Meet The Choir
Leicester Philharmonic Choir (LPC), known to its members and followers as the ‘Phil’, is the longest established choir in Leicestershire.The choir performs with professional orchestras, soloists and conductors and encompasses the entire choral repertoire.
Leicester Philharmonic Choir (LPC), known to its members and followers as ‘the Phil’, is the longest established choir in Leicestershire. Formerly known as The Leicester Philharmonic Society, the choir was founded in 1886 with a membership of around 250 by Herbert Marshall, a Leicester concert impresario and piano dealer who was subsequently knighted and became Lord Mayor of Leicester.
With one of the choir’s objectives being…”to promote appreciation of choral and orchestral music…”, we present a varied programme of music each season. LPC are proud to have a long association with De Montfort Hall where our first concert (in 1886) was a performance of Handel’s Messiah; still a favourite with concert-going audiences.
LPC is often invited to take part in other musical events: we have performed many ‘Last Night of the Autumn Proms’ concerts with the London Concert Orchestra (organised by Raymond Gubbay Productions), always to a rousing, flag-waving packed audience at De Montfort Hall joining in with everything you expect of a Proms event; taken part in various recording at Abbey Road Studios in London,including a recording by local composer Kathleen Shanks’ Gloria in Londinium, which she had composed for a world-wide children’s choir for the 2012 London Olympics.
For a fuller History of ‘the Phil’, see leicester-philharmonic-choir-history
Our Choir Patron
Sir Karl Jenkins CBE, FRAM, D.Mus. was appointed as Patron to the choir July 2007.
Karl Jenkins was born in South Wales in 1944. As a child he studied piano and oboe and later read music at the University of Wales and at the Royal Academy of Music.
In 2004 Karl entered Classic FM’s “Hall of Fame” at No. 8, the highest position for a living composer. In 2006 he was ranked No. 4 amongst British composers. He was presented by Classic FM with the Red F award for ‘outstanding service to classical music’.
Musical Director
Stephen Bullamore is an accomplished choral director, music editor and organist.
In addition to his work with the Leicester Philharmonic Choir, he is Director of Music at St Mary Magdalene, Newark and General Editor of Music 18.
Stephen started his musical life as a chorister at York Minster. He studied as an undergraduate at Keble College, Oxford as Organ Scholar, where with the chapel choir he recorded a number of CDs, including part of Priory Records’ Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis series and broadcast live on BBC radio. In conjunction with his post at Keble, Stephen was Organist and Director of Music at St Mark’s, Swindon. Postgraduate study at Goldsmiths resulted in the degree of MMus in Historical Musicology, gained with Distinction. His PhD study of the Sacred Music of John Weldon was undertaken at Bangor University where he spent some time as a graduate teaching assistant.
Stephen spent a year at Guildford Cathedral as Organ Scholar before moving to Lincoln Cathedral in 2001 as an Assistant Organist. From 2005 to 2013 he was Director of Music at Waltham Abbey. Tours with the Abbey choir included Guildford, Chichester, Chelmsford and Lincoln Cathedrals and they recorded a CD for the church’s 950th anniversary in 2010. He then spent a short period as Director of Music at St Mary-le-Tower, Ipswich, where he founded a girls’ section to the choir. Stephen has previously worked regularly with Barnet Choral Society and the North Herts Guild of Singers.
Stephen also directs Ferdinand’s Consort. Their CD output includes The Sacred Music of Thomas Morley, released on the Priory label, and a recording of the work of Thomas Tudway using editions especially prepared by Stephen. A recording of the Solo Anthems of John Weldon with tenor Mark Wilde is in the pipeline.
As an international examiner for the ABRSM, Stephen has travelled all around the UK and abroad listening to candidates in a wide variety of disciplines. Outside of work, he enjoys baking, watching cricket, travel and walking the dog.
Musical Director
Stephen Bullamore is an accomplished choral director, music editor and organist.
In addition to his work with the Leicester Philharmonic Choir, he is Director of Music at St Mary Magdalene, Newark and General Editor of Music 18.
Stephen started his musical life as a chorister at York Minster. He studied as an undergraduate at Keble College, Oxford as Organ Scholar, where with the chapel choir he recorded a number of CDs, including part of Priory Records’ Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis series and broadcast live on BBC radio. In conjunction with his post at Keble, Stephen was Organist and Director of Music at St Mark’s, Swindon. Postgraduate study at Goldsmiths resulted in the degree of MMus in Historical Musicology, gained with Distinction. His PhD study of the Sacred Music of John Weldon was undertaken at Bangor University where he spent some time as a graduate teaching assistant.
Stephen spent a year at Guildford Cathedral as Organ Scholar before moving to Lincoln Cathedral in 2001 as an Assistant Organist. From 2005 to 2013 he was Director of Music at Waltham Abbey. Tours with the Abbey choir included Guildford, Chichester, Chelmsford and Lincoln Cathedrals and they recorded a CD for the church’s 950th anniversary in 2010. He then spent a short period as Director of Music at St Mary-le-Tower, Ipswich, where he founded a girls’ section to the choir. Stephen has previously worked regularly with Barnet Choral Society and the North Herts Guild of Singers.
Stephen also directs Ferdinand’s Consort. Their CD output includes The Sacred Music of Thomas Morley, released on the Priory label, and a recording of the work of Thomas Tudway using editions especially prepared by Stephen. A recording of the Solo Anthems of John Weldon with tenor Mark Wilde is in the pipeline.
As an international examiner for the ABRSM, Stephen has travelled all around the UK and abroad listening to candidates in a wide variety of disciplines. Outside of work, he enjoys baking, watching cricket, travel and walking the dog.
Rosemary Field
Rosemary has joined the Phil from the start of the 2022/23 Season
Rosemary Field is known as a church musician, organist, and teacher, with some published training materials and anthems from among her compositional output. She trained at the RCM with the late Nick Danby, winning the main prizes there for organ and written harmony, as well as being awarded the Tournemire medal for Improvisation at the St Albans International competition a few years later. She has served as Assistant Organist at the Anglican cathedrals of Birmingham and Portsmouth, as well as having significant input into parish churches as a teacher in both places, and in Lincolnshire. From 2012-2019 she was Deputy Director of the RSCM and then on requesting a change from management to teaching, became Head of Organ Studies for just a year. Following redundancy in 2020, is now Organist at Worksop Priory and rebuilding a portfolio in the E Midlands.
Hobbies include gardens, needlework, learning to play the harp and to sketch, and watching aircraft, which is easily achieved now she is living so near to Coningsby.