Fulham Camerata is a chamber choir of around thirty-five voices based in south-west London.
It is supported by an ensemble of semi-professionals, allowing the choir to tackle exciting repertoire and maintain high musical standards.
Members span all age groups, various nationalities and are drawn from diverse professional and ethnic backgrounds.
The joy of singing is what binds us together!
Meet the people
HARRY CASTLE — Music Director, since June 2018
Harry began his musical life as a chorister at St Peter’s Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton, where he became a choral scholar and from September 2017 to August 2018 was Acting Director of Music while completing his postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE). Before taking a place to read Music at Hatfield College, Durham, Harry sang as a countertenor choral scholar at Exeter Cathedral. At Durham, Harry held many conducting posts including Director of Music at Hatfield College, Conductor of Durham University Symphony Orchestra, Musical Director of Durham University Chamber Choir and Durham Opera Ensemble. Alongside conducting, Harry was also a choral scholar at Durham Cathedral under James Lancelot.
After leaving university to begin his teaching career at Norwich School, Harry held posts as Musical Director of Sheringham and Cromer Choral Society and The Iceni Choir. Since moving to London, Harry has recently been appointed Assistant Director of Music at Godolphin and Latymer School having held the same post at the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School.
He is a founding member and Musical Director of The Sovereign Singers, a London-based chamber choir consisting of Durham University graduates.
Harry has conducted in major venues across Europe. Notable UK performances have included Holst’s Planets Suite in Durham Cathedral, Guillame de Machaut’s Messe de Notre Dame in Norwich Cathedral, numerous services in Westminster Abbey, York Minster, and Canterbury, Wells, Salisbury and Southwell cathedrals, while overseas he has conducted in Kaiser Wilhelm Church, Berlin, San Sebastian Church, Madrid and St Stephen’s Basilica, Budapest.
COMMITTEE
A committee of elected trustees runs the choir for the benefit of members and the public. Trustees are elected at the Annual General Meeting and any member can stand for election. The choir is run collaboratively, with all choir members contributing to events and activities. Committee officers are Judith Nugée (chair), Tom Beach (treasurer) and Lucy Schoonhoven (secretary).
CHRIS POTTS — Accompanist
Christopher Potts began his musical life as a Chorister at Manchester Cathedral where he was also a student at Chetham's School of Music. Following this he won a scholarship to Eton College and continued with undergraduate studies in Music at Durham University as well as postgraduate studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
A teaching career saw years spent at Ampleforth College, Sevenoaks School, the City of London Freemen's School, and now The Royal Ballet school. Chris is the co-founder of Coro Spezzato, a choir of young, professional singers who commission new choral music.
Chris is also project manager for the Hamish Ogston Foundation who are committed to promoting the UK’s renowned choral and organ traditions. In addition, Chris carries out freelance work as musician, and has been accompanist for Fulham Camerata since September 2021.
ALEXANDER HOPKINS — Composer in Residence
Alexander started his musical career as a chorister at Westminster Cathedral from 2007 and was made head chorister in 2011. Simultaneously he was singing on tours and doing recordings, broadcasts, and televised services. He attended Ampleforth College until 2017, when he started a music degree at the University of Manchester. Having graduated, he worked as a lay clerk at St John’s College Choir Cambridge for two years, after which embarking on a freelance career as a choral singer, soloist, and composer.
Alexander’s composing started from a young age, but took off after a Mass setting based on the plainsong Mass XIII was taken on tour in Italy by the Ampleforth Singers. He continued to compose at school, writing and performing a Requiem Mass for choir and strings among other works. Whilst in Manchester, he studied composition under Camden Reeves and, in 2020, had his choral work ‘Wash Me Throughly’ broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and sung by Coro Spezzato, a choir co-founded by Alexander. ‘O Vos Omnes’, a later commission was also picked up by BBC Radio 3 and broadcast in 2021. Whilst a lay clerk at John’s Cambridge, Alexander enjoyed writing arrangements for a capella group The Gents of St John's and received a commission from Andrew Nethsingha to write a piece for the college choir – ‘Salvator Mundi, Domine’, which was premiered in May 2021 and since been recorded for release in the summer of 2023. Alexander is now working as a freelance musician based in London, and is looking forward to his new role as composer in residence for Fulham Camerata.
