The Team
The Festival was founded by three choral conducting practitioners, and a passionate singer whose organisational and business skills have supported and advanced the prosperity of more than one choral venture.
James Davey
James is one of the UK's most distinguished and respected choral directors, in demand for his work as conductor, choir trainer, choral education practitioner, arranger and adjudicator. A graduate of the MA Choral Education course at Roehampton University, James is Musical Director for; Chantage - winners of the Malta International Choral Competition 2015 and BBC Radio 3 Choir of the Year 2006, the Chandos Chamber Choir, the Halstead & District Choral Society and the staff choir at Channel 4 TV. Formerly the chief choral advisor for the BBC’s sheet music archives, James has delivered projects for the BBC Singers Education Department as well as regularly conducting and preparing choirs for broadcasts on TV and Radio. He is also involved in education as Choral Conductor for the Royal College of Music Junior Department and as a conducting tutor for the Association of British Choral Directors and the Association of Irish Choirs. During the summer he also tutors for the Cranleigh Choral Week and the Sherborne Summer School of Music. |
Mark Griffiths
Mark has been Musical Director of Coro since 2003, during which time he has conducted the choir to international competitive success, in regular concerts throughout Britain and Europe, and on radio and CD. Educated at Cambridge University and the Royal College of Music, Mark made the first part of his career as a professional singer, working in opera, church music and commercial recordings. He is now increasingly in demand as a choral conductor, working with a wide range of choirs, from large symphonic choruses (including the Philharmonia Chorus and Brighton Festival Chorus) to a number of prestigious chamber choirs. He is a Conducting Tutor for the Association of British Choral Directors, a Music Mentor for Music For Youth and was recipient of a Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship. Mark also has a wealth of experience with younger singers, having worked for years with the award-winning Berkshire Youth Choirs, and is currently Lead Tutor in Voice at Junior Trinity (the Junior Department of Trinity Laban Conservatoire). |
Amy Bebbington
Amy is a passionate advocate for choral singing and choral conductor training. She is sought-after for her dynamic and engaging teaching style, particularly with young adults at the outset of their careers, and for her wealth of choral pedagogical experience. Amy holds First Class Honours and Master’s Degrees in Piano Performance (UK), and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting (USA). She is the Director of Training for the Association of British Choral Directors, an organisation that sits at the forefront of choral conductor training in the UK, and was the Artistic Director of its convention in Winchester, 2016. At the Royal Academy of Music, Amy leads the Licentiate Diploma Course (Choral Conducting, Teaching) and the undergraduate Aural Skills Choir. She also works closely with the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain, most frequently as a Musicianship Tutor. Amy has taught choral conducting for The University of Cambridge, The Royal College of Organists, the Association of Irish Choirs and the Halle Youth Choir, and has successfully established her own Choral Conducting Masterclass Series. She enjoys adjudicating at International Music Festivals, is a published composer, and is in great demand as a choral clinician, mentor and clinician. |
Robin Paterson
Robbie has been singing in choirs for most of his life. From his local church and school choir he went on to sing in the Berkshire Youth Choir, the National Youth Choir and British Youth Opera. He continued to sing whilst pursuing his professional career as a management consultant and headhunter, singing with the New York Oratorio society then joining Coro as a founder committee member in 2000. He was Treasurer and - more importantly - Social Secretary of Coro for the first ten years of its life and continues to sing in the choir, though now from the back benches. Professionally, Robbie is a Partner at CurzonTrinitas, a specialist executive search firm based in St. James's Square, London. |
Festival Trustees |
Festival Staff |
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