Biography
The Choir of the Queen's College, Oxford maintains a schedule that includes chapel services, concert engagements, and participation in the annual Boar's Head Procession. Among Britain's university choirs, this mixed adult ensemble stands out for its critical acclaim, with BBC Music Magazine describing its performances as "revelatory and even visionary." Several British choral specialists have issued its recordings, culminating in the 2024 album That Sweet City, devoted to compositions connected with Oxford.
The Chapel at The Queen's College was founded in 1382, and music has formed part of its activities ever since. To the present, the Choir's principal duty continues to be providing music for regular services held there.
Its membership of thirty draws on an effective blend of mostly student voices, comprising twenty Choral Scholars enrolled at Queen's College, Choral Exhibitioners from other Oxford colleges, and two professional lay clerks. Under director Owen Rees, who also serves as the university-appointed organist, rehearsal standards rose markedly, enabling tours throughout the U.K., Europe, the U.S., and Sri Lanka. The Choir's recording history stretches back decades and occasionally extends beyond classical repertoire, as evidenced by its contribution to the 1983 progressive rock album David Bedford: Star Clusters, Nebulae & Places in Devon; The Song of the White Horse.
Collaborations have included both established orchestras and leading early music groups such as the Brook Street Band and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. The ensemble belongs to a small number of choirs praised by both the mainstream Classic FM network, which designated Carols from Queen's its Drive Featured Album of the Week, and the specialist Early Music Review, which hailed the 2013 recording of Dixit Dominus settings by Handel and Alessandro Scarlatti as "a disc of unusually high calibre." Its catalog, initiated on the Guild label and continued on Avie and Signum Classics, grew extensive. In 2018 the Choir undertook an American tour while issuing The House of the Mind. Signum releases continued with John Taverner's Missa Gloria Tibi Trinitas in 2019 and A Ceremony of Carols the next year. That Sweet City appeared in 2024, by which time the discography comprised more than twenty albums.
The Chapel at The Queen's College was founded in 1382, and music has formed part of its activities ever since. To the present, the Choir's principal duty continues to be providing music for regular services held there.
Its membership of thirty draws on an effective blend of mostly student voices, comprising twenty Choral Scholars enrolled at Queen's College, Choral Exhibitioners from other Oxford colleges, and two professional lay clerks. Under director Owen Rees, who also serves as the university-appointed organist, rehearsal standards rose markedly, enabling tours throughout the U.K., Europe, the U.S., and Sri Lanka. The Choir's recording history stretches back decades and occasionally extends beyond classical repertoire, as evidenced by its contribution to the 1983 progressive rock album David Bedford: Star Clusters, Nebulae & Places in Devon; The Song of the White Horse.
Collaborations have included both established orchestras and leading early music groups such as the Brook Street Band and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. The ensemble belongs to a small number of choirs praised by both the mainstream Classic FM network, which designated Carols from Queen's its Drive Featured Album of the Week, and the specialist Early Music Review, which hailed the 2013 recording of Dixit Dominus settings by Handel and Alessandro Scarlatti as "a disc of unusually high calibre." Its catalog, initiated on the Guild label and continued on Avie and Signum Classics, grew extensive. In 2018 the Choir undertook an American tour while issuing The House of the Mind. Signum releases continued with John Taverner's Missa Gloria Tibi Trinitas in 2019 and A Ceremony of Carols the next year. That Sweet City appeared in 2024, by which time the discography comprised more than twenty albums.
Albums
