Ishirini, Swahili for twenty, is a chamber choir which explores and celebrates choral traditions from around the world. Rooted in the Cambridge choral tradition, Ishirini has developed a range of innovative and collaborative projects. In each of our performances we have carefully researched thematic programmes which explore various aspects of place and tradition.
We have been singing for over 15 years, the brain-child of Naomi Rouse and our founding director, Jeremy Rouse. In our tours to Tanzania and India, as well as a reciprocal tour of the UK from Tanzanian national stars Upendo, we conducted workshops with local schools and collaborated with local musicians to perform new compositions exploring the fusion of our respective traditions. In Poland we held joint concerts with our partner choir, Stryzowski Chor, and in Jordan we joined the festival Aswatuna: Arab Sing, where choirs from Jordan, Syria and the UAE performed together in beautiful locations across the country. In August 2013 we performed as part of the Palestinian Choral Festival singing with our partner choirs in Nazareth, Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Ramalla and in August 2014 we sang concerts as part of the Música en las Montañas festival in la Alpujarra, Andalucia. In 2016 we toured Nepal, linking up with the Music Department of Kathmandu University and singing in temples, schools and hospitals. In 2017 we visited Georgia, where we collaborated with local musicians and in 2018 we visited Florence, singing in churches and museums. In 2019 we visited Addis Ababa, Lalibela and Gonda in Ethiopia, with a sell-out concert with local choirs in City Hall, Addis Ababa, as well as other concerts and workshops in churches, schools and restaurants across the country. We had a hiatus due to the Covid pandemic in 2020 and 2021, but in 2022 we returned, rather closer to home - we visited Scotland, singing in churches and abbeys in Glasgow, Oban and Iona under our new director, Peter Allwood. In 2023 we visited Portugal, singing in churches in Lisbon and Porto over Easter. In 2024 we were in Egypt, singing in churches, concert halls and a recording studio in and around Cairo. In 2025 we were in Izmir in Türkiye, and in 2026 we were in Bulgaria.
Future plans include tours to Morocco, Hungary, Greece and Armenia. We are delighted to receive regular invitations to perform at corporate events, weddings and other projects: if you would like to book us, please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
