Composer | Arranger | Singer | Educator
August NEWS
It's been so great to get back to travelling over the past few months, and August has been a rewarding month of teaching.
A week in the beautiful surroundings of Snape Maltings in Suffolk teaching on the Jazz Week for Aldeburgh Young Musicians alongside Mike Walker (guitar), Trish Clowes (sax), Dave Hamblett (drums) and Dominic Ingham (violin) was the perfect way to kick off the month, with some brilliant music made and written. You can learn more about the AYM programme here.
Straight on to the whirlwind that was Vocal Pop & Jazz Days in Soesterberg, Netherlands. Six full days rehearsing 4 choirs, running workshops and generally having a ball. It was wonderful to reconnect with the other "Masters", Deke Sharon (US), and Merel Martens (NL).
July NEWS
July has been rammed full of awesome music! I was so proud of all my graduating students at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and we finished off the academic year in style, with a huge evening of choir and big band!
But perhaps one of my favourite things ever was meeting and working with jazz harpist and vocalist Tara Minton for the first time. Her beautiful album "Please Do Not Forget The Mermaids" is a wonderful original work inspired by myths and imaginings of Mermaids through the ages. A one-off night at Ronnie Scott's featuring full band, 4 vocalists and UK sax legend Stan Sulzmann was a total joy. In small part because it was air conditioned, and we escaped the hottest day of the year so far...
Enjoy more of Tara's work here.
June NEWS
Travel is back in full force! What a relief! Two mini trips with maximum fun. We finally got to perform John Featherstone's "Te Deum" setting for Classical Choir singing in Lating, Jazz Quartet singing in French, and Jazz-Gospel Quartet singing in English! I love singing in this quartet with my former Swingle colleagues Sara Brimer, Jon Smith and Kevin Fox!
It's been quite a few years since I was last at Aarhus Vocal Festival as a performer, and I loved my first time there as a teacher. So many old friends to hug and make music with, and it is always an opportunity to hear a wealth of incredible music.
Favourite sounds? Åkervinda for sure! You can find out more about them here.