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I was born in 1993 into a family of musicians and at the age of five started learning piano with my father, and singing in my local church choir. I later became a chorister at Hereford Cathedral under Geraint Bowen, and it was here that my love of choral music took hold. I developed a passion for early music in particular, and became fascinated by the countertenor voice. When my voice changed a few years later, I decided to give it a go. Sure enough, my falsetto voice worked alright, so I committed to it. On leaving school, I won a scholarship to Cambridge University to study Music, and to sing in King's College Choir under Stephen Cleobury.
During three unforgettable years there, I toured all over the world, recorded CDs and sang in national radio and television broadcasts each year. But my main joy during that time was singing the daily services in one of the world's most beautiful buildings, while studying music history, analysis, and composition. All of this encouraged me to pursue music beyond university, so after graduating I moved to Oxford to become a Lay Clerk at Christ Church Cathedral. During this time I taught at a local school, performed as a freelance soloist and in a number of ensembles (including Ex Cathedra, The King's Consort, Gesualdo Six and Westminster Cathedral Choir). I found time for my other interests too with lots of walking in the countryside, cooking, a good deal of graphic design work, and on top of all that a few rounds of auditions for The King's Singers, who had invited me to audition! I was appointed to the group in January 2016.
During the seven years since, I have had a wonderful time as a member of this group. I have loved performing many hundreds of concerts in amazing places around the world with my five brilliant colleagues, meeting thousands of people from many different walks of life, and having once-in-a-lifetime experiences almost every month. But I also love how much you learn in this role. Doing this job, I've learned so much from the other guys, I've learned about running a business, I've learned about creative writing, public speaking, about food, digital media and marketing, about languages, coffee, and (of course) singing. When not on the road, rehearsing or recording, I enjoy a fairly quiet life in Richmond, London with my wife Ellie and our little spaniel, Albie. In what free time I have, I am a keen student of foreign affairs, I write a restaurant review blog called Touring Tables, am a very keen cook, and love to go walking in remote places.
My love of singing began at the age of just seven when I was given a choristership in the Chapel Choir at Warwick School. At first the early Sunday mornings were a struggle, but after a few months I was raring to leave the house to get to practice. After finishing school, I read geography at Girton College, Cambridge where I won a choral scholarship and the Tom Mansfield Memorial Prize in recognition of my contribution to College music. During my university years I was keen to have somewhere to sing outside the Cambridge terms; I became an honorary member of the choir of the Collegiate Church of Saint Mary Warwick, a place that I consider a musical home.
After graduating I was appointed as the Alto Lay Clerk at King's College, Cambridge. I sang seven services each week as well as undertaking a busy schedule of recording, touring and broadcasting which included the famous Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols broadcast to millions of people across the planet. I also sang in Collegium Regale (now The King's Men), the close harmony group made up of the King's Choral Scholars; I sang a vast variety of music from Byrd to the Beatles. I then spent two inspiring years as a volunteer in Gonville and Caius College Choir. I was fortunate enough to take part in two groundbreaking recording projects; a programme featuring ancient Celtic chant accompanied by instruments that I had never seen, heard, or heard of before, and a disc of contemporary South American music.
For two glorious years from 2017 I had the pleasure of serving HM The Queen, as the Alan Kendall Countertenor, one of the six Gentlemen, in her choir at the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace. Highlights of my time include a service marking the centenary of the Order of the Companions of Honour in the presence of HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, filming Elizabeth I's Battle for God’s Music, a BBC television programme presented by Lucy Worsley, and recording a disc of Thomas Tallis. Singing aside, I am an experienced fundraiser and have been trained in the Law. Much of my free time is spent running a small charity in Warwickshire, Rufus' Friends' Fund, with my family, the charity was set up in memory of my late uncle who had learning disabilities. Otherwise I love meditating, collecting antiques and walking; much of my childhood was spent in the countryside, making campfires, damming streams and generally getting muddy!
