Welcome to Antiphon's Home Page

Antiphon are a chamber choir based in the Northumbrian Tyne Valley with a particular interest in early sacred music. 

Under the leadership of our conductor John Roper, one  of the choir’s main activities is singing sacred music of the Renaissance and Baroque periods in the context of the church services for which it was written.  As a result, the choir has had the opportunity to sing in some of Northumberland’s most beautiful medieval churches, including Brinkburn Priory and Hexham Abbey.

Concerts are also  arranged in a variety of venues, allowing the choir to widen its repertoire to include more modern sacred and secular music. A guide to our repertoire can be seen in the 'Archive Events' link.

Antiphon have also collaborated with other professional groups, including early music specialist duo Alva, and Leeds based Nouvelle/Ancienne, the latter in a performance of Dido and Aeneas in 2015.  Over the years, Antiphon has also toured in the UK and abroad, including Assisi and Perugia (2006), Burgundy (2008), Bruges and Brussels (2011), and the Cathedrals of Ely and Bury St Edmunds in 2016. The choir has also produced works for the local community, involving local composers, musicians and singers.  These include The Cantata of the Creatures (based on St Francis’ great hymn) in the churches of Bywell (2005), and Northumbrian Fragments, a song-cycle of music celebrating Northumbria’s saints, performed in Hexham Abbey in 2011, and revised and performed on Holy Island in 2013 as part of the Lindisfarne Gospels celebrations.

Antiphon is also available to sing for weddings - please see our 'Weddings' page for more details.

We are a sociable bunch of around 28 members and we are always pleased to audition good singers who share our love of early music and can sight sing well and hold a part. We practise on a Tuesday night in St John Lee church, which is about 1 mile outside Hexham. Please contact us through our email info@antiphon.co.uk for more details.
OUR NEXT EVENT

Saturday 24th March7.30pm
A devotional Service for Holy Week

THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY AND BEYOND

St Mary the Virgin Church
Ovingham