The London Oriana Choir is one of Britain's leading amateur choral groups and one of the most exciting and versatile in London. Founded in 1973, and under the baton of Musical Director Dominic Peckham since 2013, the choir has gone from strength to strength, performing music from classical baroque to classic rock at venues such as the O2 Arena, St Martin-in-the-Fields and the Royal Albert Hall, and is currently choir-in-residence at the Royal Museums Greenwich.
Recent highlights include the recording and world premiere performance of Pete Townshend's Classic Quadrophenia, working with Alfie Boe, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Robert Ziegler, and of course Pete himself; supporting Barbra Streisand in her Barbra Live concert series at the O2; and working with Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant for the BBC Electric Proms at the Round House. In the last few months, the choir has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4 and Classic FM.
The choir's repertoire is broad, ranging from the great choral and orchestral works by Verdi, Brahms, Mozart, Handel and Bach to contemporary commissions. A cappella music is sung in many languages and in all styles from early Renaissance to the present day, from secular to sacred, classical to jazz and including popular and folk music from around the world. The choir is often accompanied by professional orchestras and has performed with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Brandenburg Sinfonia and the London Mozart Players.
The choir is proud to commission and premiere new works from young composers such as Toby Young and has released world premiere recordings of Kenneth Leighton's Nativitie and Henry Walford Davies' Everyman, which was picked for an Editor's Choice by Gramophone magazine and International Record Review. In April 2016 the choir launched five15 -a pioneering new initiative over the next five years to promote women composers - appointing Cheryl Frances-Hoad as launch composer-in-residence.