Welcome Spring With the Icelandic Choir of London and Slavic Voices

Next Saturday, 28th February, St Luke’s Church in Brighton is hosting a choral concert titled Welcome Spring. The event brings together two distinct ensembles, The Icelandic Choir of London and Slavic Voices, for an afternoon of music rooted in Nordic and Slavic traditions. It is a bit of a cultural crossover, designed to mark the end of February with a repertoire that spans several centuries and geographical regions. The doors are set to open at 14:00, with the performance starting at 14:30, making it a mid-afternoon plan for those who spend their Saturdays around the city.

The performers bring quite a bit of history with them. The Icelandic Choir of London, also known as Íslenski Kórinn í London, has been performing since 1984. Since 2012, they have been led by Helgi R. Ingvarsson, focusing on a mix of Icelandic choral music, folklore, and even some pop arrangements. They are joined by Slavic Voices, a group that was established more recently, in September 2023. Directed by Polina Skovoroda-Shepherd, this choir has quickly grown to include around 90 singers. Their repertoire is particularly broad, covering everything from traditional Orthodox chants and classical pieces by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov to folk songs from Siberia and the Black Sea.

Because of the variety of the groups, the afternoon will feature songs in a range of languages, including Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, and Bulgarian. The idea behind the concert is to bring these specific musical cultures directly to the local community in Brighton. If you are looking into tickets, the standard price is £16.00. However, it is worth keeping in mind that some ticket platforms have already listed general admission and concessions as sold out, so availability might be limited depending on where you look. The concert offers a straightforward look at how these two vocal traditions—one from the North Atlantic and the other from Eastern Europe—can share a stage in a local church setting.