The Elgar Chorale is a choir of up to forty singers, founded in 1980 by Donald Hunt. The group has always specialised in English music, with a particular emphasis on the works of Edward Elgar.  The singers were soon giving broadcasts and making commercial recordings, the latter including partsongs by English composers, music by Finzi, Howells and Sumsion and the Complete Choral Songs of Elgar, which attracted particular attention, and are still considered by many critics to be the definitive recording of these attractive works.

Last year the Chorale celebrated its thirtieth anniversary, and since its formation it has presented well over one hundred performances, mostly in Worcester and surrounding districts, but also in many other parts of the country, singing for music clubs, at festivals, and in churches.  The Chorale has sung in Worcester’s twinned locations at Kleve and Le Vesinet, and recently has forged a friendship link with Vernon in France. During a visit to Italy the choir won prizes at the Arezzo International Choral Competition, and in 2004 spent two weeks in Cape Town, where they took part in several prestigious concerts.

The Chorale appeared at each of the Worcester Three Choirs Festivals from 1981 to 1996, and performances have included world premières of works by Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, Herbert Sumsion and Howard Blake, and a British première of Leonard Bernstein’s Missa Brevis.  At the 2008 Festival, the Chorale presented an all-Vaughan Williams programme to much acclaim, and on that occasion they were joined by the English Symphony Orchestra, with whom they have established a close link in recent years.  The repertoire has been increased from specialised unaccompanied singing to include performances of major works, the smaller forces involved giving the music greater transparency and flexibility.  The group also enjoys singing lighter compositions, many of the arrangements having been made by the Chorale’s director, and over the years they have also made a speciality of Christmas Concerts with a difference.

The Elgar Chorale has taken part in the Bromsgrove Festival on a number of occasions, most notably in the past three years when they have given performances of Elgar’s The Music Makers and Vaughan Williams’ Sea Symphony among other works, and were especially delighted to be associated with the Festival’s prestigious 50th anniversary in 2010.  The  Chorale was also the principal choral group at the highly successful Elgar Festivals at Worcester in 2007 and 2009, and last year enjoyed a concert tour in Devon, singing at Colyton, Dartmouth, Exeter and Torquay.

The Elgar Chorale currently rehearses at the Elgar Birthplace Museum or St Georges R C Church in Worcester, and is proud to have Dame Janet Baker, C.H. as its Patron.