Hertfordshire Chorus

The Hertfordshire Chorus fields 130 voices and appears both throughout its home county north of greater London and on leading stages across Britain, while also supplying singers for multiple BBC television productions. Founded in 1970 under the name Hatfield Philharmonic Chorus, the ensemble was initially linked to the Hatfield Philharmonic Orchestra—later renamed the Hatfield Philharmonic Society—with both groups led by Frank Shipway. Michael Kibblewhite took the podium in 1973, after which the chorus separated from the orchestra, adopted its current title, and began working with a range of other ensembles on choral-orchestral repertoire. Under Kibblewhite the group released its first recording in 2000, Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana; that September David Temple succeeded him as music director and continued in the role into the mid-2020s, meaning the choir has known only two leaders across more than fifty years apart from a three-year span.

Although firmly anchored in local life—appearing regularly at St. Albans Cathedral and furnishing singers for Hertfordshire weddings and funerals—the chorus has also earned national and international recognition. Its résumé includes appearances at the Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, and Barbican in London, along with contributions to the BBC programs The Choir and The One Show. Traditional scores such as Fauré’s Requiem, broadcast live on BBC Radio 2’s Good Friday schedule, and Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Op. 123, sit alongside commissions from composers including Will Todd, Orlando Gough, and Steve Block. Pop crossovers have featured Bombay Bicycle Club, Noel Gallagher, and Ray Davies of The Kinks, while commercial releases on the Lyrita and Signum Classics labels include the 2023 Signum album Nova! Nova! Joy to the World.