Tiffin Boys’ Choir is an internationally renowned boys’ choir from Kingston, London.Since its formation in 1957, the choir has worked extensively with the world’s greatest conductors, the world’s best musical institutions and performed forand recorded with the world’s leading organisations.The choir has always occupied a unique position in the choral world. Formed of boys from the Tiffin School in Kingston where every pupil is expected and encouraged to sing. The choir represents the pinnacle of school culture in which singing with passion and commitment is an everyday and celebrated activity.Since its foundation in 1957, the Tiffin Boys’ Choir has been one of the few state school choirs to have been continually at the forefront of the choral music scene in Britain. The choir has worked with all the London orchestras and performs regularly with the Royal Opera. Recent engagements have included Mahler 3 (London Symphony Orchestra/Haitink, Philharmonia/Hruša, LA Philharmonic/Dudamel), Springtime in Funen (BBC Symphony Orchestra/Litton) at the BBC Proms, Mahler 8 (Philharmonia/Salonen), Boris Godunov (Mariinsky/Gergiev), the UK premiere of Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland, the soundtrack for The Hobbit at Abbey Road Studios, appearing on set in the film Philomena, and Titanic Live! with James Horner.
With altos, tenors and basses also drawn entirely from within the school, the choir gives regular concerts in London and tours regularly, including in recent years Australia, China, Czech Republic, Saint Petersburg and Italy. The choir has made recordings of most of the orchestral repertoire that includes boys’ choir.
Notable releases have included Mahler 8 (EMI/Tennstedt), which was nominated for a Grammy Award, Puccini Il Trittico, Massenet Werther and Puccini Tosca (EMI/Pappano), Britten Billy Budd (Chandos/Hickox), Mahler 3 (Signum Classics/Maazel, LSO Live/Gergiev, Telarc/Zander), and Britten War Requiem (LPO Live/Masur). Members of the choir feature in DVD releases of Carmen, La Bohème, Tosca and Hänsel und Gretel from the Royal Opera House. The choir’s recent release of music by Britten (Ceremony of Carols, The Golden Vanity, Friday Afternoons) is available on the Herald label.
Tiffin School is state grammar school and specialist Arts College in Kingston-upon- Thames, described by Ofsted as “exceptional”. The majority of the 1200 boys in the school play a musical instrument, and 100 boys study Music at GCSE and A Level. The Thames Youth Orchestra and Thames Youth Choir originated at the school. Several members of the choir have gained university choral scholarships on leaving Tiffin: there are ex-Tiffinians currently singing in the choirs of King’s, St John’s, Trinity, Jesus, Emmanuel and Queens’ Colleges in Cambridge, and Exeter, Magdalen, Queen’s, Oriel and St Edmund Hall Colleges in Oxford.