This is London (Evening Standard) November 4 2011
Founded in 1878 (only nine years after the first performance of Brahms’ Requiem!) Highgate Choral Society is one of Britain’s longest established community choirs, with over 200 members. It enjoys widespread critical acclaim and has an enviable reputation for the high standards of its concerts.
CLASSICAL AND JAZZ: Highgate Choral Society gives a tremendous performance at All Hallow’s Church
Camden New Journal, 15 November, 2012 by SEBASTIAN TAYLOR
Elgar’s setting of Cardinal Newman’s poem The Dream of Gerontius is
one of the great pillars of the British choral tradition and the
Highgate Choral Society gave a performance of distinction on Saturday at
All Hallow’s Church in Hampstead.
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CLASSICAL AND JAZZ: Gospel according to Highgate
Camden New Journal, 12 July, 2012 by SEBASTIAN TAYLOR
Wonders never cease! African protest songs sung by the staid Highgate
Choral Society conducted by Ronald Corp!
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Conducting another birthday is icing on the cake for Ronald
Corp
Michael White, Music correspondent, Ham & High, Friday, July 1, 2011
Highgate Choral Society’s musical priest gears up for round two of his 60th
It isn’t just the Queen who manages to have real and official birthdays in the same year. Conductors do it too, on reaching ages of significance. And 60 is significant enough for Ronald Corp – conductor of Highgate Choral Society, the New London Orchestra et al – to have had his birthday back in January but be having it again, officially, at the Royal Festival Hall next month. [full text here]
Camden New Journal, 10 March, 2011 by SEBASTIAN TAYLOR
THE Highgate Choral Society is back on form. Its performance of
Handel’s Messiah at St Joseph’s Church, Highgate Hill, on Saturday
reached the high standards expected of the choir, with all four sections
singing well, with excellent entries and confident handling of the
fugues.
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The boy from Highgate choir now has a starring role
Michael White, Ham & High, 24 February 2011
A former pupil returns to sing with the choir on March 5
When Highgate Choral Society takes on Handel’s Messiah at St Joseph’s
in Highgate next month it will be with a countertenor singing the alto
arias. Though that may sound adventurous to older listeners who’d rather
hear Dame Janet Baker, it’s a common enough thing to do.
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From Michael White's blog
http://jennifervyvyan.org/wp/?p=82
A Big Messiah in North London, posted on March 13, 2011 by Michael White
When Jennifer Vyvyan did her Messiahs – and heaven knows, there were
enough of them – they generally came big: in the venerable English
choral society tradition with serried ranks of vocal beefcake in support
and the likes of Malcolm Sargent, Thomas Beecham or Adrian Boult in
charge.
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Choral Society rises to toughest of challenges
Monday, November 30, 2009, Michael White
REVIEW: HIGHGATE CHORAL SOCIETY - ALL HALLOWS, GOSPEL OAK.
Because music critics tend not go to concerts that begin with the
1812 Overture, we tend to forget what an extraordinary score it is
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After 130 years of rehearsals, Highgate Choral Society is far from
amateurish
Thursday, March 26, 2009
BY MICHAEL WHITE, Ham & High
If you’ve ever wondered why the top of Highgate Hill gets crowded
around 8pm on Mondays, or why the neighbouring pubs are suddenly full
two hours later, the answer in both cases is the Highgate Choral
Society.
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Verdi's Requiem is one of the great monoliths of choral singing;
moving it isn't the easiest of operations. Yet it does need movement -
and the striking thing about this HCS performance was its energy and
pace, skilfully driven by conductor Ronald Corp.
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Review
by Michael White from the Ham & High
HIGHGATE CHORAL SOCIETY: All Hallows Church, Gospel Oak
Friday, July 18, 2008
Four star rating ****
To find one outstanding piano soloist slipped into the line-up for a north London choral concert would be remarkable enough. Two verges on extravagance.
But two there were in Highgate Choral Society's madly extravagant
concert at All Hallows last week.
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Raising the bar for community choirs
Michael White, 6 November 2008, Ham and High
Ronald Corp is an all-round champion of amateurs - as the conductor
of a choral society, orchestra and children's choir and a composer of
music for them.
As somebody who has enough trouble dealing with one, relatively
uncomplicated life, I'm always perplexed by people like Ronald Corp who
deal with several and appear to slip in between them effortlessly.
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WHEN many good concerts struggle to fill seats it is heartening to
see the Highgate Choral Society continuing to command such an impressive
turnout.
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Extracts from the blog of local MP Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey and Wood Green)
14th November 2010
A magnificent performance of Mendelssohn’s Elijah last night by the
Highgate Choral Society (of which I am a patron).
Ronald Corp was the conductor, the New London Orchestra played the music
– five soloists took the solo characters – but the real stars are
without doubt the Highgate choristers – the many local people who every
Monday night rehearse and rehearse year in and year out. When the Chorus
takes off and swells and soars to the rafters – those are incomparable
moments.
[full text here]