Ex Cathedra is a British choir known for its authoritative interpretations of French and Latin American Baroque choral repertoire. The group also supports contemporary composers and it regularly commissions and performs new music. Jeffrey Skidmore founded the ensemble in 1969 while studying at Oxford, and some of its initial members included his friends Emma Kirkby, Paul Elliot, and David James. Additionally, Skidmore created the Ex Cathedra Consort and the Ex Cathedra Baroque Ensemble in the mid-'80s. In 1990, the choir began participating in educational outreach programs with public schools in Birmingham, which led to the creation of the Ex Cathedra Academy of Vocal Music, and community choirs Ring of Sound and Singing Communities Ladywood. Ex Cathedra’s critically acclaimed debut album Vivaldi: Vespers was released in 1991, and the group released another five albums in the 1990s including the popular album De Lalande: Regina Coeli; De Profundis; Cantate Domino. It released another 10 albums in the 2000s, which featured Latin American and Brazilian music from the Baroque and classical periods. The choir began its Singing Medicine project in 2004, in which a special team of singers works with patients at hospitals around the U.K. to improve wellbeing and help reduce stress. It expanded its educational programs in 2007 to include the Singing Playgrounds project, which has been introduced to over 1,000 primary schools in the U.K. The choir was invited to perform at the 2013 BBC Proms, and in 2014 it began performing regularly at the Hereford Cathedral and several other major churches in the U.K. Its 2015 release Britten to America was nominated for a Grammy award, and A French Baroque Diva won a Grammophone award the same year. Ex Cathedra has remained very active in the 2020s with its many ongoing educational projects and it released From Five Continents: Penelope Thwaites - Choral Music and Songs in 2020 and the live album Alex Roth, Vikram Seth: The Traveller; Earth & Sky in 2023. ~ RJ Lambert, Rovi