The Renaissance Singers was founded in 1944 by Michael Howard as the performing arm of the Renaissance Society, and led the revival of interest in Renaissance sacred polyphony-the beginnings of the "early music movement". Their first concert was on 3rd June 1944 in St Marylebone Parish Church.

 

The Singers made many recordings and broadcast regularly, the first broadcast being on Christmas Day 1945. They often sang from hand-written parts produced by scholars such as Bruno Turner, now the choir's President.​



In 1992, after a gap of some ten years, the Singers were re-formed by Michael Procter as a chamber choir specialising in this repertoire. In recent years our activities have included performances at festivals in Warwick, Bath and Southwark and tours in France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Italy and Scandinavia. These engagements, and our annual programme of concerts and workshops in central London have earned the Renaissance Singers the reputation of being one of the finest specialist amateur choirs in the country.  Edward Wickham took the reins in 1995, and was followed by JanJoost van Elburg in 2005. The choir's current Musical Director, David Allinson, was appointed in 2009.