The English bass-baritone, Christopher [Chris] Sheldrake, was a Junior Exhibitioner at the Royal Academy of Music, a graduate of the Royal College of Music where he studied with Edward Brookes, and a Lay Clerk at St. George's Chapel, Windsor. He is currently studying with Quentin Hayes and is a Vicar Choral at Wells Cathedral.
Christopher Sheldrake has sung with the Musicke Company, with whom he made his Wigmore Hall debut, European Voices and the Gabrieli Consort under Paul McCreesh. Highlights include Mozart's C Minor Mass in Athens, Madrid and Innsbruck, George Frideric Handel's Belshazzar in Paris, Lyon and Zürich and Arnold Schoenberg's Gurrelieder conducted by Sir Simon Rattle at the Proms.
Recent solo performances include most of the mainstream oratorios: Bach's Weinachts Oratorium (BWV 248) at Wells Cathedral, Johannes-Passion (BWV 245) at Tilford Bach Festival, Matthäus-Passion (BWV 244) conducted by Sir David Willcocks at the memorial concert for Sir Keith Faulkner, Royal College of Music, Monteverdi’s Vespers at Truro Cathedral, George Frideric Handel's Messiah at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh, Mozart's Requiem with the London Mozart Players in Madrid & Segovia and Verdi's Requiem at Downside Abbey. Operatic credits include Mars, God of War in Boyce's The Secular Masque at London Handel Festival and The Voice of God in Benjamin Britten's Noye's Fludde at Royal Albert Hall.
Christopher Sheldrake performed the world premiere of And the Music Played On by Hungki-Joo (Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival), Stanley Glasser's Ezra (St. George's Chapel, Windsor) and the British premiere of John Joubert's Three Faces of Love (Windsor Fringe Festival).
Christopher Sheldrake has been involved in many recordings with labels such as Hyperion, Priory, and Lammas. Recent recordings with Deutsche Grammophon's Archiv label include Biber's F Minor Requiem and C Minor Mass, Mozart for the Gabrieli Consort & Players.
Future engagements include Johannes Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem in Armagh and G.F. Handel's Athalia with the Orquesta Nacional de Espana in Madrid. |