Dulwich Choral Society was founded in 1944 and this year will embark on its 63rd season of music making. The choir is made up of some 85 singing members and employs two professional staff - a musical director and a rehearsal accompanist.
The Society performs three concerts per season, two of these with members of the major London orchestras, and uses top class soloists. Whilst the majority of its performances take place in and around the Dulwich area, it has become the choir's policy in recent years to perform one concert each season in a more prominent venue such as St. John's Smith Square or the Blackheath Concert Halls. The Fairfield Hall, Croydon was the venue for the performance of Bach's St. Matthew Passion on Good Friday, 2001.The choir's musical director, Aidan Oliver, was appointed in September 2005 following the departure of Susan Farrow Topolovac who had held the post since 1994.She commissioned on behalf of Dulwich Choral Society a Requiem from the British composer David Snell and, together with the choir, gave its World Premiere at St. John's, Smith Square in 1995.
The work was dedicated to the memory of the choir's former musical director, Graham Stewart.
The Choral society has underttaken a series of annual tours abroad. In 2001 the choir visited Italy, performing a series of concerts in Venice and Lavis, including singing a mass in the Basilica San Marco and in 2002 visited Leipzig , performing in the Thmaskirche - Bach's own church, and giving concerts at Weimar and Torgau. The Society runs a Friends and Patrons scheme which is supported by a number of discerning music lovers.
The international conductor Vernon Handley is President of the Society.
In 2005, on the appointment of Aidan Oliver, the performing name of South London Chorus was dropped in favour of a return to the name Dulwich Choral
Society to emphasise the importance of the local connection.
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