24 October 2019

---

NYCGB Announces Principal Conductors

We're delighted to announce that Principal Conductor contracts have been awarded to three outstanding individuals to oversee the strategic planning and delivery of three of NYCGB’s five outstanding UK choirs as follows:

Lucy Joy Morris – National Youth Boys’ Choir of Great Britain

Joanna Tomlinson – National Youth Girls’ Choir of Great Britain

Greg Beardsell – National Youth Training Choir of Great Britain

These high-profile contracts are awarded following a period of significant growth for NYCGB and offer exciting opportunities for its talented young members to benefit from excellent and diverse artistic practice. The Principal Conductors will provide strategic artistic leadership for the choirs and develop and deliver inspiring programmes of training and development for the young singers.

NYCGB Artistic Director & Principal Conductor Ben Parry said:

We are extremely excited to be working with Lucy, Joanna and Greg who are all passionate and inspirational individuals who contribute so much to the world of choral conducting. We look forward to working with them all over the coming three years to inspire and develop a new generation of talented young singers and to build on the excellent work done to date.

Lucy Joy Morris is in demand throughout the UK as a conductor and animateur, working regularly with some of the country’s leading youth music organisations. As a passionate believer in the power of music education, Lucy regularly runs singing workshops and conducts thousands of children every year in singing festivals for massed schools. Lucy was recently appointed as Musical Director of the Cantate Youth Choirs in addition to conducting the Taplow Boys’ and Children’s Choirs and the Farnham Training Choir. She is Director of Music at Dartford Parish Church, and conducts two award-winning adult choirs: Reading A440 Choir and the Abbeydale Singers. Lucy read music at Queens’ College, Cambridge, and whilst there sang with Trinity College Choir.

Lucy said:

NYCGB Boys’ Choir is such an inspiring group of young people and it is a great honour to have been given this new role. The choir presents a special opportunity for boys to develop their singing as their voices change, in a supportive and exciting environment. I am excited to see what we can achieve as we continue to raise the profile of the NYCGB Boys’ Choir as ambassadors for male voice singing in the UK and further afield.

Joanna Tomlinson is a conductor, singer and vocal coach. She is Artistic Director of Farnham Youth Choir, winners of two gold medals in the 2019 European Choir Games in Sweden, and conductor of the Whitehall Choir and Constanza Chorus in London. A highly experienced vocal leader and animateur, she has worked for Glyndebourne, the Philharmonia, Gabrieli Consort ROAR outreach programme, Association of British Choral Directors, National Youth Choir of Poland, National Youth Choir of Wales, and the UK Choir Festival. Joanna trained as a singer at the Royal College of Music before turning to conducting and continues to work as a soloist with some of the UK’s top professional choirs including BBC Singers, Philharmonia Voices, Britten Sinfonia Voices, Gabrieli Consort, London Voices and Sonoro. Joanna said:

I am very excited to have been offered the opportunity to work with the NYCGB Girls’ Choir and to nurture the next generation of young voices. I love the passion and energy that this age group can bring to their music-making and look forward to inspiring a life-long enjoyment of choral music. I’m particularly looking forward to joining the larger NYCGB family and to be a part of the continued success they have in providing outstanding choral experiences for young singers.

Greg Beardsell is a leading light in music education and performance. His ability to inspire people of all ages to explore new musical horizons whilst sharing his diverse range of musical skills has created new and exciting music-making opportunities, particularly for children and young people. In addition to directing NYCGB Training Choirs, Greg is Conductor of the London Youth Chamber Choir and Music Director of the Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland. He is a guest presenter for BBC Radio 3’s ‘Live in Concert’ and ‘Choir and Organ’ programmes and features as a choral music expert for the BBC Proms TV broadcast. He has also held conducting positions with the Bournemouth Symphony Chorus, the Ulster Youth Choir and the Royal College of Music Chamber Choir and presented numerous seminars on conducting and teaching strategies for high profile organisations and music education hubs across England. Greg commented:

I am delighted to have been announced as Principal Conductor of the National Youth Training Choir for the next three years. I have had the great privilege of conducting this choir for a number of years and I am very excited to be continuing my relationship within this very special organisation. I look forward to developing the artistic and educational content of the residential courses and creating exciting performance opportunities for the choir.

Ends