At the beginning of October 1983, John S. North invited nine singers to join him for the first practice of a new chamber choir. The meeting took place in St. Peter’s Convent, Horbury, near Wakefield. It was the first meeting of St. Peter’s Consort, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2023.
Consort has given three subscription concerts each year since its formation. It also raises money for church funds and charities by the giving of recitals and has made regular Cathedral visits to sing services when resident choirs are on vacation.
The choir has sung in more than half the Cathedrals of England and has taken its music making to North Wales and Scotland. It has sung services in Westminster Abbey, St. Georges Chapel Windsor, Notre-Dâme Paris, and in the major churches of Bruges, Ghent and Brussels. There have been over 300 concerts and services. Several professional recordings have been made and there have been four live broadcasts on Radio 4. Thousands of pounds have been raised for charities and local church funds.
John North relinquished his position as Musical Director in December 2008 after 25 years at the helm, and was succeeded in January 2009 by Tom Moore, who became Director of Music for Wakefield Cathedral in 2010. Tom was succeeded in January 2016 by Sachin Gunga, who was then Assistant Director of Music at Wakefield Cathedral .
Sachin became Sub-Organist at Portsmouth Cathedral in January 2018. He said that "I will be sorry to end my time working with such a dedicated and skilled ensemble, and I have greatly enjoyed making music with them all."
Philip Collin was appointed as our new Director with effect from 21st February 2018. He moved on in 2020 to become Director of Halifax Choral society. We are fortunate to have the services of James Bowstead as acting MD when rehearsals restart.
Consort sings a wide range of secular and sacred music, both accompanied and unaccompanied, from the fifteenth century to the present day. It regularly gives concerts with guest artistes. Handel's Messiah was performed in December 2013 together with The Cathedral Strings and professional soloists.; this joint concert with twenty singers was hailed by the Wakefield Express as "superb in all respects". 2014 was highlighted by a performance of John Rutter's Gloria with Austonley Brass, whose director commented that "between us we crafted a stylish performance that blended the sounds of the choir, brass and organ wonderfully". For Sachin's last concert in December 2017, Consort was joined by harpist Rhian Evans for a performance of Britten's Ceremony of Carols.
Consort can be booked to give concerts for local church funds or charities. It is also available to sing at weddings. Please click the Contact Us button for further details.
Please click on the links at the foot of our Home page to hear samples of our work.
