History of The 'Phil'

Leicester Philharmonic Choir (LPC), known to its members and followers as the 'Phil', is the largest choir in Leicestershire. The choir performs with professional orchestras, soloists and conductors and encompasses the entire choral repertoire.

Formerly known as The Leicester Philharmonic Society, the choir was founded in 1886 with a membership of around 250 by Herbert Marshall, a Leicester concert impressario and piano dealer who was subsequently knighted and became Lord Mayor of Leicester.

Throughout its history, the choir has made a notable contribution to the development of the British choral tradition in bringing most of the major choral works to Leicester and has been associated with a number of eminent figures in the world of serious music. Dr.(later Sir) Malcolm Sargent and Leslie Woodgate were early chorus masters of the choir.  

The Leicester Philharmonic Choir is dedicated to the provision of high quality choral music to Leicester and Leicestershire, and in so doing recognises an educational obligation as well as providing entertainment. The choir members are talented and enthusiastic amateur musicians living mostly in the communities of the city and the surrounding county. Choral quality is ensured by the careful auditioning of prospective members and the re-auditioning of established members at 3-yearly intervals. The choir has varied in size and at one time in the distant past the membership reached 440, but today fluctuates at around a more manageable 160. However the musicianship has always been of a sufficiently high calibre to enable performances of the vast majority of works in the choral repertoire, particularly oratorio.  The performances take place in collaboration with soloists and orchestras of national and international reputation.

The choir has been associated with many internationally famous conductors and orchestras. From 1922 to 1934 Sir Henry Wood was the Phil’s official conductor and it was he who established the tradition of an annual performance of Handel’s Messiah. Sir Henry left the choir in the able hands of  Malcolm Sargent, who he had discovered in Leicester, and a fruitful partnership ensued with the Leicester Symphony Orchestra, which Sargent had helped to establish. From 1941 until 1961 Leslie Woodgate was the official conductor. Sir Adrian Boult, Sir John Barbirolli, Sir David Willcocks, Sir Michael Tippett, Maurice Handford and Owain Arwell Hughes have all been guest conductors of the Phil and many have returned at their own request. More recently, the choir has been privileged to be conducted by distinguished conductors such as Leonard Slatkin, Hilary Davan Wetton, Paul Spicer and Jane Glover and by contemporary composers John Rutter and Karl Jenkins.

Performance of Elijah in the De Montfort Hall 11 May 1985

Guest orchestras include the Queen’s Hall Orchestra, the Halle, the Royal Philharmonic, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Concert Orchestra, the Philharmonia and the London Bach.

The choir has a wide repertoire. The composers performed range from the baroque (Bach, Handel, Mozart) to the present-day (Bruckner, Britten, Stravinsky, Walton and Orff). In its 114^th season (1999/2000) the choir commissioned a new work for the Millennium. There are also concerts of light music, for example songs from the cinema and Broadway musicals.  These have included several broadcast performances with the B.B.C. Concert Orchestra in “Friday Night is Music Night”.  See the listing of works in our Performance Database for an illustration of the range of works and composers.

During a typical season, which normally runs from September until May, there is a performance of Messiah in November, two Christmas concerts in December (one of which is a charity concert) and three other major concerts, usually held in October and May.  All concerts, with the exception of one of the Christmas concerts (which is given in St James the Greater Church) take place at Leicester's De Montfort Hall.

In addition to these regular performances it is unusual for a season to pass without the choir being asked to sing in other events.  Such invitation concerts may take place at some venue other than Leicester, sometimes in collaboration with one or more other choirs.  Recent examples include participating in a performance of Carmina Burana in a Henry Wood Promenade Concert at The Royal Albert Hall, a performance of Beethoven's Choral Symphony with the Philharmonia Orchestra at Symphony Hall, Birmingham and a Millennium concert including Walton’s Belshazzar's Feast and Poulenc's Gloria at The Royal Albert Hall.

Choir members have also joined other choristers from the East Midlands to tour The Czech Republic and Metz, Luxembourg and Saarbrucken. Some members of the choir have also formed a small group that performs at local events, weddings and funerals. This gives members a chance to sing in a smaller group and also raises money for the choir.

The affairs of the choir, such as planning and arranging concerts, publicity and finance are managed by a democratically elected committee all of whom are members of the choir.