Simon O’Neill has rapidly established himself as one of the finest helden-tenors. (Which means he is known as a heroic tenor, with a rich, dark powerful and dramatic voice.) A native of New Zealand, he is principal artist with the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, La Scala and both the Bayreuth and Salzburg Festivals, appearing with a number of illustrious conductors including James Levine, Riccardo Muti, Valery Gergiev, Antonio Pappano, Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Sir Charles Mackerras, Sir Colin Davis, Daniele Gatti, Edo de Waart, Bertrand de Billy, Donald Runnicles and Pietari Inkinen.

Click here to hear Simon singing Puccini’s Nessun dorma.

Heather Phillips – For 15 years Heather was a Corporate Finance Lawyer, 10 of them as a partner in a busy City Law Firm, where she was also responsible for training. Subsequently she was on the Board of Directors of a large nationwide call centre business. She’s also a member of an amateur choir.

“I began to notice several remarkable things about the choir I joined. We bonded very quickly, even though many of us had seemingly little in common. Over a very short period we got much better at the skills that helped us perform better, largely how we communicated with our audience and presented ourselves. On a personal level, no matter how I felt I went into rehearsal, I came out feeling relaxed and uplifted.

Law Firms and Call Centres are both stressful places to work- for different reasons. “Feel Good Factor” can be hard to generate. Confident communication and presentation skills are hard to teach in a time and cost effective way. A surprising number of people would love the chance to sing but lack time and confidence.

Whether as part of our training programme, or to help us motivate and retain staff, or just as an alternative to a depressing, soggy sandwich and newspaper at my desk at lunchtime, I wish I’d have set up an office choir at work……..and so I’ve set up Singingworks to help others do just that.”

Darron Moore – Darron is the Director of Music of Singingworks. He is a conductor and classical singer. He has performed all over the world and shared a stage with Placido Domingo, Angela Georgiou, Sir Thomas Allen and Dame Gwyneth Jones, to name but a few. As a Professor of Singing he has taught at The Trinity College of Music, London and Queens University, Belfast. Darron has been leading Choirs for Singingworks since it’s inception. “Nothing gives me greater pleasure than teaching and conducting amateur choirs. It never ceases to amaze me how much latent musical talent lies unseen and unheard all around us. Notwithstanding our public performances, which have been magical, my proudest moment has been hearing one of our singers, who would have described herself as tone deaf, lead the alto section, she sings with, through a very difficult piece, note perfect. She proved to me that everyone can sing – if we learn to listen. I’m very grateful to her and our other singers for reminding me what music is really for, for their enthusiam and friendship.”

Kate Bishop

Kate is a classically trained Mezzo Soprano, a Music Leader, a recording artist, song writer and singing teacher. As a soloist she has sung The Armed Man under Karl Jenkins at The Royal Festival Hall, Hansel und Gretel at Sadler’s Wells and much of the sacred music repertoire. She has sung with the Raymond Gubbay Chorus, Classical Opera Company and Carl Rosa Opera Company. Opera’s have included Madame Butterfly, Tosca, Carmen and The Marriage of Figaro at venues including the Royal Albert Hall and the O2. Kate was voted runner up in Classic FM’s Most Wanted list singing Take Me Home under her recording artist name “Kate Corrigan”. Kate sings in the choir of St Augustine’s South Kensington, vocal groups The Madrigirls and Viva La Bop and is the Music Director of an Acappella close harmony group which she founded for talented teenagers. Kate is a graduate of the Royal College of Music.

Alexander Chaplin

Alexander is an Oxford Organ scholar graduate, choral and orchestral conductor, keyboard player , organist and lecturer at Morley College where he conducted “Can’t Sing” Choirs! He has also conducted the non-auditioning choir and orchestra at Guy’s, Kings and St Thomas’s Hospitals for both students and hospital staff performing at Southward Cathedral. Alexander is the Music Director at other Choral Societies based in and around London including the East London Chorus, Harlow Chorus Wokingham Chorus and Director of Music at the Hinde Street Methodist Church.

Ian Chesworth

Ian is a conductor, singer and organist. In 2012 Ian worked with Gareth Malone on the first series of “Sing while you work”, featuring Manchester Airport Choir under Ian’s direction as MD. Ian has also directed the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra ‘Supersing Classics’ programme at the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. Singers from all over Europe have attended Ian’s intensive choral workshops in Dunster, Somerset and he has judged the national Amateur Choral Competition since its inception. Ian conducts a number of musically diverse choirs in the Manchester area, including Manchester Philharmonic Choir, KEMS Choir and Bolton Chamber Choir. Having trained as a singer to postgraduate level at the RNCM, Ian’s operatic roles have included Edrisi and Chorus (King Roger), Spoletta (Tosca), Silvio (Pagliacci) and Monostatos (The Magic Flute).

Pete Churchill

Pete earned his choral conducting credentials as organ scholar at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. Since then he has straddled musical genres working as a community musician. Currently Pete’s portfolio as a freelancer includes school and early years work, running a music project for mental health service users and working with those in the penal system. Since 2011 he has been the Musical Director of The Choir with No Name in Birmingham, which was set up for those whose lives have been affected by homelessness. Pete describes himself as a ‘musical chameleon’ playing accordion in a gypsy band, bass in a rock band and Bach at home everyday on the piano!

Julian Collings

Julian is a conductor, organist and pianist. He is Musical Director of Corporate Voices and Ad Libitum Chamber Choir, Director of Music at St Cyprian’s Church Clarence Gate and works with several amateur choirs including East London Chorus, RSCM Southern Cathedral Singers and West Barnes Singers. A graduate of Christ’s College, Cambridge, Julian has made several recordings with Christ’s College Choir as organist and as part of the Svyati Duo recorded two discs of music for organ and cello.

