Who's Who

Su Evans - General Manager
su@music-for-everyone.org
Becci Hooper – Administrator
admin@music-for-everyone.org

Board

Andrew James – Chairman
Dr Angela Smallwood – Secretary
Peter Garrood – Treasurer
Professor Nigel Hastings
Matthew Lax
Jonathan Lupton

Artistic Personnel

Angela Kay – Artistic Director

Angela Kay studied at Nottingham College of Education, now Nottingham Trent University, and has been involved with the choral life of Nottinghamshire for most of her professional life. After giving up her post as head of music at a comprehensive school in 1980 to raise a family, Angela formed the Nottingham Choral Trust (now Music for Everyone) and has continued to develop it by working with enthusiasm and imagination as its Artistic Director. Originally known in Nottingham as a mezzo soprano soloist, Angela's career developed first into choral and then into orchestral conducting. She has conducted many of the major works from the choral repertoire to critical acclaim, including Brahms’ Requiem, Bernstein's Chichester Psalms, Vaughan Williams' Sea Symphony, Orff's Carmina Burana and Bach's St Matthew Passion. In July 2003, Angela received an honorary Masters degree from Nottingham Trent University in recognition of her services to Music Education.

Isobel Bounford – Orchestral Administrator & leader of Nottingham Concert
Orchestra & New Classical Players

Isobel has been involved with the musical life in Nottinghamshire over the last 30 years as both teacher and performer.  A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, she is a visiting teacher at Nottingham Boys' High School and has a thriving teaching practice at home.  She is deeply commited to the work of Music for Everyone and is an administrator and tutor for their instrumental courses, Stringwise and Blow the Dust off Your Instrument.  Isobel is also leader of the New Classical Players and Nottingham Concert Orchestra.

Joe Shaw – Nottingham Youth Voices conductor

Joe has recently graduated from Cambridge University and is now working as a freelance musician in Nottingham and Cambridge. He is passionate about music education and has a wealth of experience as a musical director and workshop leader. Jo is also a skilled saxophonist and regularly plays in ensembles including the FitzSwing Big Band and OneSound Concert Orchestra. We are pleased to announce that Joe will be working as Artistic Director of Music for Everyone's new East Midlands Band Project which will be starting in the New Year. Also, as a former member of Nottingham Youth Voices, Joe is delighted to be working for Music for Everyone as the conductor of Nottingham Youth Voices. Above all, he is passionate about making music fun and inspiring young people to continue with music right through school and beyond.

Jane McDouall – Nottingham Girls' Voices conductor

Jane studied at Nottingham College of Education (now Nottingham Trent University) and the Royal College of Music. She specialises in soprano roles in opera and oratorio and is a founder member of the Nottingham opera group, Operating Theatre. Jane has a thriving teaching practice at home. She is also part of a multi-disciplinary team of voice specialists at the Voice Clinic in the Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham. Jane is currently the conductor of Nottingham Girls Voices and Daytime Voices in Wollaton.

Helen Hayes – Vocals co-ordinator and conductor of Nottingham Boys' Voices

Helen trained as a teacher at the Nottingham Trent University and has taught at schools in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire.  She was appointed as Music for Everyone’s principal youth choir animateur in May 2002 and more recently as the conductor of Nottingham Boys' Voices.  As a music leader, Helen has worked on individual youth singing projects that range from small school workshops, to larger projects bringing groups of schools together for mass singing events at the Albert Hall, Nottingham and Symphony Hall in Birmingham.  She feels passionate about outreach work through music and has delivered projects with excluded pupils, workshops at a women's prison as well as early years work with mums and babies.  Helen has been studying for the last three years to be ordained in the Church of England and is now a part-time curate in Leicestershire.

Alison Bennett – Vocals conductor

Alison is a music graduate of the University of York and completed a PGCE course at the University of Reading specialising in music education for Early Years pupils. She is now a part-time teacher of Key Stage 2 pupils at St Peter’s Primary School, Ruddington and spends the rest of the time looking after her little boy! Alison has sung in various choirs, plays cello in the Nottingham Symphony Orchestra and took part in the very first youth choir course in 1988!

