About the Choir

Musical Director

Dexter Drown

Dexter Drown is an imaginative and versatile conductor, recognised for magical performances with professional and amateur choirs and orchestras. Proudly state-educated, Dexter is as passionate about learning as he is about music making.

Dexter is a distinguished and inspiring choral conductor and choir trainer. He has worked as chorus master for conductors including Sir Karl Jenkins, Toby Purser, and George Jackson in some of the UK’s most prestigious venues; and he's worked with Ensemble Vocal Interlude (Grenoble), Chaddesley Voices, Stourport Choral, and is on the faculty of the Chester Choral Week, sharing his love of choral music with singers across the country.

Alongside his work with large choruses, Dexter is the conductor of the Nottingham Trent University Chamber Choir, helping shape the next generation of choral musicians. He directs The Sitwell Singers and the award-winning Derwent Singers, and he's been invited to adjudicate at the Bangor International Choral Festival.

In addition to conducting the professional chamber orchestra, The Sinfonia Stellaris, Dexter has worked with musicians from the Orchestra of the Swan, The Hadit Collective, Ensemble Ad libitum de Chambéry, and conducted the Midland Sinfonia. He is the Musical Director of the Midland Concert Orchestra and the Leicester Symphony Orchestra.

Dexter gained a Master’s in Orchestral Conducting with Distinction at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. He is the Winner of the Michael Beech Conducting Award and the Abingdon Music Festival Conducting Competition.​​​​​

Accompanist

Iain Jackson

Iain is a graduate of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and now works as an accompanist in the Acting department. He combines this with a busy freelance life accompanying, composing, arranging, playing and singing, primarily with the eclectic jazz quintet Grandma's Biscuit Tin.

Vocal Coach

Gaynor Keeble

After training at the Royal Academy of Music, Gaynor has performed many operatic roles for companies such as Welsh National Opera, English Touring Opera and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. In the concert hall she has worked with orchestras like CBSO, the Philharmonia and the Royal Philharmonic. She is also well known as an adjudicator for music festivals.