A Cappella Excellence: The King’s Singers
For over fifty years, The King’s Singers have set the standard for a cappella excellence on the world’s most prestigious stages. Renowned for their unmatched technique, musicianship, and versatility, this iconic group combines a rich heritage with a drive to bring new, extraordinary works to life. Their impressive discography—which has earned them Grammy and Emmy Awards and a place in Gramophone magazine’s Hall of Fame—reflects their commitment to both tradition and innovation in vocal performance. They’ll be with us the week of February 1, 2025 for our Chamber Music Festival.
In 2023, The King’s Singers released three collaborative albums that exemplify the range and diversity of their repertoire. From celebrating the 400th anniversary of Renaissance composers Thomas Weelkes and William Byrd to honoring the centenary of composer György Ligeti with his “Nonsense Madrigals,” and paying homage to 100 years of Disney magic with fresh arrangements, these albums showcase the group’s unique ability to connect eras and genres through music.
Chamber Festival Director Monique Mead spoke with The King’s Singers to explore the creative forces behind these projects, their vision for a cappella music today, and their commitment to shaping the future of vocal performance through The King’s Singers Global Foundation. Founded in 2018, the foundation supports new music, nurtures emerging talent, and brings musical opportunities to diverse communities worldwide.
The King’s Singers have been a household name for over 50 years. How do you uphold beloved traditions while innovating for modern audiences?
A belief we hold very dearly in The King’s Singers is that the group has always been defined by its maverick spirit: to perform music that other groups either wouldn’t touch, and certainly wouldn’t program in one show. It’s what made The King’s Singers famous in the first place, giving them slots on television internationally and loads of radio play. What this means is that innovation and surprising audiences sits at the heart of The King’s Singers’ DNA. We feel like we’re upholding one of The King’s Singers’ most beloved traditions by always trying to innovate for today’s audiences. (Pat)
With your trip to Rancho La Puerta sandwiched between concerts in Europe and a 2-week USA tour, what are you most looking forward to during your visit to The Ranch?
A moment of respite between travels and tours, I’m really looking forward to exploring the amazing spa facilities and spending some time relaxing properly and deeply – especially during an otherwise cold and miserable winter back home in the UK! I imagine I’ll also want to balance out the spa experience with some runs along the trails surrounding Mount Kuchumaa, which should allow me to get my nature fix. Truly, I can’t wait! (Julian)
Tell us more about your commitment to promoting environmental awareness and education.
As an ensemble that tours globally, it’s a tricky line to tread when it comes to talking outwardly about something that we all care a lot about: our awareness of our impact on the environment. Instead, we try our best to live a green touring life. We have a “green charter” that lays out all the ways in which we tour in as “green” a way as we can, whilst still reaching our audiences around the world. We also have a “green rider” for those venues who very generously provide backstage refreshments. This rider insists on no single-use plastics, and no plastic bottled water. These are small gestures, but we’ve also been able to point other touring artists to these documents, to help spread the idea of “green touring”! (Nick)
The King’s Singers Global Foundation promotes choral singing for all people. What prompted this mission and how is it beneficial in society?
Our charity, The King’s Singers Global Foundation, was founded in 2018 to help us give back to society, particularly given that, recently, communities across the world seem more divided than ever. Our charity uses the immense power of music in a multitude of ways, to harness the power that singing has to heal social divisions. Among other things, the Foundation arranges workshops with choirs that wouldn’t ordinarily have access to the kind of education we can provide, and it creates lots of video content to encourage people all over the world to sing. It’s also hosted a composition competition, The New Music Prize, and is in the process of organizing a second one. (Eddie)
What do you hope the audience takes away from your performances?
I really hope our audiences leave having been entertained: having laughed, possibly even cried, having learned something new, and maybe even become lifelong King’s Singers fans. I want their experience of Rancho La Puerta to have been enhanced by our being there, and we’ve chosen music that we hope will do that. I can’t wait to share in their experience! (Chris)
Join us the week of February 1 for an unforgettable week featuring The King’s Singers, Jon Kimura Parker, Aloysia Friedmann, ArcoStrum, Amelia Zitoun, and Monique Mead.
