The Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus was founded in 1935 as the resident chorus for the new Philharmonic Society’s series of concerts in Sheffield City Hall, and was formed from two Sheffield choirs whose origins date back to the 1860s.

Rehearsals take place on Tuesday evenings (7pm–9pm), in Lecture Theatre 4, in the basement of the Arts Tower, University of Sheffield. Rehearsals resume on Tuesday 5th January 2010 after the Christmas break. All are welcome!

This spring, the chorus will be performing with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra in the world touring Star Wars in Concert events. These multi-media events, narrated by Anthony Daniels (C3PO), feature John Williams' classic scores and footage from all six films. Concerts take place on Wednesday 10th March 2010: Sheffield Arena and Monday 15th March, 2010, Manchester Evening News Arena.

The 2009-10 season contains several performances in Sheffield City Hall, culminating in a performance of Brahms’s wonderful German Requiem. Our latest CD was recently released, and this season will also see a performance in Birmingham recorded for DVD, as well as a BBC radio broadcast.

The 2008-09 season began with a contribution to the Prom concerts, with a further performance shortly after in Manchester. As usual, the Phil sung in a number of concerts in Sheffield City Hall throughout the season, including Mendelssohn’s wonderful Elijah, and Haydn’s Nelson Mass. The chorus also made a recording, with another scheduled for the 2009–10 season.

The Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus sings with leading conductors and orchestras and fulfils a challenging and exciting programme under the vibrant and inspiring leadership of its Musical Director, Darius Battiwalla. Other recent highlights include a contribution to the 2008 Prom concerts, a broadcast performance in Manchester of Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Edward Downes, performances of Verdi’s Requiem in both Leeds and Manchester under Gianandrea Noseda, two performances of Rachmaninov’s The Bells with the St Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, and broadcasts of Shostakovich’s Symphony no.13 from Manchester, Brahms’s German Requiem from Leeds, and Delius’s Sea Drift from Bradford. Few in the chorus will forget the choir’s two performances of Rachmaninov’s unaccompanied Vespers, in Sheffield Cathedral and in Lincoln Cathedral.

The Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus always welcomes new members; more details are given on the page for prospective members.