ELLIE SLORACH — 22/04/21
Ellie Slorach is a conductor based in the North West of England and an alumna of the University of Manchester. After studying music at the university, she went on to study a Masters degree in conducting at the Royal Northern College of Music. She is currently the Musical Director of Radius Opera, Chester Festival Chorus and Stafford Choral Society, and is the Associate Conductor of Manchester Chamber Choir and Huddersfield Choral Society. She has also conducted the Hallé Orchestra, the ABLE Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and the BBC Philharmonic. Currently, she leads Kantos Chamber Choir – founded by herself in 2015 – which has become one of the leading chamber choirs in the North of England.
ÁINE MALLON — 11/03/21
Áine Mallon – alumna of the University of Manchester – is an Irish composer and musician who enjoys inhabiting a wide variety of styles and genres through her work. In 2020 she was selected as the Contemporary Music Centre of Ireland’s Emerging Composer and received the 2017/18 Emerging Artists Award from Moving on Music. Her works have been performed by many highly acclaimed ensembles including the Hard Rain Soloist Ensemble, the Piatti Quartet, the Kirkos Ensemble, Manchester Renaissance Ensemble, and Lux Chamber Choir. One of her most recent works was included in the New Sounds from Manchester concert for emerging composers at the University of Manchester. As well as composing, she is also an exceptional singer, violinist, Irish traditional fiddle player and pianist.
ANNA LAPWOOD — 04/03/21
Anna Lapwood is a conductor, organist, broadcaster, and multi-instrumentalist currently Director of Music at Pembroke College, Cambridge. As a broadcaster, she has hosted BBC Television’s coverage of BBC Young Musician, a weekly classical music show on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, Scala Radio, has been featured on Classic FM, and is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4. As well as conducting the Chapel Choir and Girls’ Choir at Pembroke College Cambridge, she has conducted the BBC Singers as part of the BBC Proms Inspire programme and her own NHS Chorus-19 virtual choir. She was awarded an Organ Scholarship at Magdalen College (the first woman to receive this scholarship in the college’s 560-year history) and has performed at the Royal Albert Hall, the Royal Festival Hall, and St David’s Hall, Cardiff. In a discipline so heavily dominated by men, Anna is an inspiration to many young women who aspire to become organists.
OLIVER TARNEY — 18/02/21
University of Manchester alumnus – Oliver Tarney is a nationally acclaimed choral composer. He studied Music at Manchester and subsequently achieved a Master’s degree in Composition. He is currently Head of Academic Music and Composition at Winchester College in Hampshire and has written for choirs ranging from amateur to professional, and children to adults. Major works include his Magnificat, The Waiting Sky, A Prayer of Richard of Chichester, Missa Media Nocte and a St Mark Passion – commissioned by the St Endellion Easter Festival. Oliver Tarney’s ‘Stars’ was one of the pieces the University of Manchester Chorus thoroughly enjoyed rehearsing online this year.
JUSTIN DOYLE — 11/02/21
Previously Musical Director of the University of Manchester Chorus, Justin Doyle is renowned across Europe as a distinguished choral and orchestral conductor. Currently, he is Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the RIAS Kammerchor in Berlin and has recently been appointed as a visiting professor in Choral Conducting at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler. He has also conducted the Orchestra of Opera North, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Hallé Orchestra, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Finnish Baroque Orchestra, King’s Camerata, Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, New London Orchestra, Manchester Camerata, Sinfonia of Leeds, and Jersey Chamber Orchestra. His position as Director of the RIAS Kammerchor has allowed him to conduct a diverse range of repertoire within some of Europe’s biggest venues.
MATTHEW HAMILTON — 28/01/21
Matthew Hamilton is a choral conductor and director who works with leading choirs across Europe. He has been Choral Director at the Hallé since 2015, and is also Associate Director of London Symphony Chorus, and Musical Director of New London Chamber Choir. Previously, he has conducted the BBC Singers, Netherlands Chamber Choir, Choeur de Radio France, ChorWerk Ruhr, BBC Symphony Chorus, CBSO Chorus, NYCGB, the Hallé, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and Manchester Camerata. Having read Music at Oxford University, and Composition at the University of Manchester, he studied Conducting at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Future plans include working with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain as well as continuing to direct major choral projects with the Hallé.
RUTH EVANS — 26/11/20
Ruth Evans is a Welsh choral conductor and singer who is currently Head of Artistic Planning and Participation at the National Youth Choir of Great Britain. She was previously Senior Education Projects Manager at Glyndebourne Opera House and has also worked at Welsh National Opera, NEW Sinfonia, and Ensemble Cymru. Having studied Music at Oxford University with a choral scholarship, she then achieved a Master’s in Music from Bangor University. Alongside her role at NYCGB, she is a choral conductor and tutor at Sing for Pleasure, CânSing, and Morland Choristers’ Camp.
NAOMI LEWIS — 19/11/20
Naomi Lewis – alumna of the University of Manchester – is currently the Chorus Manager of the Royal Opera Chorus. After completing her undergraduate study of Music at Manchester, and a Master’s in Composition at King’s College London, she took on the role at age 27. She has previously worked with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Welsh National Opera, and Glyndebourne. She is a passionate classical musician and composer who has secured a remarkably successful start to her career in music management.
JOHN CASKEN — 5/11/20
An Emeritus Professor of Music at the University of Manchester, John Casken is an internationally acclaimed composer. He has worked closely with many orchestras – Royal Northern Sinfonia, BBC Philharmonic, the Hallé, Philharmonia Orchestra, and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra – and has had works performed by many notable ensembles – the Lindsey String Quartet, Hilliard Ensemble, Ensemble 10/10, Psappha, and the Quatuor Danel. His works have been performed at the BBC Proms, many UK festivals, and international festivals including Warsaw, Tokyo, Aspen, Maastricht, Salzburg, Vienna, Montepulciano, and Schleswig-Holstein. The Manchester University Chorus is excited to be premiering a specially commissioned John Casken piece next year.
PAUL MEALOR — 22/10/20
Paul Mealor is a world-renowned composer from Wales. His choral output is particularly influential and he is considered to be one of the world’s most performed living composers. His works have been performed by many esteemed ensembles, including Her Majesty’s Chapel Royal Choir, St Petersburg Chamber Choir, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the BBC Philharmonic, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and most recently, Tenebrae Choir and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – who feature on his bestselling album, ‘A Tender Light’ (2011). He has had works performed at Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee, the Welsh Proms, the National Eisteddfod, and New York’s Carnegie Hall.