What is the best thing about singing with The Sixteen?
The camaraderie, without a doubt. It is such a friendly group, and whether we are making music, eating or drinking together, or relaxing backstage, it is always fun.

What is your favourite Sixteen anecdote or memory?
I was present on the last occasion Harry ever wore a cummerbund as part of his concert dress. We were doing a concert (about 30 years or more ago) in Thaxted Parish Church, and as we started singing the ‘Agnus Dei’ from Byrd’s 4-part Mass, there was a loud metallic crash, caused by the metal clasp of his cummerbund falling on the floor, having inexplicably come undone. This was the cue for much thinly disguised mirth among the singers, and Fran Steele (bass), being completely incapable of singing. Harry’s face was a picture, too!

Is there a piece you have fallen in love with since performing it with The Sixteen?
Anything with a really good baritone part. There are several candidates by Byrd, such as Infelix ego, Tribue, Domine or Tristitia et anxietas, but one of my very favourites is Vox patris by William Mundy.

If you could go back in time and be present at any historical performance, what would it be?
Given that I sang for many years in the choir of St Paul’s Cathedral, I would love to have been in Old St Paul’s at Christmas 1554, when, following the marriage of Queen Mary to Philip II of Spain, the Spanish musicians who had accompanied him to this country and had sung at their wedding in Winchester Cathedral in July, joined the Chapel Royal and St Paul’s choirs for the Christmas services. It has been suggested that Tallis wrote his Mass Puer natus est nobis for this celebration, and certainly the style of the music suggests influence from the continent.

What has been the most challenging piece of music you have ever performed?
My first encounter of Orpheus behind the Wire by Hans Werner Henze, which was in about 1985. I had no experience of attempting such atonal music at the time, but luckily, I was singing with a number of BBC Singers, for whom such things were their staple diet (they also spotted every time the conductor made an error in performance)! With The Sixteen, it has probably been Figure humaine by Poulenc.

Does anyone in The Sixteen have any unusual habits?! If so, what are they?
I’m sure everyone is going to mention Dan’s changing routine before concerts!

What do you do to relax in your spare time?
In the summer, I try and watch as much cricket as possible. I also read and watch TV and am addicted to crime drama, which keeps me going wherever I am.

Was there anyone who inspired you to become a singer? Is there anyone who continues to inspire you today?
My first choirmaster, the legendary George Guest, did as much as anyone to inculcate in me a love for singing – and for the repertoire – but the singer I most admired when I was a teenager was Benjamin Luxon, with his rich, honeyed tone. When I was a choral scholar, at St John’s, Cambridge, we recorded Faure’s Requiem with him as the baritone soloist, and we were all in seventh heaven.

What do you think you would be doing if you weren’t a musician?
Almost certainly teaching, but of course that’s what I have done alongside my singing, in any case. Maybe painting and decorating.

What would your ultimate desert island disc be?
If not Bach’s B minor Mass, which would keep my spirits up, it might have to be some Ravel orchestral music.

What would you eat for your last supper?
Roast lamb – with lashings of gravy, roast potatoes, and mixed veg – rounded off by cheesecake (as presumably calorie intake would no longer be of any significance), and a dessert wine.