Choral scholars
GEORGIE ENTWHISLE — Soprano scholar
Georgie has been a chorister since the age of ten. Her choral training began at Bath Abbey where she was a chorister for eight years, two as head chorister. At Bath she recorded numerous CDs, sang on BBC Radio 3 multiple times and sang with the choir live on BBC 1 on Christmas Morning. She was a Music Scholar at Prior Park College in Bath and studied singing with Rosa Mannion. She obtained distinction in her Advance Performance Certificate in singing and holds grade 8 in singing, in alto saxophone, piano and violin. In her final year at school Georgie played the role of Susanna in Mozart’s Le Nozze de Figaro.
Georgie recently graduated in music from King’s College London. In her final year she was selected for the Advanced Performance Module, studying under Alexander Ashworth at the Royal Academy of Music. At King’s she was also a choral scholar in The Chapel Choir of King’s College London under Dr Joseph Fort. During these three years she was given many notable opportunities, both solo and consort, within the university and externally. In 2018, Georgie was one of the soprano soloists in Handel’s Chandos Anthems for the London Handel Festival. She also was the soprano soloist in Leighton’s Mass for Double Choir at St Paul’s Covent Garden, as part of the St Martin’s in the Field’s Concert series. Georgie sang the soprano solo of the premiere of Barber’s The Lovers at Kings Place. Whilst at Kings she’s recorded four CDs with the choir and went on tours to Canada, Nigeria and America.
Georgie has sung in numerous London churches, such as St Luke's Chelsea, St Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral, St Peter's Eton Square and St Gabriel's Pimlico. She has sung in the closing concert of the 2019 London Handel Festival with the London Handel singers under the direction of Laurence Cummings.
Georgie says she is thoroughly enjoying Fulham Camerata, the varied types of music that are chosen and, especially, the enthusiastic direction of Harry Castle. “The choir is full of kind and interesting people who are all there to make music and all have the same passion for choral singing. It is the perfect group to spend a mid-week evening with.”
CONOR FOSTER — Bass scholar
Conor graduated recently from Clare College, Cambridge with a BA in Russian, Spanish and Linguistics having sung in their renowned college choir. At university he toured with the choir to Canada, the USA, Mexico, Spain, Iceland and annually to the Netherlands at Christmas. Conor was fortunate enough to perform John Rutter’s Requiem under the composer, who founded the college choir in 1976.
Other concert highlights include singing Britten’s War Requiem and Mahler’s 2nd Symphony in King’s College Chapel with the university orchestra, and the Christmas Oratorio, the Matthew Passion and the Messiah with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
Last year, Conor sang the bass arias of the John Passion in St. George’s, Belfast. A keen flautist, Conor’s highlights include playing principal in Scheherazade and Britten’s Young Person’s Guide with the college orchestra.
Now settling into London life, Conor is training in Modern Languages teaching and at Westminster School, where he also assists in choral singing.
JACK YATES — Tenor scholar
Jack Yates began his musical career singing in local churches and choirs throughout Bedford. He was also a member of the Millennium Youth Choir for the Royal School of Church Music.
Before University he spent two years working as a gap year choral scholar at St Davids and Lincoln Cathedrals. Here he sang regular daily services and worked with the choristers. He also participated in concerts, festivals, and broadcasts.
Jack graduated in Music from Royal Holloway University of London. In his final year he was selected for the Special Performance Module, studying under Mark Wilde at the Royal Academy of Music. At Royal Holloway he was a choral scholar in The Chapel Choir under Rupert Gough. During this period, he sang regular services, concerts and broadcasts. He was given the opportunity for solo work with the choir, which included performances of works by Mozart, Haydn, Handel and Monteverdi across London and Bristol. While at Holloway he recorded five CDS with the choir and went on tours around Europe, Canada and America.
Jack now teaches Music at the West London Free School whilst singing across London in numerous London churches. He greatly enjoys singing with Fulham Camerata where he is the Tenor Choral Scholar.
