About us

Cleveland Philharmonic Choir is a large choral society founded in 1968 by Edwin Raymond, who demonstrated his belief in local musical talent by training a choir of over 200 singers to perform The Creation with Sir Charles Groves and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra at the second Teesside Eisteddfod in 1968. He subsequently directed the choir through an impressive range of the choral repertoire with great musical enthusiasm and distinction during the thirty one years of his leadership.

After the death of Edwin Raymond in 1999, John Forsyth was invited to become Musical Director. His first project with the choir was a performance of Carmina Burana involving several school choirs and the Tees Valley Youth Choir – an initial step in the introduction of some young people to the joy of singing large choral works. Reaching for ever higher standards, John has conducted Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius and an unforgettable Verdi Requiem in 2001. Particularly memorable in the following season was Bach’s Mass in B Minor, a huge challenge for which choir members put in an unprecedented amount of work between rehearsals.

The choir was delighted to be involved in its first world première in June 2002. Ripon Cathedral was the setting for the first performance of Peter Dodson’s Eucharistia. In November 2002, a very special event in the choir’s history took place. Sir Thomas Allen, the internationally famous baritone, (the choir’s Honorary President) and Amanda Floyd, who has sung in concert halls and opera houses all over the world, were the soloists in a performance of Brahms’ Requiem. The concert was dedicated to the late Stuart Everett, a former Chairman of the choir, who was one of the young Tom Allen’s grammar school teachers.

ecent years the choir has performed Elgar Dream of Gerontius , V

New challenges involved performances of music by twentieth-century composers, including Stravinsky and Tippett, and a concert of a cappella works spanning five centuries. In 2003 the choir sang Beethoven Choral Symphony and supported the triennial ‘Voices for Hospices' event with a complete performance of Messiah.  More recently they have performed Mendelssohn Elijah, Bach Christmas Oratorio, Haydn ‘Nelson' Mass, Walton Belshazzar's Feast and Bruckner Te Deum and Motets.  Choral Training Days over a period of a year culminated in a spectacular performance of Walton's Belshazzar's Feast with the distinguished soloist Alan Opie.  During his stay, Alan gave a series of masterclasses to the students from the Royal Scottish Academy who sang Vaughan Williams' Serenade to Music in the concert.

In 2007 the choir supported a performance of All God's Creatures by Howard Blake, composer of The Snowman, given by 130 children from three secondary schools and Platform's Tees Valley Voices.   A group of these children then joined with the choir and Tees Valley Youth Choir to sing Carl Orff's Carmina Burana.  The opinion of the children: "Amazing!"

erdi Requiem , Bach Mass in B Minor and a memorable performance of Brahms Requiem with Amanda Floyd and the Honorary President of the C

Members say:

“Tuesday night rehearsals – sheer enjoyment!”

“It’s great being in the middle of that amazing sound!”

“You have to concentrate so hard that everything else is forgotten…”

It doesn’t matter if you’ve had a dreadful day at work. After choir, you’re exhausted, but refreshed.”

“I have had 17 happy years with the choir and hope I can find another so friendly”

“…strong leadership, dynamic ideas..”

The Choir’s Honorary President

The choir is delighted to have as its Honorary President, the internationally famous baritone, Sir Thomas Allen.

Thomas Allen is an established star of the great opera houses of the world. At the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, where in 1996 he celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of his debut with the company, he has sung over forty roles. He has been particularly acclaimed for his Billy Budd, Pelleas, Eugene Onegin, Count Almaviva, Sixtus Beckmesser and, of course, Don Giovanni, roles he has made his own all over the world. Equally renowned on the concert platform, he appears in recital in the United Kingdom, throughout Europe, in Australia and America, and has appeared with the world’s great orchestras and conductors. The greatest part of his repertoire has been extensively recorded. Thomas Allen’s first book, ‘Foreign Parts - A Singer’s Journal’ was published in 1993. His many honours and awards include Honorary Membership of the Royal Academy of Music, Fellowship of the University of Sunderland, D.Mus. from Durham University and M.A. from Newcastle University. In the New Year’s Honours of 1989 he was created a Commander of the British Empire and in the 1999 Queen’s Birthday Honours he was made a Knight Batchelor.

The choir was proud to welcome its distinguished president as the baritone soloist in their performance of Brahms’ Requiem in Middlesbrough Town Hall in November 2002.

The Choir’s Musical Director

John Forsyth has enjoyed a successful career in Music and Education whilst maintaining a teaching practice in violin and classical guitar. Formerly he was County Music Adviser for Cleveland, Head of the County Music Service, West Sussex ; Regional Director of Music, Berkshire and Director of Music and Performing Arts, St Aidan's High School, Harrogate . John studied Classical Guitar with John Williams and Julian Bream, since gaining an MA and Performer Diplomas in both Violin and Classical Guitar.

