A Choral Christmas

Hailing from Ulverston in Cumbria, Jess Gillam is animating the music world with her outstanding talent and infectious personality. 

While in lockdown Gillam launched her Virtual Scratch Orchestra, inviting musicians of any standard to play music virtually with her, inspiring and bringing joy through her music. 
 
Highlights of Jess’s 2019-20 season included a performance at the Last Night of the BBC Proms Japan, with the Minnesota Orchestra, at the Lucerne Festival, with Deutsches Symphony Orchester Berlin, and Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. This season she continues to perform throughout the UK and Europe in recital as well as with BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Hallé, Manchester Camerata and the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. Jess has been chosen as one of ECHO’s Rising Stars for season 2020-21. Another highlight of this season will be the first tour with her own band, the Jess Gillam ensemble, which will play at numerous venues and festivals across the UK and abroad in summer 21.
 
Gillam is signed to Decca Classics and recently released her second album, TIME, which shot to No 1 in the Official UK Classical Charts. 
 
Gillam is also a presenter on TV and Radio. She became the youngest ever presenter for BBC Radio 3 and hosts her own weekly show and podcast called This Classical Life where she chats to musical guests to swap tracks and share the music they love. In 2019 Gillam also presented five BBC Proms live on television.
  
Gillam is a passionate advocate for the power of music in society, often combining her concert engagements with educational and social projects. She is a patron for Awards for Young Musicians and a trustee for the HarrisonParrott Foundation, working towards full inclusivity of all ethnicities, genders, disabilities and social backgrounds with equal access to the arts.
 

Katie Melua is one of Britain's most successful musical artists, having sold in excess of 11 million albums and received over 56 platinum awards. The 35-year old is originally from Tbilisi, Georgia and moved to the UK at a young age where she studied at the acclaimed Brit School of Performing Arts. It is her extraordinary voice, and the ability to truly inhabit a song, that has been her trademark since the young 19 year old school graduate first appeared in 2003 performing The Closest Thing To Crazy. One of the UK’s highest-selling female recording artists of all time, Katie has released 7 top 10 studio albums – Call Off The Search, Piece By Piece, Pictures, The House, Secret Symphony, Ketevan and, most recently, 2016’s self-produced, critically acclaimed In Winter.   An accomplished songwriter, composer, and arranger some of Melua's most well-known hits include Nine Million Bicycles, The Closest Thing to Crazy, and her now infamous cover of Wonderful Life. A constantly in-demand touring artist, Melua enchants her audiences worldwide with her uniquely powerful and captivating voice, flawless performances, and charming personality.

2019 saw the release of Melua’s latest 2xCD live album featuring Gori Women’s Choir, and 2020 has seen the release of her latest record Album No. 8, her 8th consecutive record to be in the top 10 of the UK charts. Katie’s performance from The Rivoli will be streamed on 17th December.
 

As a composer, conductor, and singer, Bob Chilcott has enjoyed a lifelong association with choral music, first as a chorister and choral scholar in the choir of King’s College, Cambridge, and for 12 years as a member of the King’s Singers.  He became a full-time composer in 1997, and has produced a large catalogue of music for all types of choirs which is published by Oxford University Press.  His most often performed pieces include Can you hear me?, A Little Jazz Mass, Requiem, and the St John Passion.

Bob has conducted choirs in more than 30 countries worldwide and has worked with many thousands of amateur singers across the UK in a continuing series of Singing Days. For seven years he was conductor of the Chorus of The Royal College of Music in London and since 2002 he has been Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Singers. In 2017 Bob was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by The Royal School of Church Music and in 2019 takes up the role of Principal Conductor Birmingham University Singers.

His music has been widely recorded by leading British choirs and groups including The King’s Singers, King’s College, Cambridge, Wells Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, The Sixteen, Tenebrae, The BBC Singers, The Bach Choir, Commotio, and Ora. In 2016 he enjoyed a collaboration with the celebrated singer Katie Melua on the album In Winter.  In 2017 two new discs were released by Commotio and Choralis – All Good Things on Naxos, and In Winter’s Arms on Signum, his first recording collaboration with an American choir.  Newer recording projects are with the BBC Singers, Houston Chamber Choir, and Wroclaw Philharmonic Choir.

The BBC Singers bring an exceptional range of choral music to the widest audiences, all performed at the very highest standard. Recent concerts have featured music by composers ranging from Victoria and Handel to Michael Finnissy, Anders Hillborg, Errollyn Wallen and Judith Weir.

The group makes appearances at the BBC Proms each year, featuring in the live First and Last Nights in 2020. This Christmas the BBC Singers will give live performances from Temple Church and BBC Maida Vale Studios, plus a special Christmas Day broadcast with special guest Stephen Fry. The choir has a long history of giving free concerts and makes regular appearances at major festivals across the UK and beyond, with the majority of its performances broadcast on BBC Radio 3. It also makes regular commercial recordings.

As part of Get Involved, the BBC Singers, alongside the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, BBC Concert Orchestra and BBC Proms, offer family concerts and innovative education work, and in recent months they have been closely involved with the BBC’s Ten Pieces, Proms at Home and Connecting the Dots initiatives.

The mission of the BBC Concert Orchestra is to bring inspiring musical experiences to everyone, everywhere. It appears annually at the BBC Proms and usually at Proms in the Park. It also performs a varied programme of concerts in its role as an Associate Orchestra at London’s Southbank Centre.

Central to the orchestra’s life are the concerts and broadcasts for BBC Radio 2’s Sunday Night Is Music Night. For BBC Radio 3 it explores a wide selection of classical and contemporary music, with all broadcasts available for 30 days after transmission on BBC Sounds. The orchestra also records TV and film soundtracks, including Blue Planet and Serengeti, performs regularly at venues throughout the UK and tours internationally.

Alongside the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, BBC Singers and BBC Proms, as part of Get Involved, the BBC Concert Orchestra offers family concerts and innovative education work. In recent months it has been closely involved with the BBC’s Ten Pieces, Proms at Home and Connecting the Dots initiatives.