History
Fulham Camerata was formed in 2007 by Hermione Ruck Keene and Christopher Wray, both committed to the idea of bringing young professionals and amateurs together to develop in singing and musicianship. The choir grew from a small group of barely ten singers to a choir of thirty. When Chris and Hermione stepped down in 2014, Fulham Camerata came under the new management of a committee drawn from the members and has gone from strength to strength, becoming a registered charity in November 2022. The founders’ commitment to the development of singing, both amateur and professional, remains important. We aim to encourage and support talented young professionals when appointing our accompanists, choral scholars, soloists and Musical Directors, as well as composers in residence, to help us deliver excellent music to our members and audiences.
Ralph Allwood was Director of Music at Eton College for 26 years and is now a freelance choral director, teacher and conductor.
He is the Director of the Rodolfus (ex Eton) Choral Courses which he founded in 1980. He co-founded the Junior Choral Courses in 2012 and has since launched courses in Shanghai and Shenzhen. The Rodolfus choir has produced over 20 CDs since he founded it.
Ralph is co-founder and conductor of Inner Voices, made up of singers from state schools in London. He is also Director of Chapel Music at Queen’s College Chapel, Cambridge and Director of the choir at the Old Royal Naval College Trinity Laban Chapel Choir and an Honorary Fellow of University College, Durham.
Ralph has conducted choirs for 40 live broadcasts for BBC Radio 3 and he teaches at his old grammar school, Tiffin.
In 2017, the Archbishop of Canterbury presented him with the Thomas Cranmer Award for Music and Worship.
Ben Rowarth: Composer in Residence, Fulham Camerata 2015 - 2020
Ben Rowarth is a young London based composer also performing regularly as a conductor and bass baritone. His music has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and received exceptional reviews.
Winner of the NCEM Composer Award 2012 and Leeds International Film Festival Best Documentary Soundtrack (2013), he has received numerous commissions and international performances, including among many others, from Merton College Oxford (2014), The Tower of London ( 2017), The London Festival of Contemporary Church Music (2018) and Emmanuel College, Cambridge (2019).
Ben has been commercially recorded by ORA, The Rodolfus Choir and the Fieri Consort and also by the internationally acclaimed ensemble, The Tallis Scholars. Ben has also composed two live soundtracks for plays receiving exceptional reviews.
Following undergraduate and postgraduate music degrees at Durham and York Universities Ben now performs regularly as a baritone soloist in a number of ensembles around the UK including Britten Sinfonia, The OAE, I Fagiolini and The BBC Singers.
Whilst acting as Composer in Residence for Fulham Camerata he was commissioned to compose Life Cycle, a collection of short pieces for choir, and For the Fallen, a hauntingly beautiful setting of Laurence Binyon's renowned poem for Remembrance Sunday, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in 2021.
He now manages and conducts his own professional ensemble, Renaissance.
From 2015–2018 Fulham Camerata was brought to new heights by the dynamic young conductor James Day, pictured.
James is Artistic Director of the Pimlico Musical Foundation, Artistic Director of the Barnes Music Festival, and Director of Choral Music at Tiffin School.
Alexander (b.1984) has received over 100 commissions from organisations including The Royal Opera House, The Tallis Scholars and the Royal Ballet Sinfonia. His music has been performed in venues all over the world from Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall to Shakespeare’s Globe and Westminster Abbey to Christ Cathedral California and the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York City.
Alexander is conductor of the Oxbridge Singers and the minimaLIST ENsemble.
His passion for music education has led him to direct workshops for leading organisations including the Royal Opera House, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Royal College of Music Sparks.
Alexander studied at Oxford University where he was choral and organ scholar, the Royal Academy of Music and the University for Performing Arts in Vienna. He has been elected an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music for services to music.
During his tenure as Composer in Residence, Fulham Camerata performed a number of Alexander's works including world premieres of Heaven-Haven and Jesu, meine Freude, and commissioned 90 Measures, a 6 minute piece based on the words William Shakespeare which have been broken down and exploded to last the duration of the entire piece. It was first performed in 2008 at St Luke’s Church, South Kensington, London by the Fulham Camerata, conducted by Christopher Wray.
Photo credits Carol Hartfree Bright Images Photography, jonathonvines.com and carmelking.com