The Bach Choir
David Hill, Musical Director

The Bach Choir is one of the finest independent choirs in the world and I am privileged to be its Musical Director at what is undoubtedly an exciting time in the Choir's development.

The Bach Choir is going from strength to strength and I have no doubt that it will continue to maintain its position as a world-class choir. Our core programme of London concerts in the Royal Festival Hall, is complemented by visits to some of the major festivals around the country, as well as abroad. The Choir toured to Dresden in December 2005 and again in October 2007, giving concerts in the newly restored Frauenkirche. The Choir has recently returned from Sydney and Melbourne where it gave a total of six concerts in various venues including the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House and Melbourne's Hamer Hall.

The Choir continues to raise its profile in the media, with performances on radio and television. In recent seasons the Choir has performed on BBC Radio Three, at the BBC Proms, and has also been busy in the recording studio. The Choir's most recent recording is a disc of Howells for Naxos, including Hymnus Paradisi and the newly-discovered Sir Patrick Spens, released in May 2007, and a disc of music by Handel is due for release later this year. The Choir also continues to be in demand by composers of film scores; in 2005 the Choir played a major part in the soundtrack of Ridley Scott's epic Kingdom of Heaven, and in Disney's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and, more recently, has recorded parts of the soundtrack for the Dreamworks film, Shrek the Third and Disney's Prince Caspian.

Whilst never neglecting the well-known choral repertoire, The Bach Choir maintains an innovative programming policy and, since the beginning of the twenty-first century, has given a world premiere performance every two years. In 2001 I was privileged to conduct the world premiere of Sir John Tavener's Song of the Cosmos at the BBC Proms and, in March 2003, the Choir gave the first performance of Gloria by the organist and composer, Naji Hakim, at the Al Bustan Festival in Beirut. Both works were commissioned by The Bach Choir. In 2005, the Choir gave the world premiere of a new work by Diana Burrell, And so the night became, and the first performance of Richard Blackford's Voices of Exile in its fully orchestrated version. Voices of Exile was subsequently recorded by the Choir, and the disc was released in October 2005 on the Quartz label. The Choir's most recent commission, a Requiem from Carl Rütti, was premiered on February 16 2008 in Winchester Cathedral, with a second performance in Douai Abbey on March 1 2008.

Of course challenges such as these could not be contemplated without the high level of dedication shown by the membership, talented singers from all walks of life, who share a real commitment to the Choir. The demands of a busy concert season, with as many as twenty concerts with the very best professional orchestras and soloists, are heavy but the rewards are high, and I am keen that the Choir continues to attract new young singers of the highest calibre, as it continues to strive for excellence in its field.

David Hill
Musical Director