I am a community arts worker living in the glorious Shropshire Hills. I ran my first choir when I was still at school and went on to develop a practice working primarily with people who had been denied a voice in some way, in many cases because they had been told they were tone deaf. I love nurturing voices and I’m always keen to work with people who have been denied opportunities to explore their potential as singers. 

As a performer and writer I do a lot of cross art form improvisation and devising, which informs my participatory work.  I often record and edit voice, percussion and keyboard work with participants on a field recorder and create soundscapes in response.  Group song writing for performance is a particular love and I often use this to help develop singers’ confidence and skills of self-expression.

I’ve worked across England and Wales as a community arts worker, creativity consultant, singing coach, performer, composer and theatre maker. I particularly love facilitating projects with community groups and I have written music with, for example, adults and children with disabilities, mental health issues and refugees. I’ve enjoyed being a trainer and mentor for musicians in exile, care workers and teachers.

In recent years I have chosen to work a lot with older people, including setting up a singing for health and wellbeing project (Breathing Space) in partnership with carers at my local community centre and on Live Age projects for the New Vic Theatre in Stoke.

Currently I am facilitating a community choir and an a cappella group and I have been setting up Singularity: a website based resource of lessons for people who are missing their choirs during the Covid 19 crisis. This features exercises, tips, public domain arrangements and some specially composed pieces.

I am a member of Sound Sense and The Musicians’ Union.