The Choir

Under Musical Director Ralph Woodward, the Fairhaven Singers (www.fairhavensingers.org.uk) has become one of East Anglia’s foremost chamber choirs. Spanning eight centuries, from the sacred to the secular, our diverse repertoire has delighted audiences in Cambridge and across Europe. Our concerts range widely in mood and style, from intimate evenings of a cappella music to major choral-orchestral works with world-class soloists, but every concert offers our trademark energy, quality and warmth.

Recent highlights have included a collaboration with Michael Chance and the English Chamber Orchestra, a project with Dame Emma Kirkby and the City of London Sinfonia, and Bach’s St John Passion with The Parley of Instruments. The choir has performed several times at Snape Maltings Concert Hall, Suffolk for the Aldeburgh Festival and the Britten Festival, and at major venues in London such as St Martin-in-the-Fields, St John’s Smith Square and Southwark Cathedral. Recent international tours have taken the choir to Italy, Germany, France, and Austria. The choir has appeared on BBC Radios 2, 3 and 4, and Classic FM. 2007 saw the release of its first CD, The Blue Skies that Sparkle, a collection of choral works celebrating the beauty of nature. Its second CD, Will Todd Requiem (2009), was awarded five stars by Choir & Organ magazine, and an 18 certificate by Aled Jones. In 2011 they recorded their third CD, a selection of transcendent music dedicated to the Virgin Mary and produced by John Rutter, as well as appearing with the Siam Philharmonic Orchestra in Southwark R.C. Cathedral at a concert commemorating the 9/11 attacks.

We are dedicated to building audiences for our repertoire and sustaining the rich tradition that gave rise to it. To this end the choir has forged relationships with a number of contemporary composers, including Bob Chilcott, Will Todd and Carl Rütti. We have ambitious plans for future musical projects, and we thus warmly welcome any financial contributions which will enable us to enrich our contribution to the arts. If you or your company may be considering supporting our work by making a donation, advertising in our concert programmes, directly sponsoring specific recordings, commissions, or concerts, or any other options, please contact our Chairman.

Every year the choir undertakes several concerts for charity. If you are fund-raising and wish to discuss how the Fairhaven Singers might help, or if you might wish to hire us for a wedding, corporate function, conference or reception, please contact the Chairman.

Rehearsals are held in Queens’ College Chapel each Tuesday evening in term-time. Although we have a waiting list, we do occasionally require more singers; please contact the Musical Director if you might be interested in auditioning.

Musical Director: Ralph Woodward: ralph.woodward@btinternet.com
Chairman: Robin Higgons: robin.higgons@qi3.co.uk