Knightsbridge Arts

October 2004 sees the launch of Knightsbridge Arts , a series of concerts, exhibitions and events based at St Paul 's Church. The church is a beautiful Victorian building in Wilton Place and its excellent acoustics have lead to it being used regularly as a recording venue by artists such as the BBC Singers.

The Church is a vibrant centre of community , with a strong congregation and a welcoming ethos. Plans have been drawn up to enhance the church's facilities over the next couple of years, which will enable St Paul 's to operate as a fully modernised venue. Unrivalled in its position, just minutes from Hyde Park , Knightsbridge is home to many of London 's finest hotels and numerous embassies and consulates, and it is right that there should be a focal point in the area for visitors to discover London 's artistic treasures. 

Artists of the calibre of the BBC Singers, Martin Roscoe, James Gilchrist, The Hilliard Ensemble, The London Chorus and the King's Camerata will perform alongside many of the finest young musicians in this country. Local galleries and fine artists will be given valuable exposure and amateur choirs and orchestras are also involved in the series. Other projects will include a series of dramatic performances of oratorios, cantatas, church operas, mystery plays and movement which will explore the relationships between the various performance disciplines within the arts. The Choir of St Paul's Church, Knightsbridge, which will be featured in several concerts, has a reputation for excellence; its members sing with companies such as English National Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, The Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Monteverdi Choir, The Sixteen and The King's Consort.

Following the launch concert on 22 October 2004 , a number of events will take place as a preview of the season proper, which will begin in late January 2005. We do hope you will be able to join us at some of these performances. The vocal ensemble Exaudi has built a reputation for its interpretations of contemporary and early music and their concert on 29th October includes works ranging from Hildegard von Bingen to Finnissy. The BBC Singers , acclaimed as a jewel in Britain 's musical crown, are the country's only full-time professional chamber choir. Their concert on Friday 5th November marks the gunpowder plot in a programme of musical fireworks from the Jacobean period to the present day. The Serpent under it is an evening of sorcercy, song and seduction in which the great tempters of opera and literature come out to play. Mozart's sublime Requiem will be performed on 19th November, following Remembrance Sunday, and Mozart's final towering symphony, the Jupiter , will be performed in the same programme by the excellent young chamber orchestra, the King's Camerata. A chamber recital on Friday 3rd December showcases Schubert's beautiful Trout quintet alongside a companion work by the exciting young composer Huw Watkins, Junior Fellow of the Royal College of Music. Finally, on 10th December, the baroque ensemble Da Chiesa will perform Handel Messiah on period instruments with the Choir of St Paul's.

If you would like to receive the season programme for 2005 when it is available, please contact us at the address below.

Autumn 2004

Friday 22 October, 7.30pm Gala Concert

John Harle, saxophone

The London Chorus / Ron Corp

Choir of St Paul 's Church, Knightsbridge / King's Camerata / Justin Doyle

Tickets £20 to include champagne reception (£15 gallery, concert only) from 020 7201 9999

Friday 29 October, 7.30pm

Mystery and Revelation

Exaudi / James Weeks

Tickets £10 (children £7) from 020 8746 3518 or on the door

Friday 5 November, 2.00pm

Music of Revolution

BBC Singers / Celso Antunes

Tickets (must be booked in advance) free from 020 8576 1227

Saturday 13 November, 7.30pm

The Serpent under it

Zoë Milton-Brown, Jonathan Stoughton, Paul Sheehan

Tickets £15 (concessions £12) from 020 7201 9999 or on the door

Friday 19 November, 7.30pm

Mozart Requiem, Jupiter Symphony

Choir of St Paul 's Church, Knightsbridge / King's Camerata / Justin Doyle

Tickets £15 (concessions £12) from 020 7201 9999 or on the door

Friday 3 December, 7.30pm

Schubert ‘Trout' quintet, Watkins Quintet

Sarah Trickey, Oliver Wilson, Sarah Suckling, Beverly Jones, Huw Watkins

Tickets £10 (concessions £7) from 020 7201 9999 or on the door

Friday 10 December, 7.30pm

Handel Messiah

Choir of St Paul 's Church, Knightsbridge

Da Chiesa baroque ensemble / Justin Doyle

Tickets £15 (concessions £12) from 020 7201 9999 or on the door

Additional concerts presented at St Paul 's in the autumn include the following, all at 7.30pm :

Saturday 27 November

Singers of London / Tom Seligman

O how Glorious

works by Victoria, Parry, and Poulenc

Tickets £9 (£7 concessions) from 020 7351 1815

Saturday 4 December

Kodaly Psalmus Hungaricus

Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade

Lawyers' Music / Anthony Weeden

Tickets from 020 7344 9214

Saturday 11 December

St Paul 's Festival Choir / Richard Latham

Finzi In terra Pax

Elgar Great is the Lord

Vaughan Williams Hodie

Tickets £10 on the door

Sunday 12 December

Exmoor Singers / James Jarvis

Carols by Candlelight

Tickets £10 (Friends £9, concessions £6)

Saturday 18 December

London Welsh Chorale / Kenneth Bowen

Faure Requiem

Tickets £10 from info@londonwelshchorale.org.uk

Monday 20 December, 6.30pm

St Paul's Church Carol Service

St Paul 's Church is in Wilton Place , immediately southeast of Hyde Park Corner. Nearest Underground is Hyde Park Corner (Piccadilly line); Knightsbridge is served by buses 9, 10, 14, 19, 22, 52, 74, 137, 434. For further information, please do not hesitate to contact us at the address below. We look forward to welcoming you to St Paul 's!