The King's Singers

On Monday, 14th May, Dulwich College Shanghai’s Mei Lan Fang Theatre played host to the world renown King’s Singers. The King's Singers presented an eclectic selection of music from across the world. Their material ranged from popular jazz standards, through to some British classics and even some surprises from close to home here in China.

Prior to the concert, our students were treated to a choral music workshop with the King’s Singers. The Dulwich College Shanghai Chamber Choir work through the intricacies of Ave plena gracia, composed by Brandon Hill’s grandfather. Arthur Maud. Brandon is a member of the chamber choir and was absolutely delighted to have the King’s singers work on this piece. The choir then worked on a King’s Singers classic, Down to the River to Pray, in the most gracious manner, the gentlemen picked apart our students choral technique and provided insightful and constructive criticism.

From the moment David Hurley, Timothy Wayne-Wright, Julian Gregory, Christopher Bruerton, Christopher Gabbitas and Jonathan Howard walked onto the stage there was a hush of expectation throughout the near full house. They began the evening with a selection of English Madrigals and humored the audience with the a selection of 20th Century works by Goffredo Petrassi titled, Nonsense. The gentlemen shared with us their unique talent of beautifully blended close harmonies mixed with a dose of English wit, and a selection of even a Beatles classic. Following the interval the gentlemen joined forces with our very own Chamber Choir to perform a moving rendition of the gospel classic, Down to the River to Pray. What an absolute privelege and honour for our students to perform with the King’s singers. A moment they will surely treasure for a long time. The King’s singers then loosened their ties and let their hair down a little with a beautiful selection of pieces from the Great American Songbook. It was an absolute delight to have the King’s Singers return to Dulwich College Shanghai. We sincerely hope the group will join us again next year.