THE KING’S SINGERS have set the gold standard in a cappella singing on the world’s greatest stages for over fifty years. They are renowned for their unrivalled technique, musicianship and versatility, which stem from both the group’s rich heritage and its drive to bring an extraordinary range of new and unique works, collaborations and recordings to life.
The King’s Singers’ extensive discography has led to numerous awards, including two Grammy Awards, an Emmy Award, and a place in Gramophone magazine’s inaugural Hall of Fame.
Over the course of 2023, the group has released three diverse, collaborative albums that showcase the breadth of their repertoire. One marks 400 years since the deaths of two great Renaissance composers, Thomas Weelkes and William Byrd. Another celebrates their body of commissioned music, including the six Nonsense Madrigals written for the group by György Ligeti (who would have turned 100 in 2023). And the third honours 100 years of Disney, with almost thirty brand-new arrangements of songs from its iconic films.
Growing the global canon of choral music has always been one of the group’s key aims, and The King’s Singers have now commissioned more than 200 works by many of the most prominent composers of the 20th and 21st centuries. These composers include John Tavener, Joe Hisaishi, Judith Bingham, Eric Whitacre, György Ligeti, Luciano Berio, Krzysztof Penderecki and Toru Takemitsu. All of this new music joins their unique body of close-harmony and a cappella arrangements, including those by individual King’s Singers past and present.
The King’s Singers were officially formed in 1968 when six recent choral scholars from King’s College, Cambridge gave a concert at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall. By chance, the group was made up of two countertenors, a tenor, two baritones and a bass, and the group has stuck to this singular formation ever since that debut.
Alongside their demanding performing and recording schedule – with over 100 concerts worldwide every season – the group also leads educational workshops and residential courses across the globe, working with both ensembles and individuals on their approaches to group singing. To mark their 50th anniversary in 2018, they founded The King’s Singers Global Foundation in the USA to provide a platform to support the creation of new music across multiple disciplines, to coach a new generation of performers, and to provide musical opportunities to people of all backgrounds.