-at-Leeds) and is one of the North of England's leading chamber choirs.

Founded in 1977 by the late Harry Fearnley, then senior alto lay clerk in the Choir of Leeds Parish Church, SPS has been directed since its foundation by the Leeds organist and conductor Dr Simon Lindley, FRCO, FRSCM, the church's Master of the Music since 1975. Dr Lindley is also the Leeds City Organist and a Vice-President of the Royal College of Organists (he served as the College's President from 2000 to 2002).

The majority of SPS concert performances and recitals are given in the Leeds area, including regular appearances at the Leeds International Concert Season Monday lunchtime recital series held at Leeds Town Hall, and other celebrated Yorkshire venues including Fulneck Moravian Church, Denton Hall near Ilkley and the Friends' Meeting House at Ackworth near Pontefract. St Peter's Singers is distinctive in that most of the principal vocal soloists for its concerts are drawn from the ranks of present or former members of the choir or of the Parish Church's choral foundation - these include, currently, Claire Strafford, Anita Wiencelewski, Kathryn Woodruff, Paul Dutton and Quentin Brown. David Houlder is Principal Organist and SPS Accompanist/Repetiteur.

The choir has also undertaken a number of favourably-received visits in recent years to venues including St Paul's Cathedral, London, Worcester Cathedral, York Minster, Derby Cathedral and Ely Cathedral. In November 2007, by special invitation, SPS gave its first overseas concert tour in Romania, with recitals in Sibiu (the joint 2007 European Capital of Culture) and Bucharest.

Repertoire

SPS has an extensive repertoire of sacred and secular choral music spanning five centuries from sixteenth century English and Continental polyphony to works by contemporary composers. New works were composed by Michael Hurd in honour of the Choir's tenth anniversary in 1987 - Genesis & A Secular Anthem - and a fine setting of the Stabat Mater was commissioned from Dr Francis Jackson CBE, Organist Emeritus of York Minster, for the Singers' 20th Anniversary in 1997. The choir has established an enviable reputation for its performances of the music of Bach and Handel, many in conjunction with Saint Peter's Chamber Orchestra. In recent years SPS has pioneered performances of the two acclaimed monodramas with music by Francis Jackson - "Daniel in Babylon" and "A Time of Fire". Both works have been recorded commercially by Amphion to critical acclaim.

Collaborations

SPS has engaged in a number of collaborations with other chamber choirs and orchestras other than St Peter's Chamber Orchestra. Recent examples include concerts in 2006 with The Chapter House Choir of York and their conductor Stephen Williams in honour of the Chapter House Choir's Fortieth Anniversary, and especially memorable collaborations with the Elgar Chorale of Worcester under their conductor Dr Donald Hunt OBE; St Peter's Singers were particularly honoured to be invited by Dr Hunt and the Elgar Chorale to participate in the Elgar 150th Birthday Concert in June 2007 in Worcester Cathedral. In October 2008, the Singers present a special concert in York Minster in celebration of the 60th birthday of their conductor, Dr Simon Lindley; music by Donald Hunt, Francis Jackson, Philip Moore and Dr Lindley himself will be sung. This concert is on Sunday 26th October in the Quire of the Minster at 7.30 pm. The Singers will renew acquaintance with the Elgar Chorale for a further eagerly awaited Elgar Concert The Music Makers in Worcester Cathedral during February 2009. Other upcoming collaborations involve Messiah (Handel) at Leeds College of Music in December 2008 and The Dream of Gerontius at Leeds Parish Church on Good Friday, 2009.

References

(1) http://www.leedsparishchurch.org.uk(2) http://www.stpeters-singers.org.uk(3) http://www.ackworthconcertsociety.org.uk(4) http://www.amphion-recordings.com(5) http://www.simonlindley.org.uk(6) http://www.leedsparishchurch.org.uk