Edward Caswell

dward Caswell is a choral conductor, singer and singing teacher.Edward Caswell at Schleswig-Holstein

He went to Christ Church, Oxford, and the Royal College of Music where he studied singing with Norman Bailey. At the age of eighteen he made his conducting debut with Haydn’s Nelson Mass in Oxford and won the Choral Conducting Prize at the Royal College of Music in 1991. He later studied privately with Edward Brooks and Robert Dean.

Since moving to Scotland in 2003, Edward has established himself as a widely respected choral conductor, having previously worked extensively as a singer in particular with the Monteverdi Choir, BBC Singers and as a member of English National Opera.



Edward Caswell's personal website: www.edwardcaswell.co.uk


Edward appears regularly as a guest chorus master throughout the UK and in Germany, and holds the post of Musical Director of St Andrews Chorus and the Wordsworth Singers. He is a director of the Paisley Choral Festival and as a teacher works in the Department of Vocal Studies at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and at the University of Glasgow. In his role as Outreach Director for Cappella Nova he directs workshops throughout Scotland, most recently a series on the liturgical music of James MacMillan.

His current and recent work includes projects with Norddeutscher Rundfunk Choir in Hamburg, SWR Vokalensemble in Stuttgart, the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Chor, Netherlands Radio Choir and the Philharmonia Chorus.

James Grossmith

AMES GROSSMITH is an orchestral, choral and operatic conductor based in Glasgow in the United Kingdom. He began his music

al training as a music scholar at Charterhouse before being elected organ scholar of Clare College, Cambridge. Whilst at Clare, he acted as Musical Director of Cambridge Chamber Opera, in which capacity he directed productions of Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Bizet’s Carmen, and Haydn’s Il Mondo della Luna.

 

In 1998 James was appointed Assistant Director of Music at Cranleigh School and Assistant Conductor of the Cranleigh and Godalming choral societies. He also directed the vocal octet Claritas in a number of recordings for the Etcetera label, including an award winning recording of sacred polyphony by Luca Marenzio.

In 2001 James won a scholarship for postgraduate conducting studies under Martyn Brabbins and Dr Alasdair Mitchell at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and moved to Glasgow. In July 2002 he had the opportunity to study under Alexander Policanichko of the Kirov and gave his debut performance with the State Hermitage Orchestra of St Petersburg. In 2003 he conducted a performance of Ravel’s opera L’Enfant et les Sortilèges at the Academy and made his debut with the London Sinfonietta conducting, among other works, the Chamber Symphony by Thomas Wilson.

James was appointed Assistant Conductor for Haddo Opera’s 2003 production of Lucia di Lammermoor and subsequently became Musical Director of the company. After completing his conducting studies in July 2003, James was awarded the Hugh S Robertson prize for Orchestral Conducting, the Peter Morrison Prize for contributions to the musical life of the Academy and the Silver Medal of the Worshipful Company of Musicians. In 2004 he completed a year of prize winning studies as a repetiteur scholar at the Academy.

James was Director of Choral Music at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama until the end of 2005. In January 2006 he was appointed Chorusmaster of Scottish Opera. He is Director of Chapel Music at the University of Glasgow. In addition to his work at Scottish Opera James has directed the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Opera for All, the London Sinfonietta, the Edinburgh Festival Chorus, the Aberdeen Sinfonietta, and the Paragon Ensemble. James continues to work with the Wordsworth Singers as a guest conductor.

Charles Harrison

harles Harrison was a chorister at Southwell Minster and the Organ Scholar at Jesus College Cambridge from 1992 - 1995. He took a degree in music and was a prize winner in the Fellowship examinations of the Royal College of Organists.

A prize winner in two international organ competitions (St Albans and Odense), Charles performs extensively in Britain and Ireland, and has toured Denmark, Finland and Poland, the Netherlands and the USA. Concerto work has included performances with the Irish Chamber Orchestra and the Ulster Orchestra, both broadcast by the BBC. He has recently played with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, recording for Radio 3 and the Hyperion record label. As accompanist and continuo player, Charles has worked with many leading soloists, conductors and ensembles, including Roy Goodman, Steven Isserlis, Stephen Cleobury and the BBC Singers. His solo performances on Lincoln's most recent choir recording 'Hail Mary' have been reviewed as 'authoritative', 'exemplary' and 'stunning'.

Charles was assistant organist of Carlisle Cathedral for four years from 1995 and, with Michael Hancock, is a Founder Conductor of The Wordsworth Singers, having jointly lead the choir for seven years. He continues to work with the choir as an accompanist and organ soloist.

Michael Hancock

ichael Hancock enjoys a hugely varied musical career. Since graduating from the Northern School of Music in 1972 he has performed all over the UK and in many foreign parts as a pianist, singer and conductor.

As an accompanist and chamber music player he has partnered many eminent musicians such as April Cantelo, Christopher Underwood, Joan Rodgers, Martin Milner, Janet Hilton, Julian Lloyd Webber, Willard White, Laurence Perkins and John Turner. He has served on the staff of the Royal Northern College and Chethams and has performed in many prestigious venues like the Purcell Room, the Wigmore Hall and the London Palladium. Michael has many commercial recordings to his credit, including discs for Hyperion, Pickwick and Campion. He has broadcast for Radios 1, 2, 3 and 4 as well as Classic FM and there have been numerous TV appearances.

Along with Charles Harrison, Michael is a Founder Conductor of the Wordsworth Singers, a post he held for seven years, and he is currently their President. A much sought-after teacher of piano and singing, Michael also finds time to adjudicate Music Festivals and he is an Examiner for the Associated Board. He is a member of the panel that trains new examiners. Examining tours have taken him all over the world including Iceland, Malaysia, the Middle East, Turkey, Brunei, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Michael also acts as vocal coach to the choristers of Carlisle Cathedral. In July 2007 he conducted the opening concert of the Carlisle International Summer Festival with the Festival Chorus, the Northern Sinfonia and daughter Emma playing the Beethoven Violin Concerto.