GCU: Part of central London's musical life

Goldsmiths Choral Union is one of the leading amateur choirs operating in central London today. It has approximately 110 members. It was founded in 1932 by Frederick Haggis as an evening class at Goldsmiths' College, south London, but became separated from the college at the outbreak of World War II. Over 70 years, it has built up an enviable reputation as a choir of enterprise, first under the baton of Mr Haggis and later under that of its present Music Director, Brian Wright.

Today as an independent, self-financing organisation, GCU works hard to ensure that it can continue promoting concerts in London's major performance venues with professional soloists and orchestras, performing a broad spectrum of music.

GCU's performances of the traditional choral repertoire, ranging from Handel's Messiah to Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius, have been praised for their freshness, clarity and emotional commitment. Equally, GCU seeks to perform lesser-known or rarely heard works, such as Franz Liszt's oratorio Christus and Sir Michael Tippett's The Mask of Time. British premières given over the years include Stravinsky's Les Noces and Mahler's Das Klagende Lied, and the first UK broadcast of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. GCU has also taken an active part in helping to promote Neil Jenkins's newly compiled English translations of classic German oratorios, including Bach's Passion settings and Haydn's The Creation and The Seasons.

GCU is proud to support young up-and-coming musicians. Felicity Lott, Anne Murray, Bryn Terfel, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, and Thomas Allen all featured as soloists with GCU both at the outset of their careers and subsequently, as did Kathleen Ferrier and Peter Pears before them. GCU has in addition performed regularly with such ensembles as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra and the orchestra of the National Centre for Orchestral Studies.

To find out how to get in touch with GCU, please click here

Goldsmiths Choral Union is affiliated to Making Music, the National Federation of Music Societies. Making Music is the UK's leading umbrella and support organisation for amateur or voluntary music-making and music promotion. It has a membership of more than 2000 societies throughout England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, comprising amateur choirs, orchestras and other performing groups, as well as concert-promoting societies and music clubs.

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