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Who's Who St. Thomas-on-The Bourne has been fortunate for a number of years to employ the services of professional musicians. These have been supported by a number of other volunteers, all of whom are musicians of a professional standard. These individuals all help to maintain and enhance the music at St Thomas, and all offers of help are always very welcome! MUSIC STAFF Director of Music – Philip Viveash BA Hons (Oxon), PG Dip. (RCM) Assistant Director of Music - Julian Cooper, BSc, PhD, FRCO Assistant Conductor - Ian Bysh, BEng, PhD. Junior Organ Scholar - Jacob Morris Choir Librarian - Luke Morris PHILIP VIVEASH – Director of Music (since September 2008) Philip was born and grew up in Hampshire. He began his musical training singing in boys’ choirs and at 16 won a scholarship to study on the Hampshire Specialist Music Course. Philip is an Oxford music graduate where he was a choral scholar in New College Choir. Subsequently, he trained on a course for young singers with the Baylis Programme at English National Opera and completed his studies with Graduate and Post Graduate Diplomas at the Royal College of Music. As a soloist he has performed in opera, oratorio and recital. Philip has performed with many choirs and has toured America and Europe. He has sung on internationally acclaimed recordings and at prestigious festivals and concerts such as the BBC Proms, the Halle Handel Festival and the Princess of Wales Memorial Concert. Philip has trained a variety of choirs; as Director of Music at Hall Grove School he founded and ran Hall Grove Choral Society and the Hall Grove Boys' Choir, taking them on tour, making a recording and leading them to competition success. He has been chorus master to the eighty-strong adult chorus of Haslemere Musical Society, run the East Berks Junior and Intermediate Choirs and assisted with the award winning Berkshire Girls' and Berkshire Boys' Choirs. In September 2004 Philip co-founded the Taplow Choirs, a group of four choirs which has grown to include over 170 children and teenagers; since their start in 2004 all four choirs have had competition success at either national or international level. Philip is delighted to have joined us at St. Thomas-on-The Bourne and is enjoying working with the choirs. JULIAN COOPER - Assistant Director of Music (since January 2007) Julian Cooper was born in Aldershot and commenced his musical studies with the late Mrs Barbara Holderness of Fleet. He was educated the Royal Grammar School, Guildford, where he was a Music Scholar. Julian subsequently studied Chemistry at Durham where he was awarded a BSc and PhD. Whilst at Durham he was Organ Scholar at the College of St Hild and St Bede, as well as Organist at St John’s Church, Nevilles Cross, Durham. He studied the organ with Keith Wright, the assistant organist at the cathedral. Julian won six prizes in the Associate of the Royal College of Organists diploma including the prestigious Limpus prize, and subsequently won the Harding and Durrant prizes in the Fellowship examination. After leaving Durham, he continued his organ studies with Anne Page in Cambridge. Although Julian’s day job is in the pharmaceutical industry, he was Assistant Organist at St Neots Parish Church in Cambridgeshire before moving to Farnham. Whilst at St Neots he accompanied the choir on their many cathedral visits, including a tour to Helsinki. Julian has given recitals at the cathedrals of Durham, Dunblane and St Giles (Edinburgh), as well as in various parish churches. He has given recitals in the cathedrals of Lviv and Kyiv in Ukraine, and has attended study courses on historical organs in the Netherlands, Italy and Spain. He has also played continuo for choral societies, and with the Guildford Oriana Orchestra. Julian has also produced a CD of the Forster and Andrews organ at All Saints Parish Church, Fleet, and owns two harpsichords. Ian Bysh – Assistant Conductor and Choir Trainer (since September 2008) Ian started singing in the Anglican tradition when he was seven as a chorister at Chester Cathedral and then at Beverley Minster Choir, eventually becoming head chorister. Ian was subsequently a choral scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford, and after graduating sang in Guildford Chamber Choir, Surrey University Chamber Choir and the Guildford Cathedral Occasional Singers. Ian is very involved in the St Endellion Music Festivals in Cornwall, made famous by the late Richard Hickox. He has studied singing with Ian Kennedy at The Guildhall, and also plays the piano and the viola. He has been singing tenor and latterly alto at St Thomas since 2005. Ian conducts services when the musical director is unavailable and assists with training the choristers. PREVIOUS STAFF
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