Interview with The London Adventist Chorale


The London Adventist Chorale was formed in 1981 to present quality music with a diverse repertoire to a broad audience. Since winning the prestigious title Sainsbury Choir of Year in 1994 the Chorale, under the leadership of Ken Burton, has taken its own brand of spirituals, classical masterpieces, traditional hymn arrangements and contemporary gospel music to wider audiences at home and abroad.

How did it feel performing in front of millions of nationwide viewers in Choir of the Year?
It was a most exciting and memorable experience. The choir sees its purpose as proclaiming the "good news", through music, to as many people as possible. The event opened so many doors and that was undoubtedly due to the national television exposure. What did it feel like when you won the competition?
At first, it was an emotional roller-coaster for me personally as
I actually had two choirs in the final. Naturally there would be disappointment for one or both, and I have to share in that. I know, however, that the singers of the choir were elated; I think there were more tears shed from the men than from the ladies!

What did your choir learn through taking part?
The whole purpose of getting the choirs involved in Choir of the Year was to learn from others - be they judges, or other choirs. The competition gave us an opportunity to learn new disciplines and ideas for repertoire; in watching other choirs take on different types of music, we saw so much that we as a choir could aspire to.

Did winning change anything for the choir?
It gave the choir a confidence boost, though we were very careful to not let that become an 'ego' boost. When you win a competition like this you see yourself as having a responsibility to always perform at your very best - in other words, never give anybody reason to say 'how on earth did this choir end up winning?'. Hence, the overall standard of singing changes and becomes more consistent. The diary became extremely full after winning, with many more broadcasts and concert performances.

Are there still many current members in the choir who took part in Choir of the Year?
Around forty percent of those who took part still sing with the choir.

What are your plans with the choir in the next coming years?
The choir has been involved with the Kijani Kenya music festival which raises funds for HIV/AIDS and conservation projects. We are hoping to establish strong musical ties as well as raise funds to build a music room for the only secondary school the Naivasha region.

You composed 'Let the Sound of Freedom' for a project with the choir of St John's Cambridge. Can you tell me a bit about the piece and the idea behind it?
I was commissioned to write a work for two choirs (St John's and LAC) for a BBC broadcast in 2007 as part of the bicentenary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. The juxtaposition of the two choral genres worked successfully and it was recorded at St John's College chapel last year.

I see that the choir often perform from memory; do you believe that this is fundamental to creating a better performance?
Internalising the music, believing what you are singing, remembering that you are not singing for yourself but communicating to others - this is the essence of good performance. Sometimes it's necessary to use scores, and there are choirs which do not have the opportunity to learn everything by memory (e.g. a chapel choir singing every day). If the scores become your audience, the performance suffers. If they don't get in the way, then one can still give a heartfelt, effective delivery of the song.

Finally, in brief, what would you say to choirs who wish to take part in Choir of the Year, and do you have any advice?
Firstly, go ahead and submit the application form. Regardless of how far in the competition a choir may reach, at every stage there will be valuable choral education and a great day out. It will focus singers, and improve the overall standard. So many choirs feel they may not be good enough - as did many singers in the London Adventist Chorale when it first entered the competition in 1990, where it ended up a runner up.