NORTHERN SINFONIA CHORUS AT 40
For 40 years Northern Sinfonia Chorus has been an integral , ever-present part of the Northern Sinfonia musical family drawing on talented and committed singers from across the North of England .
Choruses allow an orchestra to present the great , stand-out works from history ; Mozart ’ s Requiem , Bach ’ s Passions and Haydn ’ s Masses and performances of these have formed the core repertoire for Northern Sinfonia Chorus . However its role in Sage Gateshead ’ s classical programme is altogether more ambitious matching the breadth of repertoire of the orchestra itself . Regular performances of the classics are frequently placed alongside modern masterpieces and the chorus now regularly features in both Hall One and our more eclectic Hall Two series , Late Mix .
Former Northern Sinfonia Timpanist Alan Fearon founded the chorus and continues to lead them whilst playing a crucial role in the choral and vocal strategy at Sage Gateshead . The chorus has worked with many guest conductors and with every Music Director since Rudolph Schwartz , the orchestra ’ s second Music Director , including for the last 12 seasons Thomas Zehetmair .
From 2004 to 2012 renowned choral conductor Simon Halsey led the chorus as Principal Conductor Choral Programme . In this 40th season Northern Sinfonia Chorus once again feature in a full range of programmes
with Thomas Zehetmair and Alan Fearon and in a final flourish give their first ever performance of Beethoven ’ s stunning ‘ Missa Solemnis ’.
As we say farewell to Thomas as Music Director one thing remains certain , that Northern Sinfonia Chorus will continue to play a major role in the classical programme and we look forward to embarking on their next musical adventures . www . sagegateshead . com 09