About Finchley Chamber Choir
Finchley Chamber Choir, recently described by Making Music as ‘one of London’s finest amateur classical choirs’, was formed in 1973 and maintains close links with its sister organisation, Finchley Symphony Orchestra, both groups giving regular seasons at Trinity Church, North Finchley, including some joint concerts.
The choir consists of approximately thirty singers from the Finchley area and elsewhere in North London, working to a high musical standard and providing almost all its own soloists. We perform a wide range of music from the 16th century right through to the present day, including commissions and first performances. In 2014, the choir gave the world premieres of two works, one by Paul Patterson and another by Richard Bullen.
To begin the celebration of FCC’s 50th Anniversary season in 2023-24, we presented a special concert in November 2023 with Linden Baroque to a large and appreciative audience at St James’s Church, Piccadilly (following a very successful performance of Bach’s St John Passion there in 2020). FCC has also appeared twice at the Voices Now Choral Festival at the Roundhouse, including a live broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s The Choir. Previous radio appearances include Classic FM and a Radio 3 broadcast that was selected for Pick of the Week on Radio 4. The choir has received three PRS Awards for Enterprise.
Meet our music director
David Lardi
David Lardi is Musical Director of Finchley Chamber Choir, including our joint concerts with Finchley Symphony Orchestra. Born in Manchester, he studied at Trinity College of Music in London and was subsequently a Professor there for over 20 years.
David also studied for two years with Franco Ferrara at the Accademia Musicale, Siena, where he was awarded the Diploma di Merito. He has conducted all over England as well as in Italy, Germany and the Czech Republic, working with many different orchestras and choirs, and some of today’s leading soloists.
For over 40 years, David was conductor of Finchley Symphony Orchestra and of the North London Symphony Orchestra. He has conducted on ITV and recorded for the BBC, LWT and Italian Radio, and has an extensive repertoire of over 1,000 works. His broadcasts include BBC Radio 4 and Radio 3 where he has been interviewed by Petroc Trelawney.
Meet our accompanist
John Winter studied at the Watford School of Music and Trinity College of Music, London and taught at both organisations for many years. He subsequently studied in London and Cambridge with Stephen Cleobury and David Sanger and in Paris with Marie-Claire Alain. He continues to teach for Hertfordshire Music Service, and leads classes on various aspects of Western classical music to adult education groups.
As a freelance organist, he has performed throughout Britain with concerts in such diverse places as St. Paul’s Cathedral, Oxford and Cambridge Colleges, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the Gaiety Theatre in the Isle of Man, and the northernmost Scottish islands. He has given recitals in Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Holland, Norway and Switzerland and has made seven recital tours of the United States, performing in many of the major East Coast and Mid-west cities.
He has recorded for Priory Records on the organ at Robinson College, Cambridge, and at Hampstead Garden Suburb Free Church where he was organist for nearly eleven years.
John holds the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the University of East Anglia for a thesis on contemporary church music. His academic work has included presentations and lectures for the Universities of Hull, Newcastle and Southampton on various aspects of church music.
John Winter
About Finchley Symphony Orchestra
Finchley Symphony Orchestra (Music Director: Christopher Stark, Leader: Stephen Nurse) is a successful non-professional orchestra. It gives 5 – 6 high standard concerts a year, some of them jointly with Finchley Chamber Choir, and is constantly looking for new challenges and opportunities.
Known for many years as Finchley Chamber Orchestra, the orchestra recently changed its name to match the wide range of music it now performs – Baroque, Classical and large-scale Romantic works together with those of the 20th and 21st centuries.
FSO encourages young soloists, many (such as Tasmin Little and Valeriy Sokolov) achieving international status, and has collaborated with the Hastings Musical Festival and the North London Festival of Music and Dance. It also encourages and commissions works from young composers, most recently George Holloway in a joint project with FCC, which was broadcast on Radio 3, and award-winning local composer Richard Bullen.