John Cuthbert

John is a pianist, accompanist, repetiteur and singer. He is a Graduate of the Royal College of Music as a Master of Music specialising in Piano Accompaniment , and studied with Simon Lepper and Roger Vignoles. His singing work has included playing Dr Daly in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Sorcerer with New London Opera Group. As an accompanist he has performanced live on BBC Radio 3’s programme “In Tune”. As a Celeste player with the City of London Sinfonia and also London Symphony Orchestra he has performed in the “Conquering the Antartic” & toured London, Salzburg and Lucerne for Prokofiev’s Cinderella.

Nathan Jarvis

Nathan Jarvis is a Classical Pianist (London College of Music/Guildhall), Musical Director, Vocalist, Vocal Coach and Arranger. He has acted as musical director for numerous productions at such venues as The Criterion (West End), Soho Theatre, Charing Cross Theatre, Leicester Square Theatre and Hoxton Hall. Nathan has taught at many Drama Schools (Arts Ed, RADA, London Studio Centre, LSMT) and was Head of Musical Theatre in Manchester for 8 years. As a member of The National Youth Choir of Great Britain, he sang for Karl Jenkins on the original recording of ‘Armed Man: A Mass for peace’ and has performed in many prestigious UK venues (including Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall). He performed as a backing vocalist for the band ‘James’ on their UK tour, ‘New Order’ and the ‘Charlatans’ and is the Musical Director for jazz singer Harriet Eaves. His website is www.nathancjarvis.co.uk.

Emily Leather

Emily graduated as an Opera Coach/repetiteur at the Guildhall and Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. She has since enjoyed a varied career as Music Director, Repetiteur, Animateur and Composer/Arranger in both the US and UK. She was on staff with Cincinnati Opera, Portland Opera and Kentucky Opera as pianist and assistant chorus master and with Opera Manhattan as conductor for Dido and Aeneas. In the UK she has been MD for Opera Up Close in the West End productions of La Bohème and Don Giovanni and is currently repetiteur for the Youth Opera Chorus at the Royal Opera Hose. Passionate about working with people of all ages and abilities, Emily regularly runs workshops across the country, works with youth theatres and choirs and most recently appeared in the acclaimed new production The Events, with ATC and The Young Vic, as onstage pianist and choir leader.

Darron Moore

Darron is a Conductor, Singer and pianist. He has sung with the Royal Opera House, Holland Park Opera, English Touring Opera, Opera Brava, Garden Opera, Wexford Festival Opera, Opera de Lyon, Opera de Monte Carlo and London Voices, among others. He has given over 200 performances as a soloist all over the world. He has taught singing at Queens University Belfast and held a Professorship of Singing at Trinity College Of Music. He studied Music at the Royal Northern College of Music and the Birmingham Conservatoire and has won various prizes including, the John Ireland Song Prize, Clare Rose Bowl For Opera, BMI Singing Prize and Conaldir Award for Singing.

Omar Shahryar

Omar is a British-Bangladeshi composer, director and educator specialising in Opera and vocal music. In 2013 Omar founded EastEnd Notes, a cross-cultural male-voice choir, with support from the Spitalfields Festival, singing arrangements of Sufi Qawaali, Jewish songs, Beatle medleys, and Mozart, as well as a special new commission by composer Arun Ghosh. Recent compositions include the soundtracks to the films ‘A Silent Picnic’ and ‘Self Raising’ (Hatstand Productions), and his chamber opera ‘The Sweeper of Dreams’ appeared at the Tete-a-tete opera Festival in August 2014. Omar is frequently engaged as a stage director for the UK’s major opera companies including Royal Opera, English National Opera, Glyndebourne, Scottish Opera, Opera North, Birmingham Opera, Garsington and Grange Park. As an educator, Omar has created and facilitated workshops to engage and inspire hard-to-reach communities with unique needs.

Dominic Stichbury

Dominic is a singer, choir leader, arranger, creative facilitator, Beat-Boxer and keyboard player based in London. He has worked for The Southbank centre, Spitalfields Music, Opera North, The Choir With No Name and other educational organisations in London. He is founder and Leader of the London based Chaps Choir and currently leads the Landmark Singers. Under Dominic’s direction, the Chaps Choir has performed at The Roundhouse, The Union Chapel, Natural History Museum and Serpentine Gallery and collaborated with renowned soul artist Omar and folk star Samantha Whates. Dominic sings tenor with The London Vocal Project under the direction of Pete Churchill and has collaborated with some of the world’s leading writers and performers.

David Todd

David is an organist, composer and conductor. He read music at University College Oxford, where he was also Organ Scholar. He now studies Choral Conducting at the Royal Academy of Music, and is Director of Music for the Parish of Wanstead, London. David was invited to conduct in the Oxford Shakespeare Festival, and was conductor for John Eccles’ opera The Judgment of Paris at the Ashmolean, the first Oxford performance since its modern premiere in the 1960s. He also set up the University College Staff Choir made up entirely of college staff, thought to be one of the first of its type in any Oxbridge college. In 2013 he founded the BFO Chorus, a large choir which performs in Birmingham alongside Jamie Phillips’ Birmingham Festival Orchestra. As a composer, David had his choral and orchestral pieces premiered by the BBC Singers and Oxford Philomusica Orchestra. Recent performanced include Handel’s Organ Concerto in G Minor with the Kings Chamber Orchestra and recitals of Messiaen’s complete organ suiteLa Nativité du Seigneur.