2012 Stephen Owen - BA(Hons) BA(Ed) PGDip(Ed) MA MEd FRSA FESB MSTSD FLCM LRAM LGSM(Perf) LTCL(Perf) LLCM(TD) LLAM(Hons) ATCL Cert Ed(Drama)

Stephen trained as a teacher of Drama, Speech and Movement at the University of Leeds. He went on to study with Elinor Rutherford, gaining specialist diplomas in teaching and performing all aspects of Speech & Drama. As well as being responsible for drama at the schools in which he worked, he also taught pupils of all ages and abilities privately, from complete beginners up to Licentiate and Fellowship level.
For a time, he was also voice coach to a number of undergraduate students, who were experiencing communication difficulties in the classroom. He became an examiner for The English Speaking Board and The Poetry Society and enjoyed adjudicating at many festivals throughout the country.
In April 1985, he became head of a primary school in Derbyshire, which inevitably meant less time for examining and adjudicating. Since retiring in July 2007, he has been appointed as an examiner for the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), has become a Council Member of the Society of Teachers of Speech and Drama and has resumed his work as an Adjudicator Member of the British & International Federation of Festivals. Whilst he enjoyed headship very much, he is delighted to be once again part of a creative rather than a bureaucratic world.
When not examining or adjudicating, Stephen's leisure time consists of seeing as many plays and operas as possible, taking his two boxer dogs for long walks and teaching his young grandchildren to swim.

2012 Margaret J Smith LRAM GRSM

Margaret was born and brought up in Skipton, North Yorkshire, and was an enthusiastic participant in local festivals from a very young age. She studied the piano, initially with Dame Fanny Waterman, and then at the Royal Academy of Music, with the violin as an additional first study.
She spent many years in musical education with both singers and instrumentalists as Director of Music at one of the most prestigious Girls’ Schools in Yorkshire, where pupils won many prizes in national and local music competitions.
For 14 years, she was a Moderator for the composition and performance elements of GCSE Music. She has maintained her private piano practice, teaching to an advanced level and has always had a passionate interest in vocal music and choral work in particular. She was the founder- conductor of the Chippendale Singers, a chamber choir with a wide-ranging repertoire, currently enjoying success in the Yorkshire area.
Her many associations with choral societies have resulted in performances of oratorio, cantatas and concert versions of opera, working with both adults and children.
Margaret is an adjudicator member of the British & International Federation of Festivals. Her enthusiasm for the Festival movement and its value in musical education, has resulted in an ever-increasing number of invitations to adjudicate at festivals throughout the UK with frequent visits to Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands. She feels privileged to have been invited on two occasions by the Yorkshire Regional committee to adjudicate at their prestigious Yorkshire Regional Championship in 2007 and 2011.
In addition to her active musical life she enjoys walking, reading, concert and theatre-going and equestrian activities.

2012 Valerie Hoppe - MBE, GGSM, LGSM, ARCM

Valerie trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, specialising in Choral Conducting, Singing and Piano. She is widely known as a Choral Director, teacher and adjudicator, and is particularly in demand for her work with the development of young voices, both in solo and choral work. She has a large teaching practice, working with solo voices of all ages and levels.
She has been responsible for the organisation, training and direction of many community performances of major choral works, including Handel’s ‘Messiah’, Mendelssohn’s ‘Elijah’, Haydn’s ‘Creation’, and the Requiems of Mozart and Fauré. On many occasions she has organised and directed massed children’s choirs in performances of various cantatas.
Valerie has performed with many well-known artists including the opera singer Benjamin Luxon, the percussionist Evelyn Glennie and the cellist Julian Lloyd-Webber, as well as the major Military bands in Britain, such as the band of the Welsh Guards and the Band of the Irish Guards.
She is currently director of five choirs. In addition to her work with choirs, she has a large number of singing students, ranging from beginners and many young singers to highly experienced performers.
In 2003 she was awarded the MBE for her services to music.

