THE GENTLEMEN SONGSTERS MALE VOICE CHOIR

OUR MUSICAL TEAM

MUSICAL DIRECTOR               Mike Wells

ACCOMPANIST                       Neil Bolton

ASSISTANT ACCOMPANIST   Steven Swindells

DEPUTY CONDUCTOR             John Walley

OUR ADMIN TEAM

PRESIDENT

VICE-PRESIDENTS

CHARITY TRUSTEES

MUSICAL TEAM

MUSICAL DIRECTOR
Mike Wells

Mike's knowledge of music has been gained from many years of experience. His father was an opera lover who also sang with a Birmingham based Gilbert & Sullivan society, teaching Mike many songs at home from an early age. With help from his parents, Mike learned to play the piano whilst still at junior school and then went on to direct and accompany various school concerts at senior school.  For many years he was accompanist for several amateur operatic societies and musical groups, first taking up the baton in 1994 as musical director for a local operatic society. Mike has now been conducting mixed voice groups and choirs for a number of years but this is his first time with an all male voice choir.  He is looking forward to taking on this new challenge and is trying hard not to refer to the first tenors as sopranos!

ACCOMPANIST
Neil Bolton

Neil began reading music at the age of five, and learnt to play the recorder in a lunch-time group at infant school. He continued to play most members of the recorder family at Causeway Green Music Centre for ten years, and then joined the "Zephyr Consort", playing bass recorder until the group disbanded in 1994.

Neil's piano lessons commenced at the age of seven, and continued for eleven years, by which time he had achieved Grade 8 in piano playing. Throughout his years in school and higher education, he has learnt to play the tuba, violin and clarinet amongst other instruments, and he played clarinet in his school Wind Band, "The Sandwell Training Concert Band", and finally "The Sandwell Youth Concert Band" (as first clarinet), before leaving to concentrate on his academic studies.

Whilst at school, he played the piano in the Jazz Band, and the Double Seconds in "Neither Brass Nor Strings" - a Steel Band, the latter making a recording in a professional studio to raise money for school funds. They also played at many school fetes, concerts, assemblies and even at a wedding and a birthday party.

Neil was appointed Assistant Accompanist to "The Gentlemen Songsters Male Voice Choir" in May 1998, after meeting his mentor, Lynn Andrews, whilst undertaking his first teaching practice at her school. He has served as Accompanist to the "Sandwell Young Singers", a choir for school children within the Sandwell Education Authority area, and has also acted as an official accompanist at the Dudley Festival of Music Drama and Dance

In his professional life, Neil is a primary school teacher and music co-ordinator working for Birmingham Education Authority.

Neil was promoted to Accompanist at the end of March 2003.

ASSISTANT ACCOMPANIST
Steven Swindells

Steven was appointed as the Gentlemen Songsters’ Assistant Accompanist in September 2007 – at the age of 16

He became interested in music at the age of 9 and started keyboard lessons at Roy Jeavons Music School in Dudley, and has since performed in many concerts organised by both that school and his former secondary school, Castle High School in Dudley.

Since he was 14, he has concentrated on piano, and has participated in the RadioWM Summer Star Search, which afforded him the dubious honour of being interviewed and making a live performance on the Les Ross afternoon show!

Having gained excellent GCSE results in 2007, including an “ A* “ in Music, he has now moved into sixth form education, studying Psychology, Biology and Music at the Oldswinford Hospital School, Stourbridge, and has taken up the violin. He hopes to progress to the wind section later in the year.

After "A" levels, his objective is to develop a musical career by initially attending the Birmingham Conservatoire

DEPUTY CONDUCTOR
John Walley

John Walley has been a member of "The Gentlemen Songsters Male Voice Choir" since January 1989. His usual role on the front row of the Second Tenors has nothing to do with his love of rugby! John took early retirement from his position as a Civil Engineer with Sandwell Council, and first served as Choir Chairman during 1998. It was in 1998 that John, who also is a Church Organist and Choirmaster, was appointed as Deputy Conductor to "The Gentlemen Songsters Male Voice Choir". John's musical and artistic talents are often deployed to the full when he leads the choir (some of you will have seen him conducting "This Old Man"!!!!) and the choir supporters in "songs and actions" at our regular concert afterglows and in the bar on choir tours - often ending flat on the floor at the end of leading a group singing "Who Killed Cock Robin?" John has served a number of sentences as Choir Chairman, and has also served as Concert Secretary. Recently, John filled the role of Acting Musical Director until the appointment of Mike Wells as Musical Director.

OUR ADMINISTRATION TEAM

PRESIDENT

Joe Brandrick

VICE-PRESIDENTS

Don Marsh, Janet Lawton, June Box, Michael Collie & Philippa Tomson

CHARITY TRUSTEES

John Bowen, Robert Biggs, Tony Fletcher, Robert Ashwood & Keith Moss

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