I am indebted to my family for nurturing my love of singing, especially my mum and dad, Delia and Nick, who waited in the car for me during countless singing lessons and choir practices, and my sister, Bertie, for sitting through service after service and concert after concert! I wish I had the space to thank all my singing teachers, directors of music, musical colleagues and friends who have supported me, and from whom I have learned so much. Over the years I have realised that there are few better things in life than making music; the creativity is limitless, helping people to feel their emotions is exhilarating, and the teamwork has resulted in lasting friendships.
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I was born into a musical and bicultural household: my English father, a Cathedral organist and choir trainer; and my Japanese mother, who loves to sing in his choirs! Having fallen asleep most nights as a baby to Dad’s recordings of Bach and other organ works, inevitably I wanted to learn the piano and to sing. So at the age of 8, I went off to boarding school in Cambridge, where I became a chorister at St John’s College Choir for the next five years. There, I grew particularly fond of the violin, which overtook my other instruments, and ultimately led to me performing the Bruch violin concerto in my final year at Eton College aged 18.
After some character-building travels during my gap year, I returned to St John's to study Music, and experienced three incredibly busy but rewarding years as an undergrad. Through daily choir commitments, directing The Gents (our college a cappella group), helping to organise the entertainment at college balls, and spending any remaining time left over in the library - or possibly the pub - I came to realise that a career in singing might be worth a punt after all. So rather than following the standard path of my peers applying for internships and fast-track schemes upon graduating, I instead went on a year abroad to charming Heidelberg University in Germany. Intensively learning German to fluency and planting myself in a completely different field – socially, linguistically and culturally – was a great way of taking some time out and working on myself; and what a beautiful part of the world to live in for 10 months! I made friends for life from all over the world – something which struck a chord with my own international background - and that same year, I was awarded a scholarship to study a Masters in Vocal Performance at the Royal Academy of Music, back home in London.
What followed was a highly inspirational year at the RAM, opening myself up to the various art forms and states of mind that a solo singer navigates on stage and off. The following summer of 2014, while I was singing in the Opera Chorus at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in the south of France, I got a phone-call from Johnny inviting me to audition for The King's Singers – a completely different proposition to my exciting yet uncertain young solo career at the time. I was offered the tenor position minutes after the audition ended and the shock hit me: my life was about to change in a big way!
Since then, I've enjoyed my time in the group ever more, developing as an individual, learning from every experience, and striving to perform my best at each concert, I think in part to prove to myself that I deserve such a special job. I feel so lucky to be able to work every single day with five amazing friends and colleagues – akin to family – whom I respect and admire deeply, and I look forward to continuing to grow and hopefully inspire on a daily basis!
It all started in December 1994. I was taken to the Anglican service of Nine Lessons and Carols at Christ Church Cathedral, New Zealand, and as the choir proceeded down the aisle, I whispered to Mum and Dad, 'l want to be in that choir.' Then in 2010, after fifteen years in that very cathedral choir, I moved to England to pursue my lifetime ambition of becoming a professional singer, as well as being closer to Liz, whom I married in 2017. I had been teaching and conducting choirs at Burnside High School, where I had also been a student, but I got to the point where I felt that if I didn't give singing a go then I'd always regret it.
Little more than a year after taking the long flight over from New Zealand, a dream of combining my love of performing and travelling soon became a reality. I have loved every moment since making my debut with The King's Singers. I am so fortunate to have been able to sing in world renowned concert halls from New York to Sydney, Beijing to London, and everywhere in between. But I get the biggest buzz from being able to pass on my experiences to the next generation of musicians through the education work we deliver across the world, both in-person and online. There is no greater joy for me than seeing others making their first steps in a cappella and ensemble singing.
Joining The King's Singers has given me the opportunity to travel all over the world and sing in places I once only dreamed of. And for a humble Kiwi, having been an audience member for the group's 40th Anniversary, being in The King's Singers as it celebrated 50 years was more than I could ever have imagined. Add to that being happily married to Liz...l really am living the dream!
