One of the world’s best known vocal ensembles, The King’s Singers, will be performing in the island at St James on Monday 5 August, as one of the Guernsey Literary Festival’s extra arts events for 2019.

And the group will also be hosting a special question and answer session that afternoon at St James aimed at children and adults who are interested in the joy of singing.

Last year The King’s Singers celebrated their golden anniversary, having been formed on 1 May 1968 by six choral scholars who had recently graduated from King’s College Cambridge. Their vocal line-up was two countertenors, a tenor, two baritones and a bass, and the group has never wavered from this formation since.

What really distinguished the group in its early years was its musical diversity. The King’s Singers were a weekly fixture on prime-time television, celebrating popular music never usually touched by choral ensembles, and their unique British charm, combined with their precise musical craft, captured audiences’ hearts the world over.

The King’s Singers have performed on some of the world’s great stages, including the Royal Albert Hall, the Opera House in Sydney and New York’s Carnegie Hall – as well as being ambassadors for musical excellence across the globe.

They also see as their mission bringing the joy of singing to as many people as possible through workshops and performances in schools.

Work for them has been commissioned by some of the world’s top modern composers, including Sir John Tavener, Toru Takemitsu, John Rutter and Eric Whitacre.

The two-hour concert on 5 August begins at 7.30 pm at St James and there will be a 20 minute interval. Tickets, priced at £24/£18/£12 are available from the St James box office on 711361 or online at www.guernseyliteraryfestival.com.

The Kings Singers will be joined by the Elizabeth College close harmony group, for inclusion as an encore at the end of their performance at St James.

The special pre-concert Q&A event has been arranged at 2:30pm at St James on 5th August. Tickets to the Q&A session are free and open to all, but must be booked online at www.guernseyliteraryfestival.com.

The Guernsey Literary Festival’s final event this year will be The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah, one of Britain’s best known poets, on 1 November.