The Civil Service Choir

17/07/2026

What a gorgeous evening at The Royal Military Chapel - The Guards' Chapel spent exploring the theme of light in choral works. The sun definitely joined us!

We’ll be taking a break for summer, before touring The Netherlands in September. Future performances will be posted on our website, so keep an eye out: https://www.civilservicechoir.org.uk

09/06/2026

“Towards the Light”, Wednesday 15th July, 6:30pm, at The Guards’ Chapel, London ☀️

The Civil Service Choir presents a radiant programme of choral music featuring Ola Gjeilo’s Sunrise Mass, Northern Lights and Luminous Night of the Soul, alongside Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna and MacMillian’s O Radiant Dawn. A moving journey from darkness to light.

Tickets are available here: https://www.trybooking.com/uk/events/landing/114632

Cardinal Hume Centre Charity for Civil Servants The Royal Military Chapel - The Guards' Chapel

02/04/2026

Thanks to those who joined our Chamber Choir this week at the Smith Square Easter festival, it was a joy to welcome Spring with you! 🌼

See our next performance at Sinfonia Smith Square on the evening of 26th April! This time we’ll be performing Haydn’s The Creation with the full CS Choir and Brandenburg Sinfonia.

Tickets are £15 to £30 on-line here: https://www.sinfoniasmithsq.org.uk/event/haydn-the-creation/

22/02/2026

An Easter Festival favourite, the Civil Service Choir returns with a programme of sacred works by distinguished women composers 🌼

At its heart are two compelling cantatas by F***y Hensel, the exceptionally gifted sister of Felix Mendelssohn whose works are increasingly - and rightly - celebrated today. Her cantata Hiob movingly traces Job’s journey from anguish to restored faith, foreshadowing the Easter themes of suffering transformed into hope and darkness giving way to light, while her Lobgesang (“Song of Praise”) bursts with joyful choral energy, celebrating renewal, gratitude, and the triumph of divine love central to the Resurrection. The programme also includes Cecilia McDowall’s luminous Ave Maris Stella, a serene and expressive setting of the ancient Marian hymn that evokes themes of guidance, hope, and dawning light.

This uplifting concert is free with ticketed admission. A charity collection will be taken in support of the Charity for Civil Servants, the Cardinal Hume Centre, and Sinfonia Smith Square.

Tickets can be secured for free here: https://www.sinfoniasmithsq.org.uk/event/the-civil-service-choir/

16/02/2026

Experience the grandeur of Joseph Haydn’s masterpiece, The Creation!

Published in 1800, it is one of the most exalted achievements in choral and orchestral music and the first choral work to be published with both German and English texts. In this performance it will be in English. Inspired by the Book of Genesis and Milton’s Paradise Lost, Haydn’s oratorio captures the emergence of light, life, and order with sublime artistry. Through radiant choruses, masterful orchestration, and expressive solo passages, The Creation affirms the beauty and majesty of the natural world. Join us for an evening of transcendent music that continues to inspire awe and reverence over two centuries after its premiere.

At Smith Square, the Civil Service Choir has recently given performances of Mozart’s Requiem with “impressive power and emotion” and Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem – after which Jools Holland OBE exclaimed “this choir is one of the best I’ve ever heard”. Do not miss this outstanding choir’s performance of The Creation.

Tickets are £15 to £30 on-line here: https://www.sinfoniasmithsq.org.uk/event/haydn-the-creation/

16/12/2025

Thanks to all who joined us today for our annual Carol service 🎄

If you enjoyed, or missed out, why not see our chamber choir perform Christmas music through the ages this Thursday evening from 7:30pm at St Stephen's Westminster?

Secure your ticket now at https://www.trybooking.com/uk/events/landing/99185

10/12/2025

A reminder that we have a Carol Advent Calendar compiled during Christmas 2020. It comprised carols and Christmas music recorded at our carol services and concerts. Most of the recordings are accompanied by the words on screen.

You can access the recordings on our website at https://www.civilservicechoir.org.uk/carol-advent-calendar/

or as a YouTube playlist:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUwvywcRbF2hZ58hxmgszfz8uKNT4L9gh&si=Ta7HmR0qsQfvcVKi

The are favourite carols, Messiah, Christmas Oratorio and lots more.

In December 2019 we had 9 performances ranging from departmental events, a day care centre, and the Victoria and Albert Museum to a carol service and a conce...

05/12/2025

Celebrate Christmas with the Civil Service Choir! 🎄🎶

Join us for a traditional lunchtime carol service on Tuesday 16th December, 1pm at St Stephen’s Church, Rochester Row.

Singing along to your favourite carols and hearing the choir sing some uplifting Christmas music will no doubt get you in the festive spirit! The service is not ticketed, so just turn up. For those who can’t make it in person, the service will be livestreamed on the St Stephen's Westminster page. Maintaining our 16-year tradition, there will be a voluntary charity collection for the Charity for Civil Servants, Cardinal Hume Centre, and St Stephen’s Church – please give generously, whether attending in person or online.

Explore Christmas music through the ages with the Civil Service Choir’s Chamber Choir on Thursday 18th December, 7:30pm at St Stephen’s Church, Rochester Row.

Our chamber choir will be performing a tapestry of pieces from the 16th to 20th century, including Corp’s “A Christmas Mass” which combines Latin text with over 70 familiar carols and hymns, creating a rich festive experience. How many carols will you be able to recognise? Alongside Corp, this concert will include music from Victoria, Charpentier, and Poulenc. Tickets are £15 and available here: https://www.trybooking.com/uk/events/landing/99185 – secure yours now!

29/11/2025