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Northampton Bach Choir

History

Northampton Bach Choir gave its first concert on Palm Sunday 1936 in St. Matthew's Church, Northampton with a group of about 36 singers drawn together by the organist of the church at that time, the late Dennis Pouncey. It now has some 100 members coming from all parts of the county, and has regularly performed a wide range of choral music in St. Matthew's and more recently in the concert hall at Royal & Derngate with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and at the Althorp 'Proms' with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.

For many years its musical directors were simultaneously the incumbents of the organ loft at St. Matthew's, many of whom have gone on to positions as cathedral organists both in the UK and in America. More recently the choir enjoyed a long period under the direction of Malcolm Tyler, the Director of the Northamptonshire Music School. Its last Director, Timothy Byram-Wigfield was also the Director of Music at Jesus College, Cambridge and is now Director of Music at St George's Chapel, Windsor. We now perform under the Directorship of Andrew Reid who joined us from Westminster Abbey and was appointed Director of Music for Peterborough Cathedral in 2004.

Since the early days the choir has grown in numbers and in repertoire and activities. Although it has continued to maintain strong links with St. Matthew's Church, which it looks upon very much as its musical "home", it has had the opportunity to perform in a variety of other locations. For many years the Carnegie Hall (now the Abington Street Library) and the Guildhall were regular venues. Brixworth and Rothwell Parish Churches were visited during their festivals, and more recently it has sung several times in London's Royal Albert Hall.

The opening of the Derngate Concert Hall (now the Royal & Derngate) in 1983 allowed the choir to explore some of the major choral works which could not be accommodated in St. Matthew's, and has given it the opportunity to sing with some of the world's major professional orchestras, (the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hague Philharmonic and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra to name a few) with conductors such as Ivan Fischer, Andrew Litton, and Sir Charles Groves. It has two recordings of Christmas music to its credit and has toured in Europe to Northampton's two twin towns, Marburg in Germany and Poitiers in France.

Our Home - St Matthews Church, Northampton
As the home of the Northampton Bach Choir, St. Matthew's Church plays a very important part in the life of the Choir and provides a welcoming and impressive venue for the Choir to perform.

For over one hundred years, St. Matthew's Church has been a focus of worship and prayer, with daily services and this pattern continues today. It is perhaps one of the most famous Churches in the country because of its long-standing choral tradition and patronage of the arts. On Sundays the church choir complements the splendour of the building and worship with music from over four hundred years of rich choral heritage.

Our Conductor - Andrew Reid - Musical Director
Andrew joined us in September 2004 when he also took up the post of Director of Music at Peterborough Cathedral. He studied at Cambridge before joining Westminster Cathedral and later Westminster Abbey as Sub-organist.