The King's Singers (l to r: Nick Ashby, Patrick Dunachie, Julian Gregory, Edward Button, Christopher Bruerton, Jonathan Howard) Photo: Frances Marshall
Christchurch-raised baritone Chris Bruerton didn't find The King's Singers, they found him.
That's how it works with the English based a capella supergroup.
"When The King's Singers came a-calling, it was kind of surreal, really....," Bruerton remembers.
"I got an email from out of the blue.... I thought, I've got nothing to lose so I'll give it my best shot."
Bruerton's best shot was more than good enough and all the more remarkable as he'd barely been in England a year, having made the call to move to the other side of the world to see if he could make singing his career.
That's now over a decade ago and Bruerton is currently the second most senior member of the ensemble. In fact, at age 39, he describes himself as an elder statesmen, even though he was born well after The King's Singers formed in 1968.
When he arrived in the UK, he wasn't sure what sort of singing he'd do. Probably not opera, but he was comfortable singing oratorio, art song, close harmony, choral music. His voice could have taken him down any of those roads.
Then The King's Singers came calling and hijacked his career in the best possible way.
Christopher Bruerton Photo: Frances Marshall
Back in New Zealand on holiday, Bruerton told Three to Seven's Bryan Crump that he's stayed with The King's Singers because his high baritone voice fits perfectly within the ensemble.
No more struggling along on a bass line, to the extent that he felt it was better not to warm up ahead of performing, lest he find himself unable to plumb those bottom notes.
"When I joined The King's Singers, it was the first time in my life that there was a part that fitted my range."
Then there's the group's collaborative approach to music making.
After playing a recording of the group performing a delightful but complicated little number by the contemporary composer Ligeti, Three to Seven asked how the singers coordinated with each other. Does someone lead?
No.
"From day one of The King's Singers, you're an equal part of the partnership. You feel empowered to be one sixth of the musical process," says Bruerton.
Which means when the group first takes on a piece, there will be a fair bit of talking before the singing commences. Bruerton says the process is a bit like navigating road signs in a car.
"You figure out the music. You plot the signposts where you're going to arrive together, and agree on the next course."
It's a mix of tight ensemble and risk taking, "and it doesn't always work, but we believe the way to keep live music relevant is to keep trying stuff, not just to press play on a machine and you get the same experience each time. There has to be a reason why live music exists, and for us it's the chance to take risks".
And the group gives itself plenty of opportunities to do that. Now the worst of the Covid pandemic is hopefully over, the singers are back to touring 200 days a year.
"Heathrow Airport feels like a second home."
The King’s Singers are coming to Aotearoa in March next year, presenting a programme called ‘Songbirds’ at the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts.
The collection of bird-inspired songs spans the last 500 years, juxtaposing ancient and modern from the likes of Renaissance composer Clément Janequin to Fleetwood Mac and The Beatles.
Given the theme of concert, does Bruerton miss New Zealand birdsong, enough maybe to give up the singers and return to Aotearoa one day, or is the King Singers his job for life?
"I don't think 'for life' is a good decision for any job, but for me I am so lucky to travel the world doing what I love.”
Wherever those flights take the group, we hope they'll perform this number when they return to New Zealand.
