Sam Evans is recognised as one of Britain’s most versatile young conductors. With special interest in choral music and opera, he is passionate about enabling performers and firmly believes that everyone who wants to sing can, no matter what their background and musical experience.

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He is currently Music Director of Battersea Choral Society in London, Battersea Power Station Community Choir, and the Kew Gardens Choir. He was formerly Director of the vocal ensembles at Kingston University, Music Director of Teddington Choral Society, and Choral Director at the University of Reading. In 2018 he was invited by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew to form a brand new choir from the local area, to perform at the re-opening of the Temperate House at Kew Gardens. This choir ended up being 100 strong, and performed to great acclaim in the presence of Sir David Attenborough.

Sam is an also an experienced conductor of opera. He was formerly Artistic Director of Riverside Opera in south west London, and conducted fully-staged productions of Bizet Carmen and Gounod Romeo and Juliet for the company. In 2018, he conducted a fully-staged production of Verdi's La Traviata for Hampstead Garden Opera, and will conduct the same production in Sicily in November 2019. With 20 years experience as a member of the Monteverdi Choir, Sam is much in demand for his knowledge of the music of Bach, and directs the annual Bach Choral Course at the University of St. Andrews.

Freelance conducting engagements have included conducting cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason (winner of BBC Young Musician of the Year) at the launch of the BBC Radio Christmas season 2016, and acting as Chorus Master for the BBC Singers for a performance of Glanert's "Megaris", with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sakari Oramo. In September 2016 he acted as Chorus Master for the Monteverdi Choir in performances of Mendelssohn's "Lobgesang" with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra under Andrew Manze. In April 2018 he was guest Chorus Master for the Swedish Radio Choir for performances of Mozart C Minor Mass with the Berlin Philharmonic, conducted by Daniel Harding. He recently assisted Daniel Harding for a performance of Messiah with the Wiener Singakademie and Concentus Musicus Wien at the Barocktage Stift Melk in Austria. In October 2019 he will chorus master the Swedish Radio Choir for performances of Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius in Stockholm. READ MORE

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Nicki Kennedy is a famously energetic and enthusiastic communicator with a huge range of tools in her teaching kit. She is a highly skilled diagnostician with a great deal of knowledge and experience and uses this with commitment and vitality to help companies, public speakers, children, adults, young professional and aspiring professional singers fine tune their voices and communication and performance skills.

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Nicki works for the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain, the Rodolfus Foundation Courses and, until moving to Jersey in summer 2019, taught the undergraduate Choral Scholars at Christ’s College, Cambridge University. She has taught at Junior Conservatoire (Trinity College of Music) and guided young treble choristers (Southwell Minster)..

 

She was Head of Singing at Repton School and at Gresham’s School where she taught children from the very young age of 9 or 10 through to 18 years old, in a variety of styles and genres from Classical to Contemporary Commercial Music and Musical Theatre. At Gresham’s she conducted a number of choirs, including the Chapel Choir and Chamber Choir at the Prep School and the Junior Choir at the Senior School.

A member of the British Voice Association, the ISM and of the Association of Teachers of Singing, Nicki attends courses to learn about vocal anatomy and methods of teaching and works collaboratively with colleagues to learn from them and refresh her ideas. Recent courses include Aberystwyth (Ron Morris), Estill 5 day course, and lectures by voice therapists, voice coaches, and rehabilitation specialists Sarah Harris, Ed Blake, Christina Shewell, Dane Chalfin, Ken Bozeman, Heidi Moss, Barbara Houseman and others.

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Alastair is a much acclaimed Tenor and Actor with a great deal of performance experience in many genres. He trained at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts where he was awarded a scholarship. He has been part of numerous film soundtrack recordings. Alastair is also in high demand as a singing teacher, teaching from his studio in Walthamstow.

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Alastair specialises in solving technical issues and rehabilitating damaged voices in both classical and musical theatre singers. He combines his teaching with a successful performing career in the West End.

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Kerry believes that through a supportive, encouraging, and positive approach everyone can not only learn to sing but they will also benefit both physically and mentally from the positive ‘side effects’ singing has, in particular when singing in groups (evidenced by formal research.) About Kerry McDunnough, BMus, PGDip, LRAM, a professional singer, graduated from the Royal Academy of Music with both a postgraduate diploma in vocal performance and the Academy’s prestigious teaching diploma, LRAM (Distinction).

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As an actively performing classical singer, Kerry’s past engagements include concert work for the Canadian embassy, opera work for Opera by Definition, concert work with members of the Jools Holland Orchestra, singing at the music festival Secret Garden Party, and several corporate events where venues included the Mandarin Oriental, the Dorchester, Tower Bridge, Sir John Soane’s Museum and the Museum of Brands.

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Kerry has taught at various educational establishments such as Morley College, Arts Education, Merton Music Foundation, Hampstead Fine Arts College, St Martha’s Senior School, and privately. She has successfully prepared students for Associated Board and Trinity exams, musical theatre and classical auditions. Kerry works with The Priory Hospital, North London, providing patients with individual and group lessons. She also provides short talks on how music and singing can make a difference to improving wellbeing both in the immediate and more permanently. Corporate clients, such as Kew Gardens, Chelsea Physic Garden, and Battersea Power Station, have enjoyed Kerry’s expertise, energiser sessions for teams, and work place choirs. READ MORE

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Alex Ashworth is a concert and opera singer working across Europe and the United Kingdom. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music and has sung with opera houses including Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Welsh National Opera and Scottish Opera. Abroad he has performed for the Opéra Comique in Paris, Opéra de Lille and the Icelandic Opera.

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Alex’s recordings include Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex with the London Symphony Orchestra, Monteverdi’s Vespers with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Bach’s B Minor Mass and St Matthew Passion for Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the English Baroque Soloists and Handel’s Giulio Cesare for Glyndebourne Festival Opera (DVD). 2019 sees the release of a new recording of the Magnificat by both Bach and Kuhnau with the baroque collective Solomon’s Knot, of whom Alex is a regular member.

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Notable concert performances include Oedipus Rex with the Berlin Philharmonic, St Matthew Passion on tour across Europe and Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem for the Three Choirs Festival. Alex recently performed in the inaugural Alamo Baroque Festival in Texas and on a tour of over twenty performances of several of Bach’s cantatas around Europe with Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Highlights in 2019 include performances of Bach with Solomon’s Knot in the Wigmore Hall, at the Leipzig Bachfest and the BBC Proms and the role of Pompeo in Berlioz’s Benvenuto Cellini in Berlin, Versailles and the Proms for Sir John Eliot Gardiner.

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Alongside his performing career, Alex is a Professor of Singing at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

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From 2002-2009, he taught at the Söngskólinn í Reykjavík.

He has given masterclasses in Spain and the United States, and has taught over twenty-thousand hours of one-to-one lessons. His teaching method and philosophy can be found at Intentional Singing.

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