Reading Festival Chorus celebrate 80 years

Karen Neville

Two choirs are joining forces to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Reading’s oldest choir, Thomas Wall invites us to book our tickets for a memorable night

Reading’s oldest choir, Reading Festival Chorus (RFC), is celebrating its 80th anniversary in style in June with a grand concert in the Great Hall of Reading University, joined by choirs from Reading’s twin town of Düsseldorf. 

Founded in 1945, RFC has performed with many international stars over the years, including Yehudi Menuhin, Kathleen Ferrier, and John Shirley-Quirk. RFC enjoys a long-standing association with renowned pianist John Lill, who is the choir’s Patron. To this day RFC remains a dynamic, friendly choir, performing a wide range of music, spanning from the Renaissance to contemporary works. It is celebrating its anniversary with a performance of Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius (which itself is turning 125 this year), joined by its twin choir, the Johanneskantorei Düsseldorf, as well as a youth choir from Düsseldorf. 

Almost as old as RFC, the relationship between Reading and Düsseldorf began in the immediate post-war years as an act of reconciliation and friendship. The link was formalized as a twinning in 1975 (in Reading) and 1988 (in Düsseldorf). In 1987 RFC performed a ‘twinning’ of its own, performing Verdi’s Requiem in Reading with the Düsseldorf choir Kantorei der Kreuzkirche. Both choirs went on to perform together in Reading and Düsseldorf for many years. In 2006 the musical twinning was renewed when RFC joined forces with the Düsseldorf choir Johanneskantorei, a bond which is still going strong today, and which sees the choirs come together for joint concerts alternating between Reading and Düsseldorf. 

The combined forces of 150 singers from RFC, Johanneskantorei and the Düsseldorf youth choir are celebrating this anniversary year with two concerts: the first was in Düsseldorf in May and then in Reading (20th June). For the Reading concert, the choirs will join forces with the British Sinfonietta under the baton of RFC Music Director Greg Hallam, as well as a great line-up of professional soloists to perform Elgar’s mighty oratorio, one of the great works of the British choral repertoire. The concert promises to be a wonderful evening celebrating 80 years of music-making, as well as the enduring cultural bond between Reading and Düsseldorf. 

The concert will be performed in the Great Hall of Reading University (London Road, RG1 5AG) at 7.30 pm on Friday, 20th June. Further details of RFC, including the Anniversary Concert and information on joining the choir can be found at readingfestivalchorus.org