Matthew Spillett

Tenor
Matthew Spillett

 


Currently a Lay Clerk at Southwell Minster, Matthew is a graduate of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, studying with Maureen Brathwaite and Andrew King. He has also sung with the choirs of St Chad’s Cathedral, Birmingham, Ex Cathedra, and Guildford Cathedral. Having started singing as a chorister at Peterborough Cathedral, Matthew has since performed in all the major oratorios, being in demand for his interpretations of both the Evangelist and soloist roles in Bach’s St Matthew and St John Passions. 

Matthew also appears frequently on stage, and has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company, performing in their acclaimed production Written on the Heart, directed by Gregory Doran. 

Matthew’s work has taken him throughout the USA and Europe, including the first solo Classical vocal recital for many years at the Alexandra Palace. He has appeared alongside such artists as Dame Felicity Lott, David Owen Norris, John Rutter, Nicola Benedetti and Jeremy Irons.

Geoff Williams

Baritone
Geoff Williams

Geoff Williams trained at the Royal Academy of Music completing a Master’s Degree in Performance, with Distinction.

Recent roles include Papageno and Sprecher Die Zauberflöte, Geronio Il turco in Italia, Escamillo and Dancaire Carmen, Don Alfonso Cosi fan tutti, General Achilla Giulio Cesare (Handel). He also covered the role of Marchese d’Obigny La Traviata for Longborough Festival Opera.

Geoff’s concert performances have included Herod in Berlioz’s L’Enfance du Christ (Scherzo Ensemble), Orff’s Carmina Burana (Colston Hall), Verdi’s Requiem (L’église de la Madeleine and Chartres Cathedral), Rossini’s Petite messe solennelle (St Margaret’s Church, Westminster), Pilatus and Arias in Bach’s St Matthew Passion (Wells Cathedral), Pilatus and Arias in St John Passion (Southwell Minster and Galway Cathedral), Barber’s Dover Beach with the Villiers Quartet (St John’s Smith Square).

He also understudied Roderick Williams in the World Premiere of the ‘Da Vinci Requiem’ by Cecilia Mcdowall with the Philharmonia Orchestra (Royal Festival Hall).

Upcoming performances in 2022 include: Brahms Requiem. Handel’s Messiah, Mendelssohn’s Elijah and a new work by Steve Banks ‘Blue Pearl’ which will be filmed in St Giles, Cripplegate, London with the London Mozart players.

He studies with Janice Chapman and Gavin Carr

For further information, visit www.geoffwilliamsbaritone.com

James Williams

Baritone, Soloists
James Williams

James Williams was born in London and studied at the Royal Academy of Music. Since graduating, James has distinguished himself as a successful artist on the operatic stage as well as in concert and recital.

In 2015-16, James completed the trilogy of the Mozart/Da Ponte operas, performing the title role of Don Giovanni, Don Alfonso/Così fan tutte and Il Conte/Le nozze di Figaro in fully-staged productions across the UK with Dulwich Opera Company and Opera Seria.

In oratorio, James has performed as baritone soloist in: Brahms’s Ein Deutsches Requiem, Finzi’s In Terra Pax, Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, and Jonathan Rathbone’s Christmas Truce.

Amy Wood

Soprano
Amy Wood

Amy began singing as a chorister in Sheffield Cathedral Girls’ Choir, before going on to study at Manchester University. Equally at home in music from renaissance polyphony to contemporary work, she sings regularly with The Monteverdi Choir, The BBC Singers, Ex Cathedra, The Eric Whitacre Singers, Ensemble Plus Ultra, Polyphony and is a member of the Choir Of The London Oratory. She has also appeared on many film soundtracks as a choir member and as a soloist.  Amy has toured the world, singing in concert halls from Tokyo to Rio to Sydney, and recent tours since lockdown have included Amsterdam and Berlin with The Monteverdi Choir, Portugal with Ensemble Plus Ultra and Dido and Aeneas with Opéra de Lille.

Recent solo engagements include Bach’s Magnificat in Southwell, Monteverdi’s Vespers in Birmingham Town Hall, Handel’s Messiah in Newark and Bach’s St John Passion in Tring.
Amy is a qualified counsellor and runs a busy private practice alongside her singing.

