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

I started playing trumpet around age seven, and started singing in my amateur school choirs not long after that. But my first real experience of singing and choral music came at 11, when a teacher in my school noticed me singing quite low for someone my age and got me to sing tenor in a quartet, performing Panis angelicus in front of the whole school!

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

I moved around a lot in childhood, mostly growing up between Malvern and Hampshire, but my teenage years were spent in West Sussex, which is where my first big opportunities in classical music really arose in school, with the chapel choir and my first singing lessons – though I was lucky to get an early start with trumpet lessons. I don’t come from a family of musicians, but a lot of my love for classical music stems from my dad, who encouraged me to pursue singing more.

What has been your most memorable performance so far?

It has to be a tie with two different University experiences! Towards the end of the year at Keble College Oxford, I got to perform William Walton’s The Twelve (including singing the juicy opening bass solo), which was a fantastic way to cap off my time there. The other would be Ravel’s Trois Chansons. I love the character Ravel brings to his music, and being the only French speaker in the choir at the time, it was very fun trying to help everyone pronounce the third movement’s wickedly fast tongue-twisters.

What would your dream performance be?

In choral music, Jean-Yves Daniel-Lesur’s Cantique des Cantiques, though one day, I’d love to play Nick Shadow in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress.

What are you looking forward to with Genesis Sixteen?

The opportunity to work with and learn from such inspiring musicians, and learn more fantastic repertoire. It’s always a thrill to sing with new groups and explore different styles and sounds.

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

I’m an avid reader and cook, and really love going to live concerts – anything from classical, to jazz, to metal! I also write, and particularly enjoy writing and running, role-playing games for my friends. One of my bucket list items is to hike the Pacific Crest Trail in the US. I love animals, and have two cats and a dog at home – Claude (full name Claude Depussy) and Fosco, who we’ve both had since they were kittens, and Ziggy, our three-year-old spaniel.

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

I’ve recently graduated from Keble College, Oxford, where I was a choral scholar and read English and French, and am planning to undertake a master’s in vocal studies next year. Alongside Genesis Sixteen, I’m also a member of Vox Next Gen, a young artist scheme for Vox Urbane.