Charlie Penn - Musical Director

Charlie Penn graduated with a degree in music from the University of Birmingham where he studied piano with Joseph Middleton. He is currently building up an increasingly busy freelance timetable as an accompanist on both piano and organ, working with soloists and choirs of all ages and abilities including Birmingham University Singers and the Cambridge Primary School Singing Network. He also works with the CBSO Boys Choir, Cantate Youth Choir and the recently formed Phoenix Chorale, Cambridge and has performed with Cambridge Chorale. He was employed during his gap year as the full time Music Technician at Hills Road Sixth Form College and also as Director of Music at St Andrew's church, Sutton.

He has previously worked with the Hills Road Sixth Form College Choir and Jazz Choir and has toured as accompanist with their auditioned Chamber Choir to Latvia and Estonia performing established choral favourites alongside newly commissioned works. He continues to enjoy working with many different theatre groups in musical productions including working as the Music Director and accompanist to Cambridge Touring Theatre for two of their popular summer tours.

Alongside his work as an accompanist, Charlie is also in increasing demand as a choral director for rehearsals and concerts with a wide variety of choirs covering a diverse range of music. Whilst studying choral conducting both within his degree and with David Lawrence and Julian Wilkins, he directed the University of Birmingham Chamber Choir in several of their concerts and occasionally works with the Birmingham Phoenix Singers as a guest conductor. He often directs the extremely popular Cambridge Holiday Orchestra choir courses and in 2008/09 assisted with a flagship project for Sing Up focusing on boys singing in Birmingham secondary schools. As an orchestral conductor, Charlie has worked with the University of Birmingham Symphony and Chamber orchestras and often puts together and directs instrumental ensembles to accompany choral concerts.

Elizabeth Barter - Accompanist