After thirty years of world-wide performance and recording, The Sixteen is recognised as one of the world’s greatest ensembles. Comprising both choir and period-instrument orchestra, The Sixteen's total commitment to the music it performs is its greatest distinction. Its special reputation for performing early English polyphony, masterpieces of the Renaissance, bringing fresh insights into Baroque and early Classical music and a diversity of 20th Century music, is drawn from the passions of conductor and founder, Harry Christophers.

 

At home in the UK, The Sixteen are "The Voices of Classic FM", TV Media Partner with Sky Arts, and Associate Artists of Southbank Centre, London.  The group promotes an annual series at the Queen Elizabeth Hall as well as The Choral Pilgrimage, a tour of our finest cathedrals bringing music back to the buildings for which it was written.  The Sixteen has recently featured in the highly successful BBC Four television series, Sacred Music, presented by actor Simon Russell Beale.

 

The Sixteen tours throughout Europe, Japan, Australia and the Americas and has given regular performances at major concert halls and festivals worldwide, including the Barbican Centre - London, Bridgewater Hall - Manchester, Concertgebouw - Amsterdam, Sydney Opera House, Tokyo Opera City and Vienna Musikverein and also at the BBC Proms, the festivals of Granada, Lucerne, Istanbul, Prague and Salzburg. 

 

In addition, The Sixteen’s period orchestra has taken part in highly acclaimed semi-staged performances of Purcell’s Fairy Queen in Tel Aviv and London, a fully-staged production of Purcell’s King Arthur in Lisbon’s Belem Centre, followed by new productions of Monteverdi’s Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria at Lisbon Opera House and The Coronation of Poppea at English National Opera.  Over ninety recordings reflect The Sixteen’s quality in a range of work spanning the music of five hundred years, winning many awards including Grand Prix du Disque, numerous Schallplattenkritik, the coveted Gramophone Award for Early Music, the prestigious Classical Brit Award in 2005 for Renaissance and IKON which was nominated for a Grammy Award and two Classical Brits.  These latter two discs were recorded as part of the group's contract with Universal Classics and Jazz.

 

Since 2001 The Sixteen has been building its own record label, CORO, which will release its seventy-forth release in 2009.  Recent recordings include Brahms’s German Requiem, ‘Treasures of Tudor England’ (music by Parsons, Tye and White) which accompanied the 2008 Choral Pilgrimage, Fauré’s Requiem with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and Handel’s celebrated oratorio, Messiah, with an all-star soloist line-up: Carolyn Sampson, Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Mark Padmore and Christopher Purves, which was awarded the prestigious MIDEM Classical Award 2009.

 

Bringing together live concerts and recording plans has allowed The Sixteen to develop a glittering catalogue of releases, containing music from the Renaissance and Baroque through to great works of our time.

 

 

Founder and conductor Harry Christophers appointed an assistant in 2006; Eamonn Dougan, a member of The Sixteen since 2001, became the group's first Assistant Conductor. Eamonn, who continues to sing with the group and is involved with our varied education programme,  has conducted the group in several performances - most recently to great acclaim in Uppingham, at the Abbaye de Lessay, France, in Grimsby and at the festival opening of new London venue, Kings Place.

 

 

                                                                                                             

Board of Trustees

Robin Barda, Chairman	Simon Gulliver
John Bickley	Keith Parker
Harry Christophers	Richard Price
Veronica Christophers	Francis Quinlan
Mary Deissler	Anthony Smith

Development Board

Adam Singer, Chairman
Charles Bennett	Robert Gray
Chris Blackhurst	Guy Hands
Sir David Brewer CMG	Simon Haslam
Graham Brown	John Howland-Jackson
Sir Andrew Burns KCMG	Robert Kirk
Felicity Clark	Mark Loveday
Anthony Fry	Debbie McMenamin
Caroline Garnham	Dede Sanderson