Gladiator Live
The original 2000 sword-and-sandals epic Gladiator returned to the Royal Albert Hall for a special 25th anniversary screening with live orchestra. The Philharmonia Chorus took part in four showings on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 April of the legendary and five-time Academy Award-winning film on the big screen, with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra conducted by Timothy Henty, performing Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard's Golden Globe-winning score live on stage.
Handel's Messiah at the Proms
The culmination of the Proms 2024 Choral Day, Saturday 7 September, was a performance of Handel's Messiah (Mozart orchestration), with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields conducted by John Butt. The Philharmonia Chorus was joined by soprano Nardus Williams, mezzo-soprano Helen Charleston, tenor Benjamin Hulett, bass Ashley Riches, the Fourth Choir, the Jason Max Ferdinand Singers, the LYC Chamber Choir, the Bath Minerva Choir, and the Voices of the River's Edge. The performance was relayed live on BBC Radio 3.
Debussy at the Proms
On Tuesday August 1, the sopranos and altos of the Philharmonia Chorus took part in Prom 17, in a performance of Debussy's Sirènes, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vasily Petrenko at the 2024 BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, London. The performance was relayed live on BBC Radio 3.
King Charles III confirmed as the Patron of the Philharmonia Chorus
We are deeply honoured and proud that His Majesty King Charles III has been confirmed as the Patron of the Philharmonia Chorus.
Buckingham Palace announced His Majesty's patronages to mark the first anniversary of the Coronation.
The Rest is History: Mozart and Beethoven with live orchestra
On Friday 18 October, the world's most popular history podcast, The Rest Is History, came to the Royal Albert Hall on stage with a full orchestra and chorus. Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook took a deep dive into the lives and times of two of history's greatest composers, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven.
From the spectre of the French Revolution looming over Mozart's final years, to the Napoleonic wars, which served as great inspiration to Beethoven, Tom and Dominic brought to life the stories of these two musical geniuses. The Academy of St Martin in the Fields and the Philharmonia Chorus were conducted by Oliver Zeffman.
The concert can now be heard as two podcasts - Podcast No.526, Mozart: History's Greatest Prodigy and Podcast No.527, Beethoven: Napoleon and the Music of War, is available here.