 

BBC Bingham: Episode One – 25th March 2020

BBC Bingham Productions

Dear BDCS

Here is our first attempt at a video substitute for rehearsals. I hope you enjoy it. Start by clicking on Video 1 and then as you work through you will be told when to click on the subsequent links. Some of the YouTube links start with adverts, these will either play out, or you can click on the ‘skip advert’ button. Each link opens a new window, so by closing the window when the video ends you come back to BBC Bingham.

  1. Video 1_Guy: Introductions (8:02)
  2. Video 2_Ca’ the Yowes (arr. R.Vaughan Williams) (4.27)
  3. Video 3_Guy (1:28)
  4. Video 4_Cerys Matthews – ‘Sospan Fach’ (2.09)
  5. Video 5_Guy (0.52)
  6. Video 6_ Voces8, Sibeal -Traditional: Carrickfergus (Arr.Pacey) (4.29)
  7. Video 7_Guy: ‘The Final Choice’ (0.32)
  8. Video 8_Steeleye Span-All Around My Hat (Live Cropredy) (4.22)
  9. Video 9_Guy: ‘So that’s the plan.’ (1:16)
  10. Sound recording_of Judy Brown: Robert Burns: My luve is like a red red rose. (2.39)
  11. Sound recording_ of Judy Brown: Tchaikovsky Queen of Spades – Prodrugi Milye (4.30)
  12. Video 12_Guy: ‘So I hope you found that interesting’ (0.23)

 

Extra video you might like to watch:

Dives and Lazarus – Maddy Prior

Vaughan Williams Five Variants on Dives and Lazarus (with score)

Barbara Dickson she Moved through the Fair

Extra performance of Sopan Fach

 

Guy’s email for future suggestions – guyscottturner@gmail.com

 

BBC Bingham: Episode Eleven – 3rd June 2020. Eric Thiman by Guy Turner

BBC Bingham Productions

This week Guy Turner takes us on a musical journey with the organist, teacher, conductor, and prolific composer, Eric Thiman (1900 – 1975). As The Thiman Collection’s Archivist, and previously singer in one of Thiman’s Choral Societies, Guy provides a fascinating insight into Thiman, interspersed with recordings of his works, some of which BDCS have performed.

 

Click on this link to here the episode

BBC Bingham: Episode thirteen – 17th June 2020. Variations by Guy Turner (Part 1)

BBC Bingham Productions

This week’s BBC Bingham is based on a talk which I gave at a conference for GCSE and A level musicians earler this year. It also relates to next week’s programme, which will be introducing you to the Folksong Sequence commission which I have now completed and which we will be doing at the Jubilee Prom next year. The talk was originally designed for people who were going to be composing their own variations, but I hope it will give plenty of insights to people who are only planning to perform and listen to music.

Click on the text ‘Variations_1’ below, and then the sound file that follows, and then ‘Variations 2&3’ and so on………

Variations_1

Variations_2&3

Variations_4&5

Variations_6

Variations_7

Variations_8

Variations_9

Clapping Music

 

List of additional links

Paganini Caprice No 24  This is a lockdown video made just the day before I updated the talk for BDCS – 12 famous violinists taking turns. Put together by Nicola Benedetti.

Ives Variation on America

Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

Lloyd Webber Variations  or you may prefer the orchestral version

 

BBC Bingham: Episode fourteen – 24th June 2020. Folk Song Sequence

BBC Bingham Productions

As we approach what would have been the end of our singing season for 2019/2020, to give the production team a chance of a break BBC Bingham will change its broadcast frequency from weekly to fortnightly. The next episode of BBC Bingham (episode fifteen) will be aired on July 8th with another Desert Island Discs, so tune in to see which castaway is Guy Turner’s guest that week.

The following broadcast (July 22nd) will be a special episode comprising our annual newsletter, which will contain important information about the forthcoming season 2020/2021, and also our Jubilee Year 2021/2022, so make sure you tune in for that.

Today’s episode follows on from the variations episode last week and is an introduction to the Folk Song Sequence Guy has written for us to perform at our Jubilee Prom Concert. Click on the ‘Folk Song Sequence’ below, and follow the individual scores alongside.

Folk Song Sequence

 

Scores:

Bruton song – Full Score

Laudibus in Sanctis

Ca’ the Yowes

Sospan Fach

Carrickfergus

All around my hat