London’s Royal Albert Hall. This inspirational building gave rise to an inspired idea.

How it all began

Messiah from Scratch® arose out of a desire to perform in the Royal Albert Hall. ‘Four mad scientists’, working next door to the RAH at Imperial College and adopting the name ‘the Tuesday Partnership’, agreed to stump up the cost between them. The four partners decided on the basic format of the event in a flurry of activity in the spring of 1974.

The first Messiah from Scratch®  included amateur players in the orchestra as well as amateur singers. It was mainly advertised by handing out leaflets outside the Albert Hall throughout the 1974 Proms season. Somehow the response grew from a trickle to a flood as the idea spread by word of mouth. Even BBC Television took up the story and filmed the event. The conductor on that first night, Gavin Park, stood up to face the unknown, with the media poised to report a catastrophe. It never came – the outcome was a triumph for all concerned, and Messiah from Scratch® is now an annual feature in the RAH calendar. Each performance fills every available seat at the Royal Albert Hall year after year. There is no rehearsal for the chorus, just a hugely exciting, adrenaline-filled performance which thrills singers and audience alike.

In 2024, Messiah from Scratch® celebrated its 50th anniversary.  Much more information about how it all began, the early performances, and the people behind them, is available in the news items posted during that year. Read the first article here and then click through ‘next in the series’ at the foot of each article.

Sir David Willcocks (1919–2015) took over the musical helm in 1979 and remained our principal conductor until 2010. Brian Kay, well-known broadcaster, choral director and founder member of the King’s Singers, then took over. Performances of Messiah from Scratch® now benefit from a professional orchestra, with young professional soloists chosen by audition.  The parent company, Scratch Concerts Ltd (usually known as Concerts from Scratch), also runs choral holidays abroad and choral cruises. These are organised  in association with our long-term travel partners, Specialised Travel Concert Touring Ltd. Between 2014 and 2024, Concerts from Scratch also ran a highly regarded annual summer school directed by Brian Kay. The company is run by three families, all of whom are themselves singers. Click here to meet our admin team.