Name: Come and Sing Messiah: London
Start: 2026-02-15T10:00:00
Location: Blackheath Halls

The Sixteen

Composed in a staggering twenty-four days Messiah was first performed in Dublin in 1742 where it received a rapturous welcome. Not so the following year when it premiered in London to a distinctly hostile reception. It wasn’t until Messiah began to be presented in charity performances at the Foundling Hospital in London that the public started to embrace the work we now regard as Handel’s greatest composition.

Handel’s Messiah

St Martin-in-the-Fields Church, London

Auditorio de Tenerife Adán Martín

Join us for the St James’s Piccadilly spectacular annual fundraising Christmas Gala featuring the St James’s Chamber Orchestra and BBC’s Sophie Raworth.

Christmas for All: Gala Concert

St James's Piccadilly

Christmas is a time for families and old friends – for well-loved tunes and good cheer. But it’s also a time of mystery and wonder: of silent nights, and sounds that echo across centuries. We’re delighted to be back at Cadogan Hall this Yuletide for two nights of beauty, wonder and seasonal joy. From medieval carols to visionary modern masterpieces, it all takes its inspiration from the story at the heart of the season: a baby in a stable, surrounded by simply heavenly singing.

The Sixteen at Christmas: Cambridge

Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge

Orpheus, they say, made music so beautiful that even stones responded to his song. Many music lovers would say something similar about Johann Sebastian Bach, and tonight we bring two worlds together, in some of the 18th century’s most unforgettable music.

Light and Shadow: London

Cadogan Hall 

This extraordinary project will bring together 100 community singers, vocal students from Trinity Laban, and members of The Sixteen choir and orchestra under the baton of Eamonn Dougan.

Come and Sing Messiah: London

Blackheath Halls

When Sir James MacMillan writes a new choral work, the world takes notice, because few living composers write with more honesty and passion. With a span of around an hour, Angels Unawares is a major new statement from MacMillan coupled with a brilliant libretto written by Robert Willis, former Dean of Canterbury Cathedral, completed shortly before his untimely death in autumn 2024. Who better to give the work’s UK premiere than The Sixteen and the Britten Sinfonia, both tireless champions of MacMillan’s work?