September 2023 heralds the start of The Glasgow Phoenix Choir’s 73rd exciting season. The Glasgow Phoenix Choir was founded in 1951 when members of the disbanded Glasgow Orpheus Choir decided to continue the tradition begun in 1901 when the Orpheus was founded. There are currently about 90 singing members in the choir with ages ranging from early 20s upwards.
1. Where can I buy tickets for concerts?
Ticket sales are normally in the hands of the particular sponsor or venue but can usually also be bought from ourselves directly by contacting our Business Manager. Tickets for many UK and Ireland concerts may also be bought online by following the link against each listing on the concerts page of this site, which will take you directly to that event’s booking page in a new window. We will endeavour to ensure that the links are correct, however, external websites are outwith our control so please check the details before purchase as it may not be possible to rectify mistakes afterwards.
2. What kind of music do you sing?
Our repertoire is wide and varied covering West End/Broadway musicals, operatic choruses, classical pieces, Scottish songs, sacred music, “easy listening” and humour, and a typical concert will cover most (or all) of these genres in one night! We are also fortunate to have some fine soloists. We are not a religious/church or Cathedral choir, and neither are we a choral society or orchestral/theatrical chorus, though we have elements of all of these in our catalogue. The best way to find out is to come to a concert or look at the details on the recordings page on this site! You can also find some of our performances on YouTube.
3. Can I book the choir for my event?
The choir is available for hire for fundraising or performance events from large Arts and Music Festivals and Corporate functions to small church fundraising concerts. In the past the choir has performed at the BBC Proms London, Celtic Connections Music Festival Glasgow, International Choral Festival Missoula USA, concerts for the Gubbay Organisation, soundtracks for Channel 4 television, and many other events both large and small. Some of the choir have even, in the past, been involved in the filming of BBC Scotland’s TV comedy “Still Game“. We were guest Choir with Aled Jones at Paisley Abbey for the start of his 2017 UK Tour. In 2019 the choir performed at the Celtic Connections Festival with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in a tribute concert to the composer Patrick Doyle and his music. We were honoured to perform the world premiere of Mr Doyle’s latest composition, “Sweet Rois of Vertue”.
For full details on how to hire us and check our availability contact our Business Manager.
4. How many concerts do you perform a year?
It varies from year to year, but is usually around twenty or so concerts in a season of about forty-six weeks, though we actually performed forty concerts in one memorable year! Whilst most concerts are in the British Isles there are occasional foreign tours, which in the past have included Europe, Canada and USA. Follow the “About Us ” and “Past Events” links to find out more.
5. Does the choir receive any external funding?
The choir is generally self-supporting, obtaining its income from concert ticket sales and fees as well as sales of merchandise and recordings, membership subscriptions and sponsorship and donations from some very generous individuals
For 10 years from 2007 we had sponsorship deal with Co-op Funeralcare. This generous sponsorship allowed us to purchase a selection of new resources and to support charity concerts in a way we would not otherwise have been able to do. We are very grateful to them for this generous support which sadly, for both parties, came to an end in June 2018.
The Choir has itself raised over £1.5M for many charities in the 70 years of its existence – which resulted in the award of the Paul Harris Fellowship from Rotary International, normally awarded to individuals. The choir is the only organisation in the world to hold the Paul Harris Fellowship.
We currently perform with ‘In Association’ support from the Grand Lodge of Antient Free & Accepted Masons of Scotland and the Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights Hospitaller.
We are always actively seeking new sponsors and if you would like to know how to sponsor the choir, visit our ‘Sponsor The Choir’ web page here or contact our Business Manager for more information
6. Where can I get copies of discontinued recordings?
Unfortunately we can’t really answer that one. We don’t have a complete archive of all recordings, especially the early ones, though we are working on it. All we can suggest is searching in second hand and specialist music retailers or placing a request in online services such as eBay.