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For me the best thing about making music is the subconscious, unspoken connections with other musicians. I love blending my voice with others, and creating something larger than the sum of its parts. I've been singing pretty much constantly from as early as I can remember, and generally with increasing levels of success. Growing up in an intensely musical environment with four older sisters (all also professional singers), a career in music basically became inevitable — inspired no doubt by the King's Singers tapes we listened to as we drove to Germany to visit my grandparents! I grew up in Oxford, and enjoyed being a chorister in various choirs, as well as playing French horn and violin in many youth orchestras and chamber music groups. This provided a whole load of opportunities to perform and tour the UK and Europe — something I still relish doing.
When I began my Music degree at the university of York, I quickly joined as many choirs and a cappella groups as possible. This gave me the opportunity to start penning some compositions and arrangements, some more successful (Kiss from a Rose) than others (Nessun Dorma)... After graduating in 2009 I moved straight to London to try and make my name as a singer. I toured frequently with the Tallis Scholars, Stile Antico, Tenebrae, I Fagiolini, the BBC Singers, Ex Cathedra, and many more. As a soloist I loved performing oratorios and recitals, and was even asked to perform Mozart's Requiem, and a concert of Purcell songs in Japan.
One exciting but nerve-wracking moment closer to home was stepping in on the day of a BBC Prom concert, live on radio and to a packed Royal Albert Hall, to perform a solo off by heart in a Stockhausen opera alongside a (then pre-university) fresh-faced Pat Dunachie! I also relished the opportunity to sing a role in a broadcast performance of Stravinsky's "Les Noces" with the Philharmonia Orchestra. On days that I wasn't "gigging" I'd love going to the cinema, cycling around London, playing badminton (terribly), and cooking meals for my partner, for when she got home from a long day's teaching. The meals were never worthy of a Michelin star, but the good intention was there.
Since joining The King's Singers in 2019 I've learnt a huge amount. I've met fantastic people all around the world, performed phenomenal music in incredible venues, all the time working tirelessly with my five other colleagues to strive for perfection, even in the smallest details of music-making. Though I now don't get to the cinema, or cook meals as often as I'd like to, I do feel so lucky to work with these friends, exploring those subconscious, unspoken musical connections, and bringing the joy of a cappella music to the world!
I’ve always maintained that I am not ‘a singer’, but merely someone who sings a bit. This position has become somewhat more difficult to justify recently. But at this very exciting time as I begin my King’s Singers journey, it’s a peculiar pleasure to consider the various meandering experiences which have led me to this point.
Early musical experiences were at the piano, mostly - my mum taught my sister and me from an early age, and I have always loved doodling at the piano. Another foundational musical influence was Folk - our parents are both from Northern Ireland and my dad would sometimes wake us up by playing the chanter, which is a kind of practice instrument for the bagpipes (if you haven’t experienced the unyielding honk of a chanter, do look it up, and count yourself lucky not to have been woken up by it).
Having been a chorister at Llandaff Cathedral (and desperately failing to learn the organ during sixth form) I later landed a choral scholarship at St Peter’s College, Oxford whilst reading for the BA in Music. I also played just about as much sport as I could, including captaining the College rugby team and playing Blues Men’s Lacrosse. Stints then followed as a choral scholar at Wells Cathedral and as a lay clerk at Worcester Cathedral, before I moved to Cambridge to read for the MPhil in Composition and sing at St John’s College. More recently, I read for the DPhil in Composition back at Oxford whilst singing at Christ Church. As is probably obvious, writing music is a huge passion of mine. But so is sport - I try to get down to the Emirates to watch the mighty Arsenal whenever possible. I now live in the Suffolk countryside with my fiancee Mollie and our dear cat Pamela, and I bob in and out of London to sing with the odd choir (and to watch football).
I seriously can’t wait to see what experiences are yet to come with the King’s Singers. Making music - whether as ‘a singer’ or not - is the thing I care most about doing, and I know being alongside these amazing guys I’m in for a real treat. See you on the road!
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