2012 Gaynor Keeble - BEd Hons ARCM ARAM ALCM

Gaynor gained scholarships to the University of Warwick and the Royal Academy of Music. She combines a busy performing career with teaching both privately & at Warwick University & adjudicating at many festivals. She has also worked extensively with English Touring Opera’s Education Programme
She was a member of Welsh National Opera for three years and has worked for the Royal Opera, English National Opera, Opera North, D’Oyly Carte, Mid- Wales and English Touring Opera Carl Rosa. Roles with these companies include Carmen & Delilah (Samson & Delilah), Amneris (Aida), Marchioness (Daughter of the Regiment), Baba the Turk (Rake’s Progress), Mrs Sedley (Peter Grimes), Meg Page (Falstaff), Maddalena (Rigoletto), Marcellina (Marriage of Figaro) Orpheus (Orpheus and Euridice), Tisbe (Cenerentola), Katisha ( Mikado) and Azucena (Il Trovatore)
Concert include appearances with the London Mozart Players, London Bach Orchestra, CBSO Royal Philharmonic and The Philharmonia. She was made an ARAM in 2009
She maintains a busy operatic career with recent engagements including Katisha (ENO) 3rd Lady Magic Flute & Voice of the Mother (Hoffmann) Royal Opera House Hippolyta (Midsummer Nights Dream) & Gertrude (Romeo & Juliet) both for Opera. Roles in 2011 include 3rd Lady (ROH) La Marquise (Fille du Regiment) Mistress Quickly ( Falstaff) Longborough & Annina (La Traviata) ROH.
She is director of Opera d’Amore

2112 - 2011 - 2010 - 2009 - Back to top

2011 Anne Harris-Norman LGSM, FESB, ADB (Ed)

2011 Gary Sieling BMus MA FRCO

Born in Bedfordshire and educated at Dunstable Grammar School, Gary read for his BMus degree at the University of London, Goldsmiths’ College. While a student he played for the debut of the London Cantata Choir with whom he is still associated. He studied the organ at the Royal College of Music and St Catherine’s College Cambridge. In 1981 he became a FRCO and in 1997 attained an MA in Performance from Anglia Ruskin University.
Gary was organist of Dunstable Priory and Assistant Master of Music at Peterborough Cathedral. During his time there he was Conductor of the Peterborough Philharmonic Society, Director of the St Peter’s Singers, and Founder and Associate Conductor of the City of Peterborough Symphony Orchestra. He also taught organ and piano at Oundle and Stamford Schools. Gary played for the Cathedral Choir on two America tours in addition to regular TV and radio broadcasts and recordings.
Gary is now Director of Music at Bromley Parish Church and also directs the chamber choir ‘FineChants’, and the ‘Occasional Choir’. He works as a freelance organist, harpsichordist, conductor, adjudicator, and examiner for the Royal College of Organists. He spent the summer of 2009 as the Music Adjudicator to the Sri Lanka Performing Arts Festival and has been invited back to adjudicate for the summer of 2011.
His latest CD recording includes the organ works of Stanley Vann and the ‘Kenneth Leighton Memorial Album’ which Gary compiled and published. Organ concert venues include St Paul’s and Canterbury Cathedrals, Westminster Abbey and King’s College Cambridge . He has made ten international concert tours visiting Denmark, Germany, Italy and USA. Gary likes to relax by travelling and exploring old churches.

2011 Melanie Armitstead MA

Melanie Armitstead studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the National Opera Studio after taking a degree in Russian and French at Durham University. She began her career working with Scottish Opera, then working with Kent Opera, Opera North, Opera Northern Ireland and The Chatelêt in Paris singing roles by Mozart, Handel, Tchaikovsky, Bizet and Britten. Concerts and Recitals took Melanie to Japan, Spain, France, Holland and many Festivals and Music Societies within the UK.
Recently Melanie sang ‘Knoxville Summer of 1915’ by Barber with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and took part in a Music Festival at Sea with Richard Baker. She was the soprano soloist in Elgar’s Spirit of England, Mozart’s C Minor Mass, Bach’s Magnificat Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Handel’s Messiah and Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music. She has also produced the opera Venus & Adonis by Blow.
Melanie is the Senior Singing Teacher at Sherborne Girls’ School in Dorset. Over the last 12 years she has prepared senior students for grades 7 and 8 and the ABRSM Diploma, and helped numerous others to find a more secure technique in singing and therefore a greater enjoyment. At home she has an informal Madrigal Group, and she enjoys adjudicating at Festivals and Competitions around the country. She has twice been invited to adjudicate the Cecil Drew Oratorio Prize at the Birmingham Conservatoire and has recently returned from Hong Kong where she spent several weeks adjudicating at the Annual Schools Music Festival.