James Lowe – Principal guest conductor

James was appointed as our Principal Guest Conductor in September 2009. Prizewinner in international conducting competitions, James Lowe's work as Artistic Director of the Hallé Harmony Youth Orchestra featured in Orchestra United, a four-part documentary shown on Channel 4 last year. Lowe is Artistic Director of the New Bristol Sinfonia, Principal Conductor of the Edinburgh Contemporary Music Ensemble, Principal Guest Conductor of Music for Everyone, and held the position of Associate Conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.  

Educated at the University of Edinburgh, Lowe continued his development as Benjamin Zander Conducting Fellow with the Boston Philharmonic, and has studied with leading conductors in master classes, including Jorma Panula, Neeme Järvi, with Valery Gergiev and with Bernard Haitink, who has recently invited him to work as his assistant with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam this May.

One of two prizewinners in the Tokyo International Competition for Conductors and special prize winner in the Jorma Panula International Competition, he has appeared in performance with the Osaka and Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestras, the Residentie Orkest Den Haag, the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, the St. Petersburg Academic Symphony Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada, the New Japan Philharmonic, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Hallé Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic, Scottish Ballet, the orchestra of Welsh National Opera and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, as well as working with numerous other ensembles in many European countries, South Africa and the USA.

In addition to Orchestra United, James Lowe will feature in The Interpreters, a German film following three young conductors.  He lives in Edinburgh and Berlin.

www.james-lowe.co.uk

Richard Howarth – Artistic Consultant East Midlands String Project and conductor of East Midlands Youth String Orchestra

Richard Howarth has had a distinguished career as a violinist, leading and directing orchestras for over twenty years. He brings to conducting a wealth of experience and dynamism to inspire both musicians and audiences. Richard is as comfortable working with elite orchestras as he is with training and educating amateur and youth groups.

Richard has conducted Manchester Camerata, the Ulster Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the London, Scottish and Manchester Concert Orchestras and, from the violin, has directed Manchester Camerata and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. He is in demand as a string coach/conductor and works regularly at the Royal Northern College of Music and Chetham’s School of Music. As an educator, Richard Howarth is Principal Conductor of the Vale Royal String Orchestra, Sale Chamber Orchestra and Manchester Youth String Orchestra. He is a regular guest conductor of Chester Philharmonic Orchestra and coaches Huddersfield Philharmonic Orchestra and Stockport Symphony Orchestra. Trained as a violinist at the Royal College of Music in London, Richard worked with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra and as Leader of the Ulster Orchestra before becoming Leader of Manchester Camerata. He has been a guest leader with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Scottish and Welsh Symphony Orchestras, the BBC Philharmonic, the Halle, Orchestra of St John’s Smith Square, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, East of England Orchestra and Bournemouth Sinfonietta. Richard is in demand in a variety of teaching environments. As a regular visitor to the Royal Northern College of Music as an orchestral coach, he enjoys the challenge of imparting his "know how" to students, many of whom will go on to play in the major orchestras of the UK and beyond.

Richard conducts the MYSO (Manchester Youth String Orchestra), an advanced group for 11 to 18 year olds run by Manchester Music Service. In the two years since it started, MYSO has progressed at an astonishing rate.

Amateur orchestras feature in Richard’s work. He is Conductor/Music Director of Sale Chamber Orchestra and Vale Royal String Orchestra and, as a guest, has conducted Chester Philharmonic Orchestra and coached Huddersfield Philharmonic and Stockport Symphony Orchestra. He has been invited to conduct Sheffield Chamber Orchestra in their 2007/8 season.

In order to engage with amateur players and to show them how to play to the best of their combined abilities, it is essential to have confidence in yourself and achievable targets for each session. Richard seems to strike a balance which enables all the participants to enjoy their own contribution and that of the whole group.
www.richardhowarthmusic.co.uk