Music Director

Patron

President

What the Critics Say

The Christchurch City Choir

A Short History

The Christchurch City Choir came into being in January 1991 with the amalgamation of two long-standing choirs, the Royal Christchurch Musical Society and the Christchurch Harmonic Society. As in the past, this newly formed choir draws on the rich musical traditions of the city which have been fostered by a diversity of instrumental and choral groups. The Music Director, Brian Law, has enhanced the professionalism of the Choir’s performances and developed a broader range in musical style and language.

During the past seven years the choir has performed works from its established repertoire, including Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Haydn’s Creation, Beethoven’s Symphony No 9, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Fauré’s Requiem, Bach’s Mass in B Minor, and Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius. It has also explored less widely known works such as Benjamin Britten’s St Nicholas, choruses from Tchaikovsky’s Queen of Spades and Eugene Onegin, Poulenc’s Gloria, and Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater and Song of the Night.

In 1996 the Choir travelled to Wellington and performed, to much critical acclaim, Mahler’s epic Symphony No 8 with the Orpheus Choir and New Zealand Symphony Orchestra for the New Zealand Festival of the Arts. Last year’s guest appearances included a performance of Beethoven’s Choral Fantasia with the NZSO for that organisation’s 50th anniversary concert, and performances at the inaugural concerts for the new Rieger pipe organ in the Christchurch Town Hall.