About Barts Choir
We stage top classical choral concerts with professional orchestras and soloists in venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, the Royal Festival Hall and Cadogan Hall.
Directed by our Principal Conductor, Ivor Setterfield, and our Associate Conductor, Jordan Theis. We perform three major concerts a year and we also support smaller projects, such as carol events for ‘Look Good Feel Better’ and providing a choir for the Barts Health Annual Remembrance Service at St Paul’s Cathedral.
Our NHS heritage
Barts Choir was founded by a group of nurses at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in 1965. We retain a connection with the hospital in both name and spirit and regularly invite staff of Barts Health NHS Trust to join their voices with ours.
Our team of Professional Musicians
Ivor Setterfield
Chris Lee
Jordan Theis
1965 First performance of Handel’s Messiah at St Bartholomew the Great.
1972 Barts Choir’s first performance at the Royal Albert Hall.
1973 A concert at St Paul’s Cathedral to mark the 850th anniversary of the founding of St Bartholomew’s Hospital.
1982 Choir tour to Egypt with a performance of Alexander’s Feast in the Ambassador’s garden, Cairo.
1985 A performances of Verdi’s Requiem in Amsterdam.
1987 A performance of Elgar's Dream of Gerontius in Köln.
1990 Mozart Mass in C Minor in Denmark.
2000 Mahler’s ‘Symphony of a Thousand’ at the Royal Albert Hall.
2012 Performed in the Olympic stadium at the Paralympic Opening Ceremony.
2016 Accompanied Boy George for Channel 4 programme Stand Up to Cancer.
2018 Contributed a small number of NHS staff’s voices to a BBC Radio project entitled ‘NHS Symphony’, which was recently honoured with 2 radio awards.
2019 A group of Barts members participated in the project ‘Sing for Shelter’ which raised funds for the charity, Shelter
2020 We brought about virtual recordings in support of Barts Charity and Single Homeless Project. See our YouTube channel.
2023 A special concert at the Royal Albert Hall to honour the 900th anniversary of Barts Hospital
Our Choir was founded in 1965 by nurses at St Bartholomew’s Hospital so this year we are proud to be singing in celebration of the Barts900 campaign, marking the 900 years since Barts Hospital was founded. Barts Charity works in partnership with Barts Health NHS Trust to support excellent care and fund world-leading healthcare research.
