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Portsmouth Baroque Choir was founded in 1981 when Drayton Choral Society was re-formed under the directorship of Christopher Burgess.
In 1989 Ian Schofield became music director and established it as one of the leading choirs in the South-east. Handel: Israel in Egypt, Haydn: Creation and Mozart: Requiem were among the finest performances during this period. In June 2001 John Page took over as music director until June 2003. Notable performances during this period were Rachmaninov: Vespers and Bach: St John Passion. John Page was succeeded by James Henderson in June 2003. For the first part of 2005 we were fortunate to have Ian Caddy join us as our Guest Conductor.
Richard Barnes was Director of Music from 2005 to 2007, and introduced the choir to a range of new choral works, notably the Boyce 'Coronation Anthems' as part of the 2006 Portsmouth Festivities.
Malcolm Keeler, after a period as Guest Conductor in 2007, then Deputy to Andrew Cleary, (in charge during 2008), has been appointed Director of Music and will be leading the Choir from Autumn onwards.
Malcolm graduated with a degree in Music from Royal Holloway College, London University, where he studied Organ with John Porter. As a member of their Scola Contorum he has sung in many of the cathedrals in Southern England. For eleven years he was Organist and Choirmaster of St Mark's, Portsea, and has performed as a soloist for the Lee Singers and Midhurst Choral Society. He continues to sing and play at various sacred and secular events throughout the country.
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| L-to-R: Past Conductors: Richard Barnes, Ian Caddy (President), Ian Schofield and Chris Burgess (photo from 2005) |
Portsmouth Baroque Choir currently has approximately 25 members. We perform a wide repertoire of music from the late Renaissance period to works of contemporary composers, including several works which have been written especially for the choir. Many works are performed unaccompanied, but we especially enjoy singing when accompanied by an orchestra.
We normally perform four concerts each year: in October; a Christmas concert in December; at Easter-time; and in midsummer - in churches and cathedrals in Portsmouth and the surrounding district. |
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