The choir dates back to the founding of Royal Holloway as a women's university in 1886 by Queen Victoria. After Royal Holloway began to admit male undergraduates in 1965, the choir assumed its present form of 24 mixed-gender adult singers, admitted by audition to the choir and the university as Choral Scholars, with expenses paid. There is also an associated Organ Scholar. The choir sings at the university's choral evensong service on Thursdays and gives Midweek Music concerts on Wednesdays; both of these events are streamed live on the Internet. In addition, the Choir of Royal Holloway gives about 50 concerts annually in London and beyond. The choir has made several tours of the U.S., appeared in Beijing, and collaborated with such major groups as the BBC Singers, the London Mozart Players, and the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra. The group has commissioned new works from a variety of contemporary composers, including James MacMillan, Richard Rodney Bennett, and Cecilia McDowall. It often programs music from the Baltic countries.
Signing with the Hyperion label, the Choir of Royal Holloway, University of London, released the album Hail, Queen of Heaven: Choral Music of Rihards Dubra in 2009. The association with Hyperion brought the choir added international visibility, and most of the group's nine Hyperion albums were devoted to contemporary music. The choir moved to Decca for the 2017 album Winter Songs, and to Signum Classics for The Hours: Choral Music by Ben Parry in 2020. Prominent alumni of the Choir of Royal Holloway, University of London include Dame Felicity Lott, Susan Bullock, and Sarah Fox. ~ James Manheim, Rovi