Editing Ex Cathedra (section)

{{short description|British choir and early music ensemble}}
{{About|the British choir|the Roman Catholic belief|Papal infallibility}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = Ex Cathedra
| image           = ExCathedra-BirminghamTownHallCafe-byJamesAshby-20080301.jpg
| image_size      = 200px
| alt             =
| caption         = Ex Cathedra in the foyer of [[Birmingham Town Hall]], where it is an Associate Artist
| background      = classical_ensemble
| alias           =
| origin          = [[Birmingham]], England
| genre           =
| years_active    = {{start date|1969}}–present
| label           = {{Unbulleted list|  [[ASV Records]] | [[Hyperion Records]] | Own label }}
| associated_acts =
| website         = {{URL|www.excathedra.co.uk}}
| current_members =
| past_members    =}}
[[File:ExCathedra-BirminghamTownHall-byJamesAshby-20080301.jpg|thumb|upright|The Ex Cathedra Choir in performance at the [[Birmingham Town Hall]] – photographed on 1 March 2008]]
[[File:ExCathedra-logo.jpg|right|150px|Ex Cathedra's logo]]

'''Ex Cathedra''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|ɛ|k|s|_|k|ə|ˈ|θ|eɪ|d|r|ə}} {{respell|EKS|kə|THAY|drə}}) is a leading British [[choir]] and [[early music]] [[musical ensemble|ensemble]] based in [[Birmingham]] in the [[West Midlands (county)|West Midlands]], England. It performs choral music spanning the 15th to 21st centuries, and regularly commissions new works.

Ex Cathedra was founded in Birmingham in 1969 by [[Jeffrey Skidmore]] OBE, its [[artistic director (music)|artistic director]] and conductor. It comprises a chamber choir of about 40 singers, a specialist vocal Consort made up of ten professional singers who feature regularly as [[solo (music)|soloists]], and a [[Baroque music|Baroque]] ensemble/orchestra. It is known for its passion for seeking out the best, the unfamiliar and the unexpected in the choral repertoire and for giving dynamic performances underpinned by detailed research.

Each year, the choir presents a season of diverse programmes in a variety of venues in and around Birmingham, across the Midlands and in London. It has been a resident ensemble at [[Birmingham Town Hall]] [[Symphony Hall, Birmingham|Symphony Hall]] since 2007.<ref name="Ex Cathedra website"/><ref name="Birmingham Post">{{citation|author=Terry Grimley|title=Ex Cathedra launches new season|url=http://www.birminghampost.net/life-leisure-birmingham-guide/birmingham-culture/tm_headline%3Dex-cathedra-launches-new-season%26method%3Dfull%26objectid%3D19935332%26siteid%3D50002-name_page.html|newspaper=[[Birmingham Post]]|date=11 October 2007|access-date=19 June 2008|archive-date=21 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521224331/http://www.birminghampost.net/life-leisure-birmingham-guide/birmingham-culture/tm_headline%3Dex-cathedra-launches-new-season%26method%3Dfull%26objectid%3D19935332%26siteid%3D50002-name_page.html|url-status=dead}}.</ref> Since 2014 has made regular appearances at [[Hereford Cathedral]], St Peter's Collegiate Church in Wolverhampton, [[Southwell Minster]] and St James the Greater in Leicester.

Ex Cathedra has been invited to perform in concert series and festivals across the UK and as far afield as Israel and New York, including the [[The Proms|BBC Proms]] where it performed [[Stockhausen]] in 2013, the [[Barbican Centre]], Brighton Early Music Festival, Cheltenham Music Festival, [[Edinburgh International Festival]], Kilkenny Festival, Lichfield Festival, London Festival of Baroque Music, [[Spitalfields Festival]], St David's Festival, [[Three Choirs Festival]] and [[York Early Music Festival]].<ref name="Ex Cathedra website">{{citation|title=Ex Cathedra|url=http://www.ex-cathedra.org/about.php|publisher=Ex Cathedra|accessdate=19 June 2008|url-status=usurped|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509092221/http://www.ex-cathedra.org/about.php|archivedate=9 May 2008}}.</ref> The group has also appeared at festivals in [[Belgium]], [[Finland]], France, (Germany), Israel, Italy and Spain. 

Ex Cathedra has collaborated with [[Fretwork (music group)]], the City Musick, [[His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts]], [[Concerto Palatino]], [[Birmingham Opera Company]], Sinfonia New York, [[Birmingham Royal Ballet]], the [[City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra]], Quebecois dance company Cas Public, the [[Shakespeare Institute]], and the [[Shakespeare Birthplace Trust]].

The first [[list of period instruments|period instrument]] orchestra to be established in an English regional city,<ref>{{citation|title=Ex Cathedra Baroque Orchestra|url=http://www.goldbergweb.com/en/interpreters/orchestras/7723.php|publisher=[[Goldberg Magazine|Goldberg: The Early-Music Portal]]|year=2003|accessdate=18 December 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061127140543/http://www.goldbergweb.com/en/interpreters/orchestras/7723.php|archive-date=27 November 2006|url-status=dead}}.</ref> Ex Cathedra's Baroque Orchestra was founded as part of the choir's 1983–1984 season and made its début with a performance of [[Johann Sebastian Bach|Bach]]'s ''[[Mass in B Minor]]''. Comprising the UK's leading period instrumentalists, the orchestra's principals regularly give [[master class]]es and coach students at the [[Birmingham Conservatoire]] as part of its early music programme.<ref name="Ex Cathedra website"/>