TSO Chorus returns from unforgettable UK tour
7 May 2025.
From the soaring acoustics of Birmingham’s Symphony Hall to the quiet majesty of Westminster Abbey, the TSO Chorus has returned from a transformative tour of the United Kingdom.
Led by TSO Chorusmaster Warren Trevelyan-Jones, the tour took the ensemble to Birmingham, Gloucester, Worcester and London.
Over two weeks, the singers learned and performed close to 40 different pieces of music, developing both as musicians and as an ensemble.
‘It’s given us new energy and a desire to seek out more opportunities to be challenged,’ said chorus member Mary McArthur.
‘It was just fabulous.’
In Birmingham on 16 April the TSO Chorus joined forces with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Kazuki Yamada with choral direction from Simon Halsey.
The performance received a glowing five-star review, with audience members and singers alike moved by the scale and emotion of the evening.
‘Exhilarating and an absolute privilege to be on stage with such incredible musicians and the brilliant Kazuki Yamada. The first half of the concert alone was worth flying over for,’ one chorus member said.
‘An immense and emotionally inspirational experience that convinced me to leave nothing on the pitch. I gave my all and was overcome with goosebumps after the final ‘Amen’,’ another chorus member said.
The TSO Chorus outside Gloucester Cathedral.
The Chorus rehearsing inside Gloucester Cathedral, led by Chorusmaster Warren Trevelyan-Jones.
Following Birmingham, the Chorus travelled to Gloucester and Worcester, singing in each cathedral – continuing a long tradition of sacred choral music in these historic venues.
The tour culminated in London, where the Chorus sang to an audience of more than 2000 as part of the ANZAC Day service at Westminster Abbey.
The performances held particular meaning for Warren, who worked as a Tenor Lay Vicar (professional adult singer) with the Abbey’s world-renowned choir for nearly a decade.
The evening before ANZAC Day, Chorus members had the entire Abbey to themselves for rehearsal.
‘Chorus members were overawed to be in that space,’ Warren says.
The tour was made possible by Warren’s UK choral connections and built on relationships forged by previous concertmaster June Tyzack, including with choral luminary Simon Halsey in Birmingham.
‘The tour was a great success, from working with conductor Kazuki Yamada in Birmingham, who is an absolute magician, in one of the finest concert halls in the world, to performing in such historic venues was quite special,’ Warren says.
Performing with the CBSO in Birmingham's Symphony Hall.
Chorus members outside Worcester Cathedral.
Our singers had Westminster Abbey entirely to themselves for the final rehearsal before ANZAC Day.
See the TSO Chorus performing in an upcoming choral concert.
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