Welsh Camerata

The Welsh Camerata

There's much fine amateur choral singing in Wales and the members of the Welsh Camerata are proud to be part of that tradition. We are a small choir of around 25 singers and what makes us distinct is that we specialise in the authentic performance of early music - that composed in the eighteenth century and previous centuries (with the occasional, well-informed foray into later periods). In this endeavour, we were fortunate to have as our first director Andrew Wilson-Dickson, formerly head of Early Music at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Performance technique has evolved over the centuries and singing music from earlier periods often requires quite a different approach to the material. Our specialism has led us to discover forgotten masterpieces from an incredibly rich period. Many of our concerts contain pieces quite possibly receiving their first performance in Wales since their composition. We often get the opportunity to perform with early music instrumentalists, including the Welsh Baroque Orchestra. In 2016 we gave the first performance of a realisation by our director Andrew Wilson-Dickson of Bach's lost St Mark Passion to much critical acclaim. The realisation has been published by Canasg. With the appointment of our new director, Frederick Brown , from September 2024 we look forward to an exciting new era in the life of the choir.

Frederick Brown

Our director

Frederick Brown is a Cornish conductor and keyboard player. He began his musical training as a chorister in Truro Cathedral Choir before reading music at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge. He went on to study piano accompaniment and conducting at the Royal Academy of Music, before completing his training at the National Opera Studio. Frederick has wide-ranging choral conducting experience, having held conducting posts with the Twickenham Choral Society and the English Chamber Choir. He was founder and director of Brouwen, a baroque string and vocal ensemble. He worked as répétiteur at the Hamburg State Opera and in 2018 joined the music staff of Welsh National Opera in Cardiff, where he is now Chorus Master. For WNO he has conducted opera performances and concerts and he also teaches at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. Frederick took up the position as Director of early music choir Welsh Camerata in 2024.