When and where was your first experience of music / singing?

I joined my local parish choir when I was 7, at St. Edmunds, Roundhay. My Dad had sung in the choir since he was a child and so wanted me to too, and I continued to sing there until I moved to university in Birmingham. It was only a small choir but it became very important to me, and has remained one of my favourite places to have sung in! I sang there with 3 of my siblings, and my Dad, and occasionally other members of my family joined for big services. The community aspect was just as important as the music!

Where did you grow up? Did you have access to classical music?

I grew up in Leeds, and I was lucky to have access to my church choir, where the standard of music wasn’t extremely high but everyone there loved singing. Also my Dad played for piano lessons for me, which was fun as one of our family friends was a piano teacher! My parents were both involved in classical music which I feel very lucky to have. My mum was part of the singing group ‘Leeds Guild of Singers’ which I joined when I was 13, and that gave me access to more advanced music.

What has been your most memorable performance so far?

My favourite performance I’ve ever done was in my church back home, a fundraiser event in 2019 that involved big anthems, and lots of individual and group performances by members of the choir. Most of my family was involved in it, and I was part of a little octet that also did some chamber songs. At that point it was one of the biggest concerts I’d done so it was really fun and memorable.

What would your dream performance be?

I’ve always wanted to perform a concert of madrigals and songs in an 8 part group; Consort singing’s always been my favourite way to perform and I have been lucky to sing with some very advanced consort groups, so to pair this with my favourite kinds of music would be my dream!

What are you looking forward to with Genesis Sixteen?

I’m definitely looking forward to the social aspect, meeting other young singers who are just as interested in the choral world as I am, and making connections in the industry! And of course to sing in an advanced group of singers and be able to sing the sort of music I love!

Outside of singing, what do you like to do in your spare time?

I enjoy reading historical fiction books, particularly those set around the renaissance era, 1400s – 1700s. A particularly favourite author at the moment is C.J Sansom, with a view to start some of Ken Follett’s novels!
I am also a keen linguist, and have been attempting to learn Greek by myself for the past few years, (although making slow progress!) I also enjoy following channels on YouTube which talk about linguistics, and dialects.

Are you still in education? Are you in any other young artists schemes?

I have just finished my second year of four at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

Outside of performances with Genesis Sixteen, have you got any concerts coming up?

I performed Carmina Burana in Monte Carlo with the CBSO in June and will also be performing at the proms with them! I am the Tenor soloist for a Mozart Coronation mass in Ledbury, and will sing at a ‘Proms in the Park’ concert with Armonico.