Living Voices is a new collection of ten inspiring choral pieces composed by Russell Hepplewhite. This innovative project brings together the talents of Hepplewhite and ten of Britain’s most outstanding contemporary poets, each commissioned to create poetic responses to our world today.
The idea for Living Voices originated with Russell Hepplewhite, who invited the poets to offer their diverse reflections on the nuances of modern life. The resulting poems explore a wide spectrum of human experience – birth and death, youth and age, sickness and health, landscape and memory. The emotional scope of the collection is equally varied, encompassing pieces that are light-hearted and comic alongside those that are profound and moving.
Accessible and rich in expression, Hepplewhite’s music proves a perfect partner for these contemporary texts. Drawing on his extensive experience writing for the theatre, his compositions aim to translate the poets’ messages into a vibrant collective choral sound. Living Voices promises to engage anyone drawn to the telling interaction of contemporary life and art.
The ten distinguished poets who have contributed to this unique collection and the titles of their commissioned works are:
- Mona Arshi – Tender
- Pam Ayres – Leaving
- Fiona Benson – Three Trees/Angel
- Joseph Coelho – The Diarist’s Pages
- Wendy Cope – I Wake
- Jamila Gavin – Song of Flight
- Roger McGough – The Good Ship Attenborough
- Andrew Motion – ‘from: Gravity Archives’
- Alice Oswald – Riddle
- Michael Rosen – True Story
In 2025, ten selected choirs around the UK gave the world premiere one of these new choral works over the coming months. The project has been funded by private donations and support from the Finzi Trust.
On 24 June, Whitehall Choir will give the world premiere performance of the complete Living Voices, together with two new settings by Russell Hepplewhite of poems by Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, sung by baritone Marcus Farnsworth with pianist Ian Tindale. The concert takes place at St Paul’s Church, Knightsbridge, and some of the poets, including Pam Ayres MBE, will be present at the event to read out their poems. Audience members will have the opportunity to meet the choir, composer and some of the poets at a reception after the concert. Whitehall Choir will record Living Voices this autumn for an album to be released early in 2027.
This collection promises to be a significant addition to the contemporary choral music repertoire, offering pieces that are both musically engaging and thematically relevant to modern audiences. The music is published by Stainer & Bell.
Read an interview with Russell Hepplewhite about Living Voices
The Cross-Eyed Pianist 