News
Latest news
CEFC OPENS BBC PROMS: Crouch End Festival Chorus took part in a powerful First Night of the Proms on 16 July, described by organisers as the most ambitious for years. CEFC singers joined the BBC Symphony Chorus, the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and three boys’ choirs for Mahler’s 8th Symphony - the “Symphony of a Thousand”. In total, this vast performance involved some 500 choral singers, as well the BBC Symphony Orchestra, organ and soloists.
The concert, conducted by Jiří Bělohlávek, played to a sell-out audience, many of whom had queued all day for tickets. As Mahler’s final notes died away, the hall erupted into cheers and applause from a crowd thrilled by the surround-sound live experience. Photo: Marie-Noëlle Lamy
Reviews and photos of the First Night of the Proms
CEFC ROCKS GLASTONBURY: Singers from Crouch End Festival Chorus performed to an open-air audience of thousands at year’s Glastonbury Festival, appearing on the famous Pyramid Stage with Ray Davies of The Kinks. The 27 June gig was also broadcast on BBC2 - a bit later than originally planned so that classics like You Really Got Me, Waterloo Sunset and Days could cheer viewers up after the England-Germany match…
Photo: Darren Dixon
Reviews and videos of Ray Davies and CEFC at Glastonbury
CEFC IN THE NEWS 1: What it’s like to take part in the Glastonbury Festival and the First Night of the Proms? Find out in this interview with CEFC soprano Sheila Maloney (Waltham Forest Guardian). And don’t miss the profile of CEFC in The Independent, also written in the build-up to the Proms.
CEFC IN THE NEWS 2: CEFC collaborators Ray Davies and Noel Gallagher were interviewed, along with musical director David Temple, for a 6 Music news feature about using choirs to enhance rock songs.
Coming soon
ELGAR: CEFC will be appearing soon in a BBC4 documentary exploring Elgar’s life. The Man Behind the Mask will attempt to show a multifaceted man, reaching beyond the popular image of the composer as ‘an Edwardian gentleman with a stiff upper lip’. For the programme, we have recorded a special performance of music from Elgar’s Apostles with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
Watch a trailer for the documentary here.
Out now
ALAMO: Crouch End Festival Chorus sings on the newly-released soundtrack album The Alamo - the first ever complete recording of the famous film score by Dimitri Tiomkin. Featuring the hit song The Green Leaves of Summer, the three-CD set has been warmly reviewed.
RAY DAVIES: Kinks Choral Collection, our 15-track album with Ray Davies, is still selling well in the UK, and is now picking up fans in the USA following Ray’s visit to the States with CEFC conductor David Temple. The album was one of the 2009 Critics’ Choices in Gramophone magazine.
Read the recommendation from Philip Clark of Gramophone (PDF)
Watch a promotional video for Kinks Choral Collection and read reviews of the album.
KATE ROYAL: Midsummer Night, featuring CEFC, helped to secure a Grammy nomination for the album’s producer.