Background
Saint Peter's Singers (SPS) is a choir of approximately 40 mixed voices. It forms a key component of the choral foundation of Leeds Minster, Saint Peter-at-Leeds), achieving recognition as one of the North of England's finest chamber choirs. Saint Peter's Singers is a Registered Charity - No 507174 - and a member of Making Music, formerly the National Federation of Music Societies. SPS receives much appreciated annual support from the Friends of the Music of Leeds Minster, Leeds City Council, the rector and churchwardens of the parish of Leeds City, the Charles and Elsie Sykes Trust and other charitable bodies and private individuals.
Founded in summer 1977, by Harry Fearnley, then senior alto Lay Clerk in the Choir of Leeds Minster, SPS has been directed since its formation by organist and conductor Dr Simon Lindley, FRCO, FRSCM, the Minster's Master of the Music - whose colleagues at the Minster have contributed to the development of the singers as did Sybil Chambers (1938–1998), the choir's first principal soprano soloist who taught singing in the first 20 years of the choir's history. Organists especially associated with St Peter's Singers include Dr Francis Jackson CBE, Dr Donald Hunt OBE, Carleton Etherington, Jonathan Lilley and David Houlder.
The majority of SPS concert performances and recitals are given in the Leeds area, including appearances at the Leeds International Concert Season Monday lunchtime recital series held at Leeds Town Hall under the auspices of Leeds City Council, and other Yorkshire venues including Fulneck Moravian Church, Denton Hall near Ilkley, the Parish Church of All Saints in Cawthorne near Barnsley and the Friends' Meeting House at Ackworth near Pontefract. During spring and summer of 2011, the Singers presented recitals at Dewsbury Minster and Doncaster Minster - returning to Dewsbury again by popular demand in 2012 with other 'away' fixtures during 2012 to Leicester Cathedral and the Parish Church of Saint Cuthbert. Pateley Bridge.
St Peter's Singers is distinctive in that most of the principal vocal soloists are drawn from present or former members or members of the Minster's Choral Foundation - these have included Kristina James, Sarah Potter, Claire Strafford, Anita Wiencelewski, Helen Strange, Kathryn Woodruff, Lucy Appleyard, Paul Dutton, Stephen Newlove, Toby Ward and Quentin Brown. A number of choir members, including some of the solo team, are alumni of the University of Leeds and Leeds College of Music. David Houlder is principal organist and SPS accompanist/repetiteur for St Peter's Singers. The choir's chairman is Timothy Burleigh; its secretary Patricia Rose; concerts secretary Quentin Brown; treasurer Jonathan Morrish; orchestral librarian Dr Fiona Pacey; choir librarian James Carter and the library, publicity and publishing director is David Hawkin.
The choir has undertaken visits to venues including St Paul's Cathedral, London, Worcester Cathedral, York Minster, Derby Cathedral and Ely Cathedral. In November 2007, by special request, SPS gave its first overseas concert tour in Romania, with recitals in Sibiu (the joint 2007 European Capital of Culture) and Bucharest.
In autumn 2009, SPS visited Mallorca by invitation of former Leeds citizens now living there. Concert venues included the Basilica of San Francesc and the cathedral in Palma de Mallorca. The Singers return to Mallorca in October this year.
Brittany was the venue for the choir's tour in May 2011 - with visits to Vannes, Quimper and Josselin. Evensong was sung at Guildford Cathedral en route for Portsmouth.
St Peter's Singers is committed to presentations at Leeds Minster and at the Venue, Leeds College of Music. Rare complete performances of Handel's Messiah, J S Bach's Christmas Oratorio and Advent Cantatas were performed in December 2008, 2009 & 2010. The Good Friday Concert in 2011 at the Minster comprised music by Dvořák - the Stabat Mater and Parry Blest pair of sirens and, in 2012, a special performance of Messiah in commemoration of the late Watkins Shaw, whose edition of Handel's masterpiece was published in 1958. Good Friday 2013 featured Sacred Music by Brahms culminating in Ein Deutsches Requiem. Bach's Mass in B minor is scheduled for Good Friday 2014.
Read more about this topic: Saint Peter's Singers Of Leeds
Famous quotes containing the word background:
“... every experience in life enriches one’s background and should teach valuable lessons.”
—Mary Barnett Gilson (1877–?)
“They were more than hostile. In the first place, I was a south Georgian and I was looked upon as a fiscal conservative, and the Atlanta newspapers quite erroneously, because they didn’t know anything about me or my background here in Plains, decided that I was also a racial conservative.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)
“I had many problems in my conduct of the office being contrasted with President Kennedy’s conduct in the office, with my manner of dealing with things and his manner, with my accent and his accent, with my background and his background. He was a great public hero, and anything I did that someone didn’t approve of, they would always feel that President Kennedy wouldn’t have done that.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)