David Matthews

 

Financial Patron: James Roberts

James is a regular member of the congregation at Birmingham Cathedral. He is motivated by Christian ethics and is an enthusiastic contributor to sacred choral music.

A successful higher general manager within the country's leading corporate and leisure organisation, James has been responsible for wide-ranging musical policy decisions together with marketing commitment across the UK. He believes the challenge to the Colmore Consort is to expose the latent store of international choral repertoire excellence to a West Midlands' arena.

 

Conductor: Charles Janz

Charles Janz is currently Musician in Residence at Forest School, London, where he teaches, accompanies and coaches children from the age of four to eighteen. He is also Director of Music at All Saints' Church, East Sheen where he is in charge of a vibrant musical tradition, conducting a choir of some thirty girls and twenty adults. Charles has held organ scholarships at St Peter's College, Oxford, where he read music, and subsequently at Sheffield and Birmingham Cathedrals respectively. He recently spent a year studying Choral Conducting with Paul Spicer at the Birmingham Conservatoire. In 2004, he founded the Colmore Consort who have become increasingly renowned for critically acclaimed performances of contemporary English choral music. Charles is also the Publicity Officer for the Finzi Friends society, promoting the life and music of Gerald Finzi nationwide. In January 2006, he was appointed conductor of the Horsley Choral Society, who participate in the top division of the Leith Hill Music Festival.

 

Organist: Christopher Allsop

Christopher Allsop was born and educated in London. While at school he was Organ Scholar at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, before spending a gap-year as Organ Scholar at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. He graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge in June 1996, where he spent three years as Organ Scholar, reading music. He studied the organ with Richard Dunster-Sigtermans, Iain Simcock and David Sanger.

After a year at Great St. Mary's, Cambridge, Christopher moved to Birmingham Cathedral in 1997 as Assistant Organist and Organist of the Blue Coat School, Edgbaston. While there he accompanied the Cathedral Choir on many broadcasts, tours and recordings, and founded and directed the New Birmingham Scholars.

In 2004 Christopher took up his present post of Assistant Organist at Worcester Cathedral and Music Teacher at The King's School. His work at the Cathedral involves accompanying the Cathedral Choir, and directing the boys and men of the Voluntary Choir. At King's he teaches curricular music to all ages, as well as giving individual piano and organ lessons. Last Summer Christopher was Festival Organist for the Worcester Three Choirs Festival, and he is also the accompanist to the Worcester Festival Choral Society. In his spare time, Christopher enjoys exploring the Malvern Hills with his wife Amanda and daughter Lucy.

 

The Colmore Consort is a chamber choir of twenty singers who are either singing students or young professionals from all over the country.