O Radiant Dawn, Sonoro, St James's Piccadilly

One of the big music stories of the year has been the launch of the refreshingly different choir Sonoro, which has turned the tide of musical taste for a clarified, astringent choral sound with its fuller, more richly coloured voices.

Sonoro’s concert for Advent in the beautiful surroundings of St James’s Piccadilly includes Drop Down Ye Heavens, set by the Master of the Queen’s Music, Judith Weir, and by other contemporary composers, among them James MacMillan. There will also be an atmospheric arrangement of The Angel Gabriel by Sonoro’s co-artistic director, Michael Higgins, and seasonal compositions by Britten and Rachmaninov.

Higgins’s fellow co-artistic director and conductor of Sonoro, Neil Ferris says: "This programme champions some leading contemporary composers and the repertoire offers a rich variety of tonal colours that really shows off Sonoro’s distinctive and unique sound. I can't wait to unleash their voices on this glorious music, culminating in Stanford's wonderfully virtuosic setting of the Magnificat for double choir.”

Sonoro is made up of some of the country’s finest professional singers who are also soloists in their own right. Founded in February, its distinctive sound has already been featured in the London Chamber Music Series at Kings Place, and the Wimbledon International Music Festival. Sonoro has also performed live on BBC Radio 3 In Tune and on London Live.

Sonoro in Italian means "sonorous, voices that are rich and full" and Sonoro has made a speciality of producting a full-bodied, resonant sound that should suit the celebratory mood of the Advent repertoire.