Since its foundation in 1975 by Laszlo Heltay, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields Chorus's fresh, clear voices have been deliberately chosen to match the unique sound and musicianship of the world-famous orchestra. Laszlo Heltay set the standards for a distinctive tone now admired throughout the choral world and the quality of performance has continued to grow under Joseph Cullen and current Chorus Director, Johan Duijck.
The Chorus has not only maintained its pre-eminent reputation but has expanded its versatility still further, collaborating with Richard Hickox and the City of London Sinfonia, Iona Brown and Daniel Harding with the Academy orchestra, and working with the Academy's own Chamber Ensemble, covering new repertoire as well as augmenting its a cappella appearances. Performing regularly in the UK with Sir Neville Marriner, highlights of the Chorus's history also include the John Tavener tribute season in the Royal Festival Hall under Richard Hickox.
The Academy Chorus is well known throughout the world and has taken part in a variety of high profile performances. These include Bach's B minor Mass at the Rheingau Festival, Haydn's The Creation with Sir Neville Marriner in Santiago de Compostela Cathedral in northern Spain, a celebration for Mozart's Bi-centenary at Carnegie Hall, Handel's Messiah for the 250th anniversary performance in Dublin, and in Hong Kong for the 1997 handover. The Chorus's success abroad helped the Academy of St Martin in the Fields win its coveted Queens Export Achievement Award, becoming the only orchestra to be so honored.
The Chorus's achievements in live performances are matched by its success in the studio with over 30 CD's to its credit. Notable recordings include , with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Mendelssohn's Elijah with Thomas Allen. The Chorus also recorded and toured with Paco Peña in his . More recently the Chorus became part of the Milken Family's archive of and recorded a cappella works by and choral music by with Richard Hickox, the latter receiving a Gramophone nomination for Best Choral Work in 2001. The Chorus was also an integral part of the Oscar Award winning soundtrack with the Academy orchestra and Sir Neville Marriner.
Under its current director, the Flemish conductor, composer and pianist, Johan Duijck, the Academy Chorus aims to further study the a cappella repertoire as well as performing the larger choral works with the Academy orchestra.
Press Reviews
"Haydn's Creation - as fresh and as vital as on the first day of creation. Orchestra, choir and soloists were first class. What Neville Marriner got from his performers thrilled the audience to thunderous applause . the beauty of the choir's voices and the security of their intonation . the performance was the high point of the season"
Hamburger Abendblatt, January 1999 - Haydn's Creation
"The choir deserve similar praise - despite its size, we could only admire its transparent, typically English sound. Intonation, coloratura and articulation were immaculate, indeed exemplary"
Rheinische Post, January 1999 - Haydn's Creation
"The choir was like another instrument of undoubted quality, with fresh voices, perfectly controlled in their delivery, no problems of any kind with their tessitura and notable for their extraordinary precision and musicality"
El Pais, May 1999 - Handel's Jephtha
"The choir and orchestra of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields brought the evening to a conclusion which reverberated with perfect composition and contemplation . Even emotional passages such as the ecstatic 'Osanna' were unfolded by the perfect unity of the choir who seemed to conquer the tricky acoustics of the church with delicate transparency rather than opulent sound"
Wiesbaden Kurier, September 2000 - Bach's B Minor Mass
UEFA Champions League
"We are the champions; wir sind die Besten; nous sommes les meilleurs."
The UEFA anthem was performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and sung by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chorus. This music is an alternative interpretation of Handel's coronation anthem, Zadok the Priest. British composer, Tony Britten, was commissioned to write and arrange the music in a Handelian style in 1992. The song was called "Champions League" and is still used today to introduce the televised programmes devoted to the Champions League.
, 