King’s Singers make GTMF debut in Center Theater – JH News&Guide
For hundreds of years, 7-year-old boys have undertaken intensive musical training in order to help provide choral music for daily Church of England services. Many go on to train as adults at prestigious universities.
That’s how the founding members of the King’s Singers got started, meeting at King’s College, Cambridge, performing in concert at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, and deciding they wanted to continue to make music together.
More than 50 years later, the King’s Singers are still at it, albeit with different members and a much wider and more diverse repertoire. They make their first visit to the Tetons for the Grand Teton Music Festival’s inaugural “Gateway” concert of its 65th season.
Julian Gregory, the sextet’s current senior member with 14 years with the group, said the secret to the King’s Singers’ success was established by its originators.
“The founding members … developed a programming style that was diverse,” he said by phone from England, “not just choral or choir music, but arrangements of jazz, pop. That was a unique format alongside a unique sound. Also, we spoke during concerts to create a bridge with audiences, and arrangements have a pinch of irony, comedy, tongue-in-cheek, mixing music with word play.”
“And then there’s the hard work of all the successive members,” he said, “each coming with new ideas and their own sense of musicianship. Most of us have cathedral chorister upbringings, rehearsing every day and performing every evening.”
At the Center for the Arts, the ensemble will present its “Close Harmony” program.
“It’s one of our favorite programs,” Gregory said. “It explains the history of the King’s Singers from its beginning in the ’60s to the present day, with songs by our first arranger, Gordon Langford, and, decade by decade, it explains what happens, what informs the choices of the group. It’s an entertaining performance, not … boring … but it’s fun, light hearted, with humor.”
The concert starts with some English folk songs before leaping to more contemporary tunes such as a bit of Queen, Neil Young’s “After the Gold Rush,” some Beach Boys and, of course, some classic Beatles.
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