2011 Marilynne Davies BA, MEd, LRAM, Cert Ed, PGCA, FRSA

The Welsh Eisteddfod provided Marilynne Davies with her early experiences of performance on piano, cello and singing. Since then she has continued as a performer, teacher and conductor and was until recently Head of the School of Performance at the College of Rippon and York St. John - a post that embraced Music, Dance, Drama, Film and Television. She now has a busy freelance career as an adjudicator at national and international festivals, as a voice consultant, teacher and conductor, and as a leader of a variety of workshops. She is also involved in arts consultancy which has taken her into the world of film archiving and led to opportunities to work with dancers in music theatre.
She has sung with professional orchestras including the London Mozart Players and has conducted choirs for BBC and ITV - the largest being a choir of 1100 school children. Her experience in teaching ranges from nursery to post-graduate levels and has involved classroom and individual teaching as well as being external examiner and assessor in performance for a number of universities at the graduate and post-graduate level. She has been Warden for the Music in Education Section of the Incorporated Society of Musicians and is on the council of the Association of British Choral Directors. Marilynne Davies is an adjudicator member of the British and International Federation of Festivals and is involved in the selection of new adjudicators.
When not making, talking or listening to music, she enjoys collecting English enamel snuff boxes (for interest, not for use!) and walking (coastal paths and contour walks).

2010 Lesley Dunstan BMus (Hons), BSc (Hons), LRAM, ARCM

2010 Cally Foster LLAM, MSTSD

2010 Suzanne Higgins MA (Music) BA Cert Ed

Born in Denmark, Suzanne grew up in Yorkshire, where she had her first singing lessons with Betty Middleton. After five years as a lecturer in Further Education she joined the chorus of the Opera Royale de Wallonie in Liège, Belgium, subsequently moving to that of Cologne Opera.

Whilst in Belgium and Germany she continued her studies, gaining her Reifeprüfung from the Cologne Musikhochschule. and later teaching singing at the Rheinisch- Westfälische Technische Hochschule in Aachen and the University of Cologne. Since her return to England she has worked as a freelance with the BBC singers, London Voices, the Britten Singers and the London Sinfonietta, as well as touring extensively with the Arena Carmen for Classical Productions. She has taken operatic roles for London City Opera and London Opera Players.
Since 1989 Suzanne has been a member of the Quartet of St. Giles Cripplegate, in the City of London. She was awarded the Freedom of the City of London in 1999, and became a Liveryman of the Musicians Company in the same year.
Suzanne has a long standing connection with Hertfordshire Music Services as a singing teacher in Secondary Education. For eight years she co-directed the Music Club at Meath Home, a residential home for people with epilepsy and related conditions. She also currently teaches singing at Morley College, and has conducted choirs both there and for Bromley College of Adult Education. One element in her commitment to outreach work is bringing music to audiences which might not otherwise be able to access live performance. In this field she has performed for Music in Hospitals since 1990, and finds that her interest in Folk Music, including guitar and concertina accompaniment, is of great practical assistance.
Suzanne maintains a private teaching practice and is an adjudicator member of the British and International Federation of Festivals.

2010 Dr Vivien Pike Hon.M.Mus, GRSM, ARMCM, LGSM, FRSA

2009 Dr Eileen Bentley MBE

Eileen Bentley was born in Oldham and studied voice, piano and organ at Tle Royal College of Music in Manchester. She has spent most of her career working with young people as singing teacher and choralist and in 1974 became one of the first peripatetic singing teachers in England working in schools with youth choirs and children's choirs.The following year she founded the Oldham Girls' Choir which went on to establish a national reputation winning major awards at many Festivals including Llangollen International Eisteddfod, The Elgar Festival the International Choral Competition in Malta and the British Federation Choir of Choirs Festivals in Warwick.

