APOLLO•5

Penelope Appleyard, soprano

Lily Robson, mezzo-soprano

Thomas Mottershead, tenor

Joseph Taylor, tenor

Augustus Perkins Ray, bass

“exceptional cohesion and effortless style... faultless."  BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE

“an unbroken spectrum, [creating] the illusion of larger forces” CHOIR & ORGAN 

“Exceptionally beautiful singing” CLASSIC FM 

“bristling, youthful economy” THE OBSERVER 

“harmonious without the slightest concession to quality... the rapt listener would be hard put to find fault” YORKSHIRE TIMES 

"These are those precious evenings at the theater, when you forget about space and time and hope the program will last a very long time. Two women and three men from England ensure this. They forgo microphones and other technical gadgets like the now-popular looping, relying solely on the quality and power of their vocal cords. Pure singing, in other words." WESTFALENPOST

Entering its sixteenth year of performing, APOLLO5 continues to captivate and inspire audiences as one of Britain’s smallest yet most impressive vocal groups. Comprising a soprano, mezzo-soprano, two tenors and a bass, the ensemble – which takes its name from the ancient Greek god of music – has become known for their ability to move audiences with intimacy and directness while showcasing the power and rapturous sound of five voices alone. With a repertoire spanning renaissance, classical and contemporary choral works to folk, jazz and pop, the group’s five voices bring the music of five centuries to life.

APOLLO5’s active tour schedule crosses Europe, North America, and Asia garnering critical acclaim along the way: “exceptional adhesion and effortless style…faultless” (BBC Music Magazine), “exceptionally beautiful singing” (Classic FM), “the rapt listener would be hard put to find fault.” (Yorkshire Times), and “Pure singing…” (Westfalenpost). Performances in prestigious UK venues include the Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, St John’s Smith Square, the Royal Albert Hall and the Barbican Centre. Their extensive European concert and festival performances include Germany, France, Italy, Scotland, Wales, Portugal, and Czech Republic. The group is a regular guest on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune and receives frequent airplay from the national broadcaster as well as Classic FM, Magic Classical, and NTS Radio.

APOLLO5’s vocal artistry and signature sound have attracted collaboration with the finest choral composers and arrangers of today. Works by Ola Gjeilo, Taylor Scott Davis, Francis Pott, Fraser Wilson, Paul Mealor, Blake Morgan, Paul Smith, and more are featured on APOLLO5’s seven studio albums. Haven, which explores the music of troubled, displaced and persecuted composers and features a full setting of William Byrd’s Mass For Five Voices, was released in 2023 to critical acclaim. Where All Roses Go and O Radiant Dawn both charted in the top 5 of the UK Classical Charts. Their most recent album is Anam, a Gaelic-tinged program of “music to move the soul,” released in early 2025. APOLLO5 was part of the launch of LIVE From London in 2020, a series of live broadcasts from many of the world’s leading vocal ensembles and orchestras. These online concerts brought music to the homes of millions during the pandemic, and raised funds for more than 500 artists, composers and production teams in the process; the festival continues to thrive online in today’s post-pandemic world. 

As part of the VOCES8 Foundation, APOLLO5 works alongside CEO Paul Smith and other affiliated ensembles to deliver a transformative program of workshops, masterclasses and concerts to over 40,000 young people annually in the UK, Europe, and the USA. Over the past few seasons, the group has worked with thousands of young people and adults across France as part of Association Sing’In projects, performing in the unique locations of a football stadium, a circus, and a royal abbey to large audiences. Much of APOLLO5’s UK-based education work is carried out at the Foundation’s home, The VOCES8 Centre at St Anne & St Agnes Church in the heart of London. The group has also helped lead an extensive singing project in the London boroughs of Hackney and Tower Hamlets, working with inner-city schools and supporting their teachers. This ongoing project is supported by the Masonic Charitable Foundation, the Worshipful Company of Glovers, The Big Give Trust, and a number of private trusts and generous individual donors. 

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JEJ Artists represents APOLLO5 in North America.

www.apollo5.co.uk.