PRESIDENT
Roderick Williams OBE
Our President, Roddy Williams, is an opera singer, recitalist and composer. He is also a Choral Course Alumnus! Roddy is one of this country’s most sought after baritones and is constantly in demand on the concert and operatic platform, encompassing a repertoire from the baroque to world premieres.
Roddy is passionate about diversity in classical music and we are extremely proud to have him as our president.
VICE-PRESIDENTS
Edward Gardner OBE
Edward Gardner is a conductor of international renown. He is Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Chief Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic, a position he has held since October 2015. Ed attended choral courses in the 1990s and sang with the Rodolfus Choir.
Sally Dunkley
Sally’s long career as professional consort singer has run hand-in-hand with her interest in 16th-century vocal music as practical scholar. She took part in the Sixteen's very first concert, and continues to appear with the group, exploring a wide range of music old and new. She also sings with the ensemble Magnificat, with the women’s group Musica Secreta, and in times past contributed to more than 1000 concerts and many recordings with the Tallis Scholars.
She is often busy behind the scenes as editor and programme consultant, and is increasingly engaged in sharing her experience through workshops and summer schools.
Jenny Watson CBE
Jenny joined her borough youth choir, in Essex where she grew up, at the age of 14, and later joined the National Youth Choir, eventually becoming a member of the London Philharmonic Choir which she's now sung with for almost 40 years.
In her working life, Jenny is a board member and consultant. Her current portfolio includes roles as chair of GAMSTOP, the House of St Barnabas, and Mossbourne Parkside Academy and she is a former Chair of the Electoral Commission and of the Equal Opportunities Commission. She is passionate about young people from all kinds of backgrounds having the opportunity to sing choral music to the highest standards, whether or not they choose to pursue it as a career.
Helen Charlston
Helen began singing as chorister and head chorister of the St Albans Abbey Girls Choir. She then studied music at Trinity College, Cambridge where she held a choral scholarship for four years and was a scholar on the Pembroke College Lieder Scheme, led by Joseph Middleton. Helen won First Prize in the 2018 Handel Singing Competition, was a Rising Star of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment for 2017-19 and is a 2018 City Music Foundation Artist. She is currently a BBC New Generation Artist 2021-23. Helen is as at home on the concert stage as is she in opera or making recordings. As a rising star, we are so proud to have Helen on our team, inspiring our young singers.