"Through our primary aim of 100 new commissions by 100 living composers, our dream is that, in 500 years from now, our collection of 100 new works (performed by thousands of choirs all over the world) will be looked on as a central cultural achievement of the 21st Century."
Suzi Digby, Artistic Director and Founder
100 Commissions in 10 Years
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No other vocal ensemble in the world is commissioning at the same rate as ORA Singers. We enjoy engaging composers from a whole range of backgrounds, including established artists and emerging talent. The ORA team reviews composers on a regular basis and is always on the lookout for emerging talent and undiscovered choral writers.
ORA Singers often perform their commissions in their special concert events, and has already been delighted to see repeat performances and recordings of its works by other groups all over the globe.
Our composers write for our Reflections series, Cultural Bridges series, or for special projects.
Completed
Recorded
Reflections
Our Reflections series illustrates our belief that we are in a second golden age of choral music. Commissioned composers are asked to 'reflect' a Renaissance original, taking elements to inspire a new contemporary work. Our Reflections series creates a musical link between these two golden ages.
Cultural Bridges
This ground-breaking project sees ORA Singers collaborate with composers from different parts of the world, where they write new works setting texts from their own cultural traditions. Each commission features an instrument from their own culture, combining with the voices of ORA to form a musical bridge between civilisations.
Special Commissions
We've commissioned composers to write new works which celebrate or commemorate unique occasions in our nation's history. Previous commissions have marked the Platinum Jubilee and the subsequent passing of the late Queen Elizabeth II, and the coronation of King Charles III.
EXPLORE OUR RECORDED COMMISSIONS
AWARDS
ORA Singers has been thrilled to see their commissioned composers receive nominations and awards for their commissions. Recent nominees have included Sir James MacMillan for his 40-part motet Vidi Aquam, with Joanna Marsh winning an Ivors Composer Award for All Shall Be Well, and Roderick Williams winning an Ivors Composer Award for Ave verum corpus Re-imagined!
