Brighton Consort

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About Brighton Consort

Brighton Consort presents five or six concerts a year in Brighton and the surrounding area.

We rehearse on Wednesday evenings (8-10pm) at St George's Church, Kemptown. Rehearsals take place throughout the year (with a break during late July and August). In addition we help to further knowledge of renaissance and early baroque music by running occasional workshops, which are led by some of the U.K.'s greatest experts on the repertoire.

Entry for new members involves a simple audition with the Director. Prospective singers should have reasonable sight reading skills and be willing to put in work on the music between rehearsals.

The current annual subscription fee is £115, which includes the cost of most of the music. The subscription can be paid in instalments and may be reduced for members with real financial hardship. There is a special rate for students of £20 per term (£60 per annum).

History of Brighton Consort

Brighton Consort was founded by Daphne Elston in 1971. We are the principal ensemble in the Brighton area with a reputation for ambitious exploration of the enormously rich repertoire of renaissance and early baroque music from Europe and the New World. The choir gives several concerts a year around the Sussex region and past programmes have featured music from England, the Low Countries, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and Mexico.

From 1998 to 2010, Deborah Roberts directed the group and introduced audiences to much new repertoire. 2001 saw the premiere of Deborah's edition of the Vespers by the 17th century nun composer Margharita Cozzolani and in the same year Brighton Consort were also featured in the Anglia Television programme Sunday Morning. In May 2002, the Consort performed the rarely heard 12 part Missa Et Ecce Terrae Motus by Antoine Brumel as part of the Brighton Festival Fringe, repeating the performance in October 2002 for the first season of the Brighton Early Music Festival.

More recent concerts have included music by Bach, Josquin, Purcell and Victoria as well as by lesser known composers active in the time of the emperor Maximillian the Great - a project which was followed up by a CD recording in 2006-07. Brighton Consort performed a concert of early Tudor music in the famous Fitzalan Chapel as part of the 2007 Arundel Festival and has also featured twice in the Hurstpierpoint Festival. Members of Brighton Consort play a vital role in the organisation of the Brighton Early Music Festival and the group itself has performed each year in the festival.

In November 2010, Katie Thomas became the group's new Director. She is continuing to develop the choir's repertoire of a capella 16th and 17th century vocal music, and is also introducing a variety of contemporary works. She is looking forward to exploring exciting new concert projects with Brighton Consort over the forthcoming seasons.