 What do you do for a living?
I try to make earthworks, viaducts and reinforced concrete sound sexy. Have you lived in Gloucestershire all your life? No, I have moved around the UK quite a lot. I lived in Berkshire until I was 19 and since then I have lived in Hampshire, Kent, Devon, Sussex, Norfolk and Dorset. Between us, my husband and I have lived in every county on the south coast. We moved to Gloucestershire in 2015. Where is your favourite place in Gloucestershire? The top of Cleeve Hill, probably. Which bit of the building at Gloucester Cathedral do you love the most? I love the Lady Chapel – specifically the Howells Memorial Window. It’s so beautiful. Sometimes when I’m early to collect my son from evensong and too late to join the service I go to the Lady Chapel and look at the stained glass and listen to the service. If you had to name your favourite choral piece, what might it be and why? Howells 'Salve Regina' – no competition. I first sang it with NYC when I was about 17 and fell instantly in love. Is there a choral piece that you would love to sing in, but haven’t yet? Britten’s 'War Requiem' What has been your favourite moment or event during your time with the Saint Cecilia Singers? Singing Howells Gloucester Service at the 70th anniversary evensong. I’ve been singing that piece all my life in various choirs, but that was my first time in the cathedral for which it was written. Where in the world would you most like to visit, but haven’t? I’ve never been to New York. I’d love to go in winter. If you could read only two books from now on, which ones would they be? I read a lot, so that would be hard. If I had to read the same thing over and over, it would have to be poetry, because you can read a poem differently every time. Betjeman is my favourite poet, so it would be his collected works and the complete works of Shakespeare. Which four figures from the past would you like to have at your dinner table? Wow. It’s hard to choose just four… Anita Roddick is my hero, so she would definitely have an invitation. I’ve often wondered what Queen Elizabeth I and Margaret Thatcher would make of each other. Tom Lehrer is another legend and he could provide some entertainment if it all got a bit intense. What was your favourite subject at school? Definitely English. No… actually music. No… it was English. Or, maybe music? Um. English and Music. I’ve never been able to choose between the two – I even combined them in my degree… What other hobbies do you enjoy outside of music? I take every available opportunity to read a good book. I’m just re-reading all the Poirot novels as an exercise in how to write perfect plots and economic prose. Agatha Christie was an absolute genius. Maybe she should be on my dinner party list too… What are you most looking forward to after lockdown eases? Having my dining table back – my husband has turned it into a recording studio…
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 What do you do for a living?
Teacher of Art and Drama...and the grit in the proverbial oyster! Have you lived in Gloucestershire all your life? I have never lived in Gloucestershire...I am a North Londoner and very proud of the fact. Where is your favourite place in Gloucestershire? St Mary's Church Kempley but only because Goodrich Castle falls short by a mile … darn! Which bit of the building at Gloucester Cathedral do you love the most? The black grave slab in the cloisters with the initials JS inscribed upon it, if anyone could tell me who it belongs to I should be very happy. If you had to name your favourite choral piece, what might it be and why? Handel's 'Messiah' because it was the first major piece that I sang in at the age of twelve and the overwhelming experience of losing yourself completely in the music has stayed with me to this day... Is there a choral piece that you would love to sing in, but haven’t yet? Duke Ellington 'Freedom Suite' or The Swingle Singers '1812 Overture'....! What has been your favourite moment or event during your time with the Saint Cecilia Singers? Personally, singing an operatic aria with coda for an audition in the Chapter House and deliberately avoiding Jonathan's wild waving of hands to make me stop! As a choir, it has to be the Tippett Spirituals even with a random top C sharp! Where in the world would you most like to visit, but haven’t? The Bullring at La Linea de la Concepcion....too long a story to go into... If you could read only two books from now on, which ones would they be? 1662 Book of Common Prayer Psalter The Complete Poems of Louis MacNeice Which four figures from the past would you like to have at your dinner table? Thomas Cromwell Oliver Cromwell Anne Boleyn Eleanor of Aquitaine Aethelflead of Mercia I can't count and it would be too rude to choose …. What was your favourite subject at school? History because Mr MacMahon was awe inspiring What other hobbies do you enjoy outside of music? Photography; gardening; genealogy; reading; collecting Scandinavian silver and Doulton stoneware What are you most looking forward to after lockdown eases? Withstanding people….a decent curry; art galleries; castles; the sea....and London because, '...when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life'  What do you do for a living?
