History
The group has always consisted of six singers in total, with their membership changing over the years. None of the original members remain. The first stable incarnation of the group, from late 1969 until 1978, comprised:
- Nigel Perrin (countertenor 1)
- Alastair Hume (countertenor 2)
- Alastair Thompson (tenor)
- Anthony Holt (baritone 1/tenor 2) (actually from Christ Church, Oxford, rather than King's)
- Simon Carrington (baritone 2)
- Brian Kay (bass)
The current ensemble is composed of (starting year in brackets):
- David Hurley (countertenor 1) - (1990)
- Tim Wayne-Wright (countertenor 2) - (2009)
- Paul Phoenix (tenor) - (1997)
- Christopher Bruerton (baritone 1) - (2012)
- Christopher Gabbitas (baritone 2) - (2004)
- Jonathan Howard (bass) - (2010)
Former members of the King's Singers also include Jeremy Jackman, Bob Chilcott, Nigel Short, Bill Ives, Bruce Russell, Colin Mason, Gabriel Crouch, Stephen Parham-Connolly, Robin Tyson and Philip Lawson. There have been 22 members of the King's Singers since the original stable group was established in late 1969, for whom the average length of tenure is around 12 years.
Around the year 2000, the King's Singers briefly called themselves king'singers (with a lower case k and a single s), as can be seen on the cover of Fire-Water and several song sheets. This name change did not last long, but the current circular logo originates from this name.
Read more about this topic: King's Singers
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The principle that human nature, in its psychological aspects, is nothing more than a product of history and given social relations removes all barriers to coercion and manipulation by the powerful.”
—Noam Chomsky (b. 1928)
“Don’t you realize that this is a new empire? Why, folks, there’s never been anything like this since creation. Creation, huh, that took six days, this was done in one. History made in an hour. Why it’s a miracle out of the Old Testament!”
—Howard Estabrook (1884–1978)
“Anyone who is practically acquainted with scientific work is aware that those who refuse to go beyond fact rarely get as far as fact; and anyone who has studied the history of science knows that almost every great step therein has been made by the “anticipation of Nature.””
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)