Christine began choral training and conducting as a student and has worked with many groups, from adult education classes and children’s groups to choral societies, college and university choirs and chamber choirs as well diverse instrumental ensembles and orchestras. In addition to the standard choral repertoire, Christine has extensive experience in music theatre repertoire – musicals, opera and operetta – and in the performance of choral arrangements of a wide variety of music. 

Christine’s current conducting activities: 

Valentine Singers  Writtle Singers