Biography

For more than half a century The Swingles have pushed the boundaries of vocal music. The  young singers that make up today’s London-based group are driven by the same innovative spirit that has defined the ensemble since they first made waves in the 1960s. With two new albums in 2015 (Deep End and Yule Songs vol.II), The Swingles celebrated that legacy by starting a whole new chapter.

In 1963, American-born Ward Swingle first assembled a group of Parisian session singers to sing Bach’s keyboard music. The resulting album, Jazz Sebastian Bach, launched the Swingle Singers to fame. Since then their repertory has grown to include a huge variety of music, as well as new original songs. They have released more than fifty recordings, winning five Grammy awards and appearing on numerous film and TV soundtracks including Sex and the City and Glee.

The group’s versatility has led to collaborations with artists as diverse as the Modern Jazz Quartet, Jamie Cullum, and Labrinth. Luciano Berio was one of the first composers to explore the sound of The Swingles’ amplified voices in an orchestral setting, and the group continues to perform his groundbreaking Sinfonia around the world, including recent performances at the Royal Festival Hall and La Scala.

In addition to a busy touring schedule that regularly takes them to North and South America, Europe, and Asia, The Swingles present their own London A Cappella Festival at Kings Place each January in partnership with Ikon Art Management. The festival is the first of its kind in the capital, welcoming the finest vocal talent from around the world. The ensemble made their San Francisco Symphony debut in 1979 performing Berio’s Sinfonia.

(September 2016)