Our Choir’s Story

‘The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir really shone.’ –Bachtrack 

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir has been there since the very beginning. Set up in 1840 alongside the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the aim was to have singers to complement orchestral performances. That remains true to this day. The Choir still regularly performs alongside the Orchestra – but we do our own thing too.  

Working with and without the Orchestra, performing old classics right through to brand-new commissions, every season is a roof-raising celebration of the human voice and all the power and emotion it creates.  

And that’s something we love to share with audiences everywhere. As well as singing here at the Phil and across the city, we’ve appeared at the BBC Proms and toured in Spain, France and Germany too. We’ve had performances broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and appeared alongside the Orchestra on many different recordings.  

The Choir is led by Matthew Hamilton, Director of Choirs and Singing. 

Matthew Hamilton became the Choir’s director in 2023. Since then, he’s worked with them on a whole range of exciting projects and concerts and got stuck in with creating open-access singing events for hundreds of participants. Bringing knowledge, experience and expertise from his work with the Hallé Choir, as well as BBC Singers, Netherlands Chamber Choir and many more besides, he’s helped craft a chorus that sings with ‘dazzling brightness and total conviction’ (Bachtrack).  

Matthew’s prepared choirs for conducting greats including Gustavo Dudamel and Sir Mark Elder, for festivals such as Edinburgh International Festival and St Magnus Festival, plus the BBC Proms, where he worked on music from Birtwistle to the Pet Shop Boys.  

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir Members

Choir Team

Louise Madden Choral Manager
Jenny Rust Vocal Coach
Eve Taylor Accompanist

*Denotes 25 years continuous service
^RLPC Librarians
+RLPC Consultation Group