A renowned choir from the Scottish capital Edinburgh is performing at Brussels’ Palace of Fine Arts Bozar on Sunday evening. The Edinburgh Royal Choral Union (ERCU) has been invited to Brussels by the The Brussels Choral Society, a group that truly reflects the rich diversity that is our capital. The Brussels Choral Society will perform at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall in March next year, accompanied by musicians from the Royal Scottish Opera.
A treat is in store this Sunday evening (7 December) for lovers of fine singing accompanied by excellent musicians. At the invitation of the The Brussels Choral Society, the Edinburgh Royal Choral Union will perform at Bozar, in the centre of Brussels.
Established in 1858, the Edinburgh Royal Choral Union (ERCU) has played a significant part in the musical life of Scotland, having given the first Scottish performances of many works, including Bach’s B Minor Mass. ERCU sang at the opening of the Edinburgh’s Usher Hall in 1914. The choir retains a strong association with that venue to the present day. Over the years, ERCU has worked with renowned orchestras such as the Hallé, the Royal Philharmonic, the London Symphony, the Vienna Philharmonic, and the BBC Scottish Symphony under such legendary figures as Otto Klemperer and Sir Adrian Boult. Michael Bawtree has been the choir’s Musical Director of the choir since 2005.
Scottish premières
In addition to its annual New Year presentations of Messiah at the Usher Hall, the Edinburgh Royal Choral Union performs many the classic pieces of choral literature such Verdi’s Messa da Requiem. It also promotes new music and give Scottish premieres. These have included The Farthest Shore by Paul Mealor, The Voices of our Ancestors by Thea Musgrave, Shadow Aspect by Judith Bingham, water psalms by Thomas LaVoy, Cantemus Igitur by Rory Boyle and Pietà by Richard Blackford.
At Sunday evening’s performance ERCU and the BCS will receive musical accompaniment from the Belgian orchestra Etesiane conducted by Gabriel Hollander. Belgian and French soloists will also sing Anton Bruckner’s Mass No.1 and Gloria by Francis Poulenc. These are the works that the Brussels Choral Society will also perform with ERCU at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh on 15 March next year. There they will be accompanied by the Orchestra of the Scottish Opera conducted by Michael Bawtree.
The Brussels Choral Society
The Brussels Choral Society was founded in 1979, having evolved out of an earlier group of friends known as the Suppressed Songsters. From this modest beginning, the choir matured steadily under the direction of its Musical Directors Tom Cunningham (1984-2002) and Eric Delson (2002-2025), moving from seasonal concerts toward year-round programming and gaining a loyal following in the process. Since June 2025, Clio Zois has been Acting Musical Director.
The choir celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2019 at Brussels’ BOZAR with a performance of Orff’s Carmina Burana, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms and Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms. After the forced hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2021, the BCS came back in force and in numbers with successful performances of Mendelssohn’s Elias in 2022 and Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem in Brussels and Mechelen in 2023.