The choir was officially recognised as The Civil Service Choir in May 2019. However, it was founded in September 2009 as Etcetera, originally as a staff choir covering three government departments in Westminster: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra); Transport (DfT); and Communities and Local Government – now the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). It is from these Departments, and a purposeful loss of a space, that it derived its name: Environment Transport Communities to ETC to Et[ ]cetera and subsequently Etcetera – The Civil Service Choir.
With its inclusive name (“et cetera” means “and so forth”), the choir grew to have a membership from over 30 government departments and other bodies in Westminster. We also have a number of former Civil Servants as members. Dame Clare Moriarty, former Permanent Secretary, became our first patron in 2017, and was joined in this role in 2022 by Susan Acland-Hood, Permanent Secretary of the Department for Education.
We can trace our lineage through several predecessor choirs: Victoria Singers (1997-2000); a group reformed for carol services 2000-2008), Marsham Singers (1972-97), St Christopher Singers (1964 to 1972) and the Ministry of Housing and Local Government Choral Society (1957-72). There was a Civil Service Choir in the 1920s which we are researching.
The choir’s debut concert in November 2009 was with 25 singers having started with only 4 people at the first rehearsal two months earlier. The choir has since given over 200 performances.
We are also regularly joined by members of the Whitehall Orchestra and other musicians to form our own bespoke orchestral consorts. We have been delighted to formerly collaborate with the Whitehall Orchestra and the Kensington Philharmonic Orchestra. We have performed several times with the professional ensemble the Brandenburg Sinfonia. Our larger-scale performances have featured soloists from the Royal Academy of Music, the Royal College of Music, the Guildhall School of Music; and Trinity Laban Conservatoire.