I look after the PR for Cheltenham Festivals, working across all four Festivals: Jazz, Science, Music and Literature. Have you lived in Gloucestershire all your life? No: I’m from Ireland and I studied and worked in Cardiff for several years. I moved to Stroud to manage the Subscription Rooms, then worked at Gloucester Cathedral and finally the Festivals. Where is your favourite place in Gloucestershire? Swifts Hill overlooking the Slad Valley. I first encountered it while doing the Five Valley Walk for Meningitis Now and couldn’t believe somewhere so gorgeous was just a short walk away from where I live. Which bit of the building at Gloucester Cathedral do you love the most? Sitting in the back row of the Quire listening to Evensong. Lift your eyes and you can see the amazing ‘coat-hanger’ arches and vaulted roof. If you had to name your favourite choral piece, what might it be and why? Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius. It was the first piece of music I properly fell in love with, aged 15 Is there a choral piece that you would love to sing in, but haven’t yet? Either/both of the Bach Passions What has been your favourite moment or event during your time with the Saint Cecilia Singers? Performing ‘For Dots Nuns’ – it was a concert I put together for the Singers telling the story of Elgar and his sister ‘Dot’ who was Mother Superior of the convent in Stroud . We commissioned David Owen Norris to write an arrangement for us and it was just the most wonderful occasion after months of hard work. Where in the world would you most like to visit, but haven’t? Japan If you could read only two books from now on, which ones would they be? Jeeves collection by P G Wodehouse (for when I need cheering up) and the collected poems of Seamus Heaney (for returning to again and again and reminding me of home) Which four figures from the past would you like to have at your dinner table? Oscar Wilde, Iris Murdoch, David Bowie and Hildegard of Bingen What was your favourite subject at school? Music What other hobbies do you enjoy outside of music? Paddle boarding and allotment gardening What are you most looking forward to after lockdown eases? Meeting friends at a gig or show.  What do you do for a living?
I work as a Senior Manager at a local Health and Social Care Charity. Have you lived in Gloucestershire all your life? No, I was born in St Helen's but have lived in Gloucester since the age of five. Where is your favourite place in Gloucestershire? Gloucester Cathedral, hence why I moved next to it. I get to see it every day. Which bit of the building at Gloucester Cathedral do you love the most? The stalls in the back row of the Quire If you had to name your favourite choral piece, what might it be and why? Large work: A Sea Symphony by Vaughan Williams, it's an amazing work and a great sing. Small work: there are just too many I can't choose! Is there a choral piece that you would love to sing in, but haven’t yet? Tchaikovsky's 'Hymn of the Cherubim' What has been your favourite moment or event during your time with the Saint Cecilia Singers? Singing the Parry Songs of Farewell in an empty cathedral and then in the concert in front of the High Altar. Where in the world would you most like to visit, but haven’t? There are three and the all begin with I - Iran, Iraq and Israel. Home to some of the oldest civilisations on earth, the history of civilisation fascinates me. If you could read only two books from now on, which ones would they be? I go through phases with reading on and off, even though I live in a library, at the moment no two books jump out at me... maybe 'The Communist Manifesto' and the 'Tao Te Ching'. Which four figures from the past would you like to have at your dinner table? Tchaikovsky (the Swan Lake one, there are others), Tony Benn, Alan Turing & Victoria Wood. What was your favourite subject at school? Psychology What other hobbies do you enjoy outside of music? Studying anthropology in all its forms and the products of civilisation, especially culture, music and architecture. What are you most looking forward to after lockdown eases? Sharing a meal and wine with family and friends. |
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