In 1982 she became Director of Music for the Oldham LEA where she continues to work with young people. During the 1980s she undertook research into the development of music education in the curriculum in England during the twentieth century and in 1989 was awarded a Doctorate from Manchester Victoria University. One important aspect of her work is the importance of getting boys singing and keeping them singing. In 1995 she became the conductor of the Oldham. Boys' Choir which was featured in the 2004 BBC2 documentary "Britten's Children". In 1999 she founded the Oldham Youth Choir. There are now fifty four members of this choir which in the past five years has made both radio and television appearances, produced three CDs and appeared at the Royal Albert Hall in London as part of the Schools' Proms. Recently Eileen has been a member of two National Executives for Music Education in this country - The Federation of Music Services and also the National Association of Music Educators. As a teacher and lecturer in vocal studies and choral work she has led choral workshops for both children's and adult choirs across the UK. In 2006 she was awarded the MBE for services to music education.

2009 Maria Jagusz GRNCM

Maria Jagum trained at the Royal Northern College of Music and the National Opera Studio. Since then she has worked as soloist for most of the leading opera companies in the U.K. and Europe. Her roles include Carmen, Cherubino, Nicklaus, Rosina, Hansel and Dorabella. She has sung with many international artists including Carreras, Dom-ingo, Dame Kid Te Kanewa and Mirella Freni. She is a guest artist for P&O classical music cruises and performs with Richard Baker and Henry Kelly.
 Alongside her singing career Maria has always given master classes, workshops and lessons to children and adults from all walks of' life. Since moving to the Cotswolds ten years ago she has specialised in coaching youngsters hoping to follow a career in singing and the performing arts and has helped several of them launch their careers. Maria is passionate about creating opportunities for young talented singers. With this in mind she started MJ.UK Music and Arts which puts on musicals, operas and concerts involving youngsters many of whom go on to train as professional singers. Her credits include Dido and Aneas, Little Sweep and Les Miserables (Longborough Festival Opera, Carmen for Swindon Opera, Orfeo and Eurydice (Cirencester College), Les Miserables, West Side Story. Jesus Christ Superstar and The Secret Garden (M.J.U.K.). Future work includes directing La Boheme for Longborough Festival Opera. She was made honoury chairman of the Silurian Consort earlier this year because of her musical contribution to the community. Maria has been an adjudicator for the past two years and thoroughly enjoys listening and helping festival participants.

2009 Christina Thornson LRAM ARCM GRSM PGCA

Christina Thomson attended the Royal Academy of Music after leaving the National Youth Orchestra. A fascinating career as a horn player in Germany followed. She returned to London in 1984 to perform chamber music; she became a soloist with several chamber orchestras and taught at Harrow and the Purcell School. In 1991 she returned to her home town of Ripon where she teaches at the Ripon Choir School, Ampleforth College and Hurworth House School, as well as having an extensive private teaching practice encompassing ages 5 to 70.
After she was robbed of her embouchure in an incident in 2000 she retired from professional playing and concentrates on pedagogy. She is internationally in demand as an adjudicator and examines for the Associated Board in England and abroad as well as being a Brass Specialist Mentor for the Board's Professional Development Course. She enjoys cycling and high level mountain walking in the Austrian Alps as an antidote to the hectic musical life she leads. Christina is an adjudicator member of the British and International Federation of Festivals

2009 SilvieTaylor FTCL LTCL ATCL

Silvie Taylor is from Dundee and has been an adjudicator member of the British & International Federation of Festivals for over 30 years, during which time she has covered festivals throughout UK, Canada, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and, on many occasions, Hong Kong. She is also a member of SASDA (Scottish Association of Speech & Drama Adjudicators) and SCDA (Scottish Community Drama Association).

These have been lifelong interests, through performing and teaching, but with family grown up she opted for the greater flexibility offered by adjudicating. She enjoys sharing her enthusiasm with students and teachers alike, while, having started as an amateur, she understands only too well the festival nerves which beset many young performers. Also a freelance writer and book reviewer, Silvie was President of Scottish Association of Writers until March 2008, and is eternally fascinated by words spoken, written or read. She has judged numerous creative writing competitions and is a registered speaker with Live Literature Scotland under the auspices of the Scottish Arts Council.
She has happy memories of her previous visit to Kettering and feels very privileged to be invited to the 100th anniversary of a festival remembered with great affection.