He has maintained a wide ranging performance portfolio with groups such as Manchester Camerata, the Aulos Ensemble, Yorkshire Camerata, the York Early Music Ensemble and the London Contemporary Dance Theatre Ensemble. He also founded and directed his own orchestra and choir, Harrogate Pro Musica and the Cavalli Singers. Between the 70s and 90s he sang professionally with the “White Rose Quartet” and later with “The Mastersingers”, performing at major concert venues nationwide and appearing on national and regional radio and television. Recently John was invited to be the guest lecturer at the European Guitar Teachers' Association Summer Conference and in 2002 was invited to direct a BBC Music Live weekend in York. 

Since 1997 John has developed his consultancy business and has enjoyed a wide range of activities including, Consultant for The National Youth Choirs of Great Britain; Course Leader and Mentor for the Associated Board of the Royal School of Music teacher training programme. His principal interest remains in developing and extending choral music. Recognising the wealth of talent in the Tees Valley area, he established the Tees Valley Youth Choir in 1993 and he has been Musical Director of Cleveland Philharmonic Choir since 1999.  In 2006, John formed Vox, a choir for 18 - 30 year olds.  He is a member of the Board of Platform, the newly-established organisation supporting classical music in the Tees Valley.

John has recently been invited to become a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Works sung in last 5 years

2003
Rutter: Magnificat,
Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms,
Lambert: The Rio Grande,
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9,
Anthems by Gibbons, Byrd, Mundy, Weelkes and Tomkins,
Parry: Songs of Farewell,
Stanford: Three Motets,
Britten: Choral Dances form Gloriana,
Tippett: Spirituals from A Child of Our Time,
Handel: Messiah (Voices for Hospices)

Haydn: St Nicholas Mass

Britten: Saint Nicolas

2004

Mendelssohn: Elijah

Handel: Zadok the Priest

Walton: Coronation Te Deum

Mozart: Coronation Mass

J S Bach: Christmas Oratorio

2005

Stanford: Te Deum in B flat

Vivaldi: GloriaHaydn: 'Nelson' Mass

Purcell: Five Anthems

Finzi: Seven Poems of Robert Bridges

Maxwell Davies: The Kestrel Road

Walton: Belshazzar's Feast

2006

Bach: Magnificat in D

Bruckner: Motets

Bruckner: Te Deum

Lobo: Lamentationes Ieremiae Prophetae

Padilla: Missa Ego flos campi

Bocanegra: Hanacpachap cussicuinin

Fernandes: Xicochi, xicochi conetzintle

Garcia: Convidando esta la noche

2007

Beethoven: Missa Solemnis

Orff: Carmina Burana

Handel: Messiah

What the papers said:

Brahms Requiem:

“ The choir, accompanied by the excellent Ripon-based Mowbray Orchestra, admirably rose to the challenge of singing in such distinguished company and collectively they managed a stirring reading of the Requiem….”
“….the sumptuous main dish was the German Requiem. The climactic sixth movement visibly moved the 900-strong audience, with the exchanges between the choir and Sir Thomas being the highlight.”
“… ..five-minute-long ovation…..”
“ The event, witnessed by a sell-out town hall audience, was a cultural triumph for Teesside.”

Verdi Requiem:

“…..powerful performance…..”
“… ..produced the right atmosphere for a requiem, able to achieve the required vigour for such religious fervour and, on the other hand, to attain a solemn air for the more reflective parts.”
(Darlington & Stockton Times, Friday 17 April 2001)

Bach B Minor Mass:

“A large supporting audience in Stockton parish Church were witness to a very impressive performance of this masterpiece…..”
“ The complexity of the work demands wholesale commitment from all involved in its performance and this was evident in abundance as the choir and orchestra mastered Bach’s numerous and ingenious fugal sections in breathtaking style.”
“ The choir continues to progress impressively and must now rank as one of the region’s finest. Confidence, precision and richness of tone were displayed consistently throughout the work…..”
(Darlington & Stockton Times, Friday 12 April 2002)

Summer concert 2002:

“Handel’s psalm setting Dixit Dominus……was performed with admirable precision and skill.”

Walton Belshazzar's Feast:

"An accomplished performance by the choir........The cheer that broke out at the end of the performance left no doubt that this really was a night to remember."  (Darlington and Stockton Times, November 2006)

Praise from the audience

– a selection from letters, e-mails and post-concert written survey

“Very, very good – enjoyable!”

“Very enjoyable. Nice to see a full house. Nice to see young people both in the audience and as performers.”

“Any work covered by John Forsyth is well-chosen and well-prepared.”

“The members of the orchestra and of the choir provided an evening of beautiful, soul-searching music, performed with great dignity and serenity.”

“The choir excelled itself and was magnificent, the orchestra were sympathetic and excellent….”

“Congratulations! What a super evening – a real occasion.”

"A truly mesmerising performance.  We were completely gripped from the start."

"I was quite overwhelmed with it all."

"Exciting, exuberant and exhilarating."