About The English Choir Berlin

The English Choir Berlin was originally formed in the summer of 2013 to accompany Evening Prayers at the Berliner Dom.

The Choir has sung Choral Evensong on at least one Saturday of each month since Advent 2015, its repertoire focussing mainly on that which is commonly used in English Cathedrals. This not only includes settings specifically for Anglican liturgies, such as motets and canticles for Choral Evensong, Choral Matins, Choral Eucharist, and/or Carol Services, but the Choir also performs a lot of music that would be intended for concert-use, such as large-scale masses, as well as oratorios. In recent years, the group’s busy schedule has seen them sing at services in the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche Berlin and the Schlosskirche Wittenberg.

One of the most enriching aspects of choir membership is being able to travel widely, and to spread the joy of English choral music to as many churches, cathedrals and audiences as possible. Over the years, we have been privileged to sing services and perform concerts in notable venues across Europe. Some highlights from previous seasons are listed below:

  • 2015-16: Concert performances of Requiem settings by Gabriel Fauré and W.A. Mozart, as well as G.F. Handel’s celebrated work “The Messiah”
  • 2016-17: Tour to Paris: High Mass at Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris, in addition to Holy Eucharist & Evensong at the American Cathedral
  • 2018-19: Tour to Rome: Choral Evensong at Santo Stefano Rotondo and High Masses at Santa Maria Maggiore and San Giovanni in Laterano
  • 2021-22: Ascension Day High Mass at the Altenberger Dom, Choral Evensong at St. Andreas, Düsseldorf, as well as High Mass at the Kölner Dom. Tour to UK: four Choral Evensongs and Holy Eucharist at Westminster Abbey
  • 2022-23: Evensongs at St. Ludwig München and Kloster Ettal, and Sunday Eucharist at the Freisinger Dom
  • 2023-24: Tour to Scotland: Week-long residence at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh
  • 2024-25: Two “Motette” performances and Eucharist at the Thomaskirche, Leipzig. Tour to England: Choral Evensongs and Eucharist at Westminster Abbey, Winchester and Southwark Cathedrals

The English Choir Berlin is currently made up of some three dozen SATB adult singers of all ages, many of whom have sung in cathedrals or colleges, all of whom are skilled choristers, and some of whom have sung professionally.

​Since its inception the choir has been very international. Roughly one-quarter have come from, respectively, the UK, the USA, and Germany, while the remaining quarter have come from a broad range of countries including, over the past few years, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Russia, Netherlands, Cameroon, Thailand, Hong Kong, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.

Weekly rehearsals take place in the Berliner Dom on Thursdays, 18:30-20:45.

William Peart

Artistic Director & Conductor (2025 – )

William Peart enjoys a varied career as an organist, early keyboardist and conductor, dividing his time between performing, teaching and research.

His concert schedule has taken him to many important venues and instruments throughout Germany: to the Cathedrals of Berlin, Brandenburg, Freiberg (Sachs.), Merseburg; Philharmonie Berlin; Thomaskirche, Nikolaikirche and Gewandhaus Leipzig, St Wenzel Naumburg, Schlosskirche Altenburg, Frauenkirche Dresden, all across Europe, to the USA and Canada. Notable festival appearances in Europe include those at the Three Choirs Festival (UK), Merseburger Orgeltage, Hildebrandt-Tage Naumburg, Heinrich-Schütz-Musikfest Dresden and the Bachfest Leipzig. William has appeared on, and recorded extensively for, TV, Radio and CD, both in the UK and Germany (for rbb Kultur, mdr Kultur, Deutschlandfunk Kultur, BBC Radio 3 and the BBC Proms).

In addition to his work as a soloist, William Peart is in high demand as a continuo player, and has performed with a number of Europe’s leading ensembles, namely the Monteverdi Choir & English Baroque Soloists, RIAS Kammerchor Berlin, GewandhausChor und -Orchester Leipzig, Kammersymphonie Berlin, BachConsort Leipzig & Sächsisches Barockorchester and Vocalconsort Leipzig. In 2023, William founded the Choir and Baroque Orchestra Ensemble 300+, in celebration of 300 years since Johann Sebastian Bach‘s appointment as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, whose repertoire dedicates itself primarily to his choral and orchestral works, and those of his most important contemporaries.

Since 2020, William Peart has been the Organist and Korrepetitor of the Berliner Bach Gesellschaft, with whom he has collaborated on many performances of major choral works (in recent years various Cantatas and the complete Oratorios of JS Bach), both as a performer and as a chorus-master. In addition, he has been involved in many first performances of works written especially for the ensemble, by Oleksandr Shchetynsky (2021), Sofia Gubaidulina (2024) and Frank Schwemmer (2025). Recently undertaken solo projects include performances of the complete organ works of Maurice Duruflé (2020), César Franck (2022), Franz Liszt and Julius Reubke (2023), as well as the Third Part of the Clavierübung by JS Bach (2024).

William graduated with first-class honours, and as a multiple prize-winner, from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (UK). Scholarships from the DAAD- and Ad Infinitum Foundations enabled postgraduate studies at the Universität der Künste, Berlin (Master) and the Hochschule für Musik und Theater „Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” Leipzig (Meisterklassenexamen), from where he graduated with Distinction. Important teachers include Thomas Corns, Prof. Henry Fairs and Prof. Dr. Martin Schmeding (organ literature); Daniel Beilschmidt (improvisation), Paul Spicer (choral conducting) and Raphael Alpermann (harpsichord).

From 2022-2024 William Peart was on the staff at the Universität der Künste Berlin, and in the summer of 2025, was appointed Artistic Director and Conductor of The English Choir Berlin, in which role, he is responsible for the direction of monthly choral services at Berlin Cathedral, as well as a busy schedule of concerts, tours and broadcasts. Alongside his activities as a concert performer and private teaching, he has since January 2023 been the Organ Tutor for the Thomanerchor Leipzig, and from October 2025, he will take on the interim position of Senior Lecturer in Organ Literature and Improvisation at the Institute for Church Music of the University of Greifswald.

Max Carsley

Choir Director (2024 – 2025)

Max grew up in Edinburgh as a chorister at St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral where he also attended St Mary’s Music School. He studied Church Music with Prof. Henry Fairs at the Universität der Künste Berlin and, alongside his duties as director of the English Choir Berlin, he accompanied the university choirs and directed the Kammerchor Vocalkreis Potsdam.

Max has held positions as Director of Music at Morningside United Church and more recently as Acting Assistant Organist at St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh. He is an Associate of the Royal College of Organists and has performed in venues including the Royal Albert Hall in London, the Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh and Paderborn Cathedral. Max has taken up the organ scholarship at Salisbury Cathedral in September 2025.

Kathleen Bird

Founder

Choir Director (2013 – 2024)

Kathleen was born in Baltimore, Maryland and raised in a large family of church musicians. She studied piano and organ at Towson State University, Baltimore, and at the University of Marburg and conducting at the Akademie für Tonkunst Darmstadt. She has worked as Music director at the Episcopal Church of Christ the King in Frankfurt am Main, as Organist and Choirmaster at the Anglo-Catholic St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Evanston, Illinois and as music teacher.

Kathleen works regularly as an accompanist and coach for soloists and choirs. She has extensive experience as a choral singer and director and has played keyboard and assisted conductors in musical productions. After living in Germany from 1982- 2001 she took a career break sailing around the Pacific ocean and came to Berlin in 2011. She is also active in coaching opera singers as a Korrepetitorin and accompanying recitalists.