LONDON YOUTH CHOIR
London Youth Choir is our senior mixed voice choir for young people from across London in school year 11 to age 23. Working across a wide-ranging repertoire encompassing many styles, cultures and languages, London Youth Choir members also receive musicianship training to improve their score-reading, listening and ensemble skills, and enjoy performance opportunities from recording sessions to arena concerts.
London Youth Choir is for young people in school year 11 to age 23 who live anywhere in London.
You don’t need to have any previous experience of singing, or of singing in choirs or groups. And if you do sing already, it doesn’t matter what style you sing in, or what music you like to sing: there’s no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ singer for a choir, and we sing all sorts of music!
To join London Youth Choir you first need to audition. That might sound scary, but we make a big effort to ensure that the experience is friendly and supportive. You’ll need to sing a song to us – in any genre or style, unaccompanied or with an accompaniment or backing track – and we’ll also chat to you about your song and what your musical aspirations are.
To find out all about auditioning, visit the Join LYC page.
As a member of London Youth Choir you will meet every Monday during term-time for rehearsal.
Rehearsals are from 7.30-8.45pm and are held in central London near St Paul’s cathedral. At rehearsals you’ll be offered a broad and exciting programme of repertoire to explore, ranging across styles, musical traditions and languages.
There are also extended opportunities through LYC’s partnerships with Tenebrae, The Sixteen and the London Philharmonic Choir.
As with all LYC choirs, you will also get to take part in social activities and make new friends.
Other London Youth Choir membership benefits include your LYC t-shirt, all your music for the term, and access to our secure online members zone, MyLYC.
Finance should not be a barrier to participation in LYC.
Standard membership fees for the 2024/25 year are £430 with the option to pay more if you want. Membership fees go towards covering the cost of running the choirs. As a charity, LYC subsidises membership fees by around 60% of the true cost of membership through grants and fundraising.
LYC also has a comprehensive financial assistance scheme which offers full or partial help with membership costs, grants for travel to and from rehearsals and concerts, free concert tickets for families, and help with the cost of concert uniform. In 2023-24, we gave financial support to 30% of our membership.
There is so much to get out of being a member of London Youth Choir: vocal and musical skills and training, experience of concerts, recordings and music videos, social activities and amazing friendships – but don’t take it from us! Watch this video to hear from LYC members.
ASK AWAY!
If you’ve got any questions about London Youth Choir, we’ve almost certainly got the answers! Drop us an email and we’ll be happy to help.
London Youth Choir - past performance highlights
- Premiering Cecilia McDowall’s new piece, Everyday Wonders: The Girl from Aleppo, at Cadogan Hall
- Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony with the London Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Jurowski;
- ABCD Choral Leaders’ Festival in Birmingham;
- Royal British Legion’s Annual Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen;
- Premiering a major new choral commission, The Great War Symphony, by Patrick Hawes with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra;
- Britten’s War Requiem at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms;
- Haydn’s Creation in the Brandenburg Festival at St Martin-in-the-Fields;
- The Mayor of London’s Carol Service at Southwark Cathedral;
- Performing with Ellie Goulding at Wembley Arena;
- Backing the Rolling Stones at Glastonbury;
- …and many performances at the Royal Albert Hall for their My Great Orchestral Adventure shows.
RACHEL STAUNTON
Artistic Director, Conductor (LYC South East, LYC Cambiata Girls, London Youth Choir)
Rachel Staunton co-founded LYC in 2012 with Suzi Digby. Having gained a first-class honours degree in music at Royal Holloway, University of London, Rachel continued her studies at the Royal Academy of Music, graduating with numerous awards and an LRAM in Choral Conducting.
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She held the post of Vocal Director for In Harmony Opera North (Classic FM’s Music Education Project of the Year 2014) and spent several years establishing the Opera North Children’s Chorus. Rachel has also worked as a conductor with the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain for over a decade.
In 2014, Rachel was made Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, in recognition of her contribution to choral music and work with young people. She is passionate about using choral music to inspire young people from all backgrounds and dedicates her career to this mission. Rachel was proud to be a finalist for the Francesca Hanley Inspiration Award at the Music and Drama Education Awards in 2023.
MATTHEW QUINN
Conductor (LYC Chamber Choir), Musicianship Tutor (London Youth Choir)
Matthew is a versatile conductor/musical director from Belfast, Northern Ireland who is developing a reputation for his exciting and dynamic approach to his music making. Working primarily across the UK and Ireland, Matthew has conducted ensembles such as Chamber Choir Ireland, the Ulster Orchestra, Opera Collective Ireland/Academy für Alte Musik Berlin, RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Hard Rain Soloist Ensemble, and Northern Ireland Opera. He is currently Chorus Director at English National Opera, Musical Director of London Youth Chamber Choir, and of Cappella Caeciliana.
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He has worked as assistant conductor with ensembles such as the BBC Concert Orchestra, Crouch End Festival Chorus, and London Mozart Players.
He is a passionate advocate for music education, having previously conducted the National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain, Ulster Youth Orchestra (National Youth Orchestra of Northern Ireland), and London Youth Chamber Choir. He has collaborated on music education projects with the Ulster Orchestra, Northern Ireland Opera, and the Halle Orchestra. Matthew enjoys collaborations across many musical styles and genres; past collaborations include with Andrea Boccelli, Jamie Cullum, and Stephen Schwartz.
OUR PARTNER – CITY OF LONDON SCHOOL
London Youth Choir is made possible through the generous in-kind support of City of London School.
