Streatham Choral was founded in 1921 and has entertained local people with high-quality music ever since.
First established as the West Streatham Choral Society, then Streatham Philharmonic Society, the choir sang with its own orchestra in its first incarnation. In 1960s, the choir became an ILEA-supported evening class but, when responsibility for education was passed to each London Borough, the members decided to re-launch the choir as a self-governing organisation, relying on subscriptions and income from concerts.
We pride ourselves on being a friendly and diverse choir, drawing in members from a wide range of ages and backgrounds. Numbers vary from year to year, but the choir is usually more than 150 strong, allowing us to perform a wide repertoire. Streatham Choral collaborates with a range of professional soloists and has recently formed a partnership with Brandenburg Sinfonia, which invariably joins us for our larger concerts.
Streatham Choral performs regularly at St Leonard’s and St Peter’s churches, and recently produced a critically acclaimed performance of Handel’s Messiah at Cadogan Hall. We rehearse every Monday evening during term time.
“Review: Streatham Choral Society presents...Handel’s Messiah, with Brandenburg Sinfonia
I find that every performance of Handel’s Messiah creates a sense of occasion. The question that hovers, though, as the conductor lifts their baton is, ‘can this ensemble rise to it?’. Under Calum Fraser’s leadership, the answer is emphatically ‘yes’ for Streatham Choral.
On Saturday 23 April, in the prestigious Cadogan Hall, Streatham’s oldest choir brought joy and feeling to their rendition of Handel’s famous Oratorio. Delayed for two years by the pandemic, the choir had spent the extra time honing their craft. And in doing so these local singers, supported by gifted accompanist Samuel Ali, the in-demand and superb Brandenburg Sinfonia and a quartet of professional soloists, honoured Streatham Choral’s centenary year in style.
Although Messiah is often performed at Christmas, it tells the entire story of Christ’s life, death and resurrection, so works equally well at Easter. This is a profoundly human story, coloured and highlighted by Handel’s unforgettable composition. And these amateur singers committed fully to the music and the moment in ways that were moving and thrilling: not just the Hallelujah chorus, but less well-known chorales such as ‘Worthy is the Lamb’ sprang and leapt, with a top line that was agile and accurate. The hall itself seemed to sing.
The soloists also brought enormous feeling. Beth Taylor was stand out with an extraordinary communicative ability, Susanna Fairbairn brought delicacy, Joseph Doody was authoritative and compelling, and Thomas Humphreys sang with presence and conviction.
All the elements came together, and the secret ingredient ‘x’ was Fraser’s talent to blend them with storytelling ability as well as musical heft. I’m excited to see what’s next.”