Stephen Doughty Tells Robert Beattie About the Work of the Belfast Philharmonic Choir
The Belfast Philharmonic Choir is Northern Ireland’s only symphonic choir. I went to listen to them perform in St Anne’s Cathedral a few months ago and was impressed with the quality of the singing and the range of their repertoire. The repertoire of the choir is exceptionally varied and includes key works by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms and Bruckner. The Phil also champion new works and in 2015 they performed the world premiere of James Whitbourn’s The Seven Heavens which was written especially to commemorate the choir’s 140th anniversary.
They will be performing Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Ulster Orchestra on 7 June. I spoke to their Chorus Master Stephen Doughty about preparations for the performance and about the work of the choir more generally.
