King's Choir tours North America

The Choir of King's College Cambridge returned last week from a twelve-day tour which took them to both Canada and the United States of America. During the tour the Choir performed six concerts in six North American cities, visiting Berkeley, Vancouver, Seattle, Loga, Salt Lake City and Midland. Led by Director of Music Stephen Cleobury and accompanied by the College's two Organ Scholars Richard Gowers and Henry Websdale, the Choir performed varied programmes in each venue, with music by Renaissance English composers William Byrd and William Mundy alongside music by Messiaen, Gabrieli, Whitlock and Brahms. The concerts were received with critical acclaim, with the Seattle Times describing the sold-out performance in the 2,500 seat Benaroya Hall as "impeccable" and "inspiring": The opening set, including works of Byrd, Gibbons, and John Mundy, showcased the choir’s clarity of diction, ease of vocal production, and unique blend. The choir sounds perfectly unified, yet the sound is far from homogeneous; individual timbres are clearly heard, though the overall effect is nonetheless quite unified. The singers have mastered the music so completely that many of them glanced only occasionally at their scores, focusing instead on Cleobury’s expressive hands and clear indications. As is often the case with Choir tours, there were plenty of opportunities for sightseeing and extra-curricular experiences, which included days off in San Francisco and mountain trips in Utah. See more photos on the Choir's Facebook page >