About Us

Background

There was a London Transport Choral Society for many years. Very few records exist, but it provided music for the Corporation’s Annual Festival of Carols held at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square for at least sixty years. In 2002, the society merged with the former British Railways Choir (the St Marylebone Singers) to become London’s Transport Choir.

Repertoire

In addition to providing Christmas Music at the Annual Festival of Carols and at the Railstaff Carol Service (the former British Railways Board staff Carol Service) the choir has put on programmes including Bach’s St John Passion, Faure’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Creation, Mendelssohn’s Hymn of Praise, and other Passiontide music by Maunder, Somervell and Stainer. Noel Charles and Gerald Pieti direct the choir’s music-making when they are available to do so.

Membership and Rehearsals

Membership is open to anyone who enjoys singing. An audition is not required. The subscription is £25 per year. Friends of the Choir pay a £15 subscription to have news of forthcoming events and may sing in at least one concert each year. Rehearsals do not take place all year round but, when preparing for an event, they normally take place at St Pancras Church Hall, Lancing St, London NW1 (lunchtime and early evening).

The Future

Many of the Choir’s events relate to the Church, but this necessarily reflects the range of invitations received. We should like to expand our work and to build on contacts with other organizations both within and without the public transport industry and with those of other faiths and with secular organizations. The St Marylebone Singers have sung at synagogues, while the merged choir has performed by invitation at railway stations. We should like to do much more to embrace diversity and welcome approaches that will help us achieve this.