The Society has its origins in 1949 when the Mayor of
Surbiton gathered local church choirs to sing Messiah in March
1950.. A
nucleus of these singers stayed together and became ‘Surbiton Oratorio
Society’, soon earning a reputation for concerts of a high standard. By 1985,
the Society had become more closely involved with the Royal Borough of Kingston
and adopted its current name.The Choir has about 120 singers and has
retained a reputation for quality music making. It performs with a period-instrument
orchestra when singing Bach, Handel and other early repertoire and works with
soloists of the highest calibre. In summer 2008 these included the
internationally renowned soprano Carolyn Sampson.
The Society gives four concerts a year, covering a
wide range of music from Bach to Gershwin, and is not afraid to take on
ambitions projects. In June 2003 the Society gave the first UK performance
of the Coronation Cantata by Sibelius, sponsored by the UK Sibelius Society.
Under the auspices of Making Music, the Society along with 50 other choirs,
commissioned a new work by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. The Kestrel Road was performed in 2005 to
celebrate the 70th birthday of the composer. Interspersed with the
less known works, the Society enjoys singing the more familiar favourites of
the choral repertoire and in recent years has performed Bach’s Mass in B Minor
and Mozart’s Requiem to name but two.
Concerts are usually in All Saints Parish Church, Kingston upon Thames. The
Society has also given performances at the Fairfield Hall, Croydon and in
Guildford Cathedral. In May 2007 members of the choir visited the USA. They
performed a concert of English Music in Manhattan,
New York and then gave a joint concert with
the Fairfield County Chorale in Norwalk,
Connecticut.
Robin Page, our Musical Director for the last 27 years
moved on after the November 2008 concert and we have welcomed Graham Ross, a
talented young conductor who is already establishing a reputation with a choral
recording for Naxos. See the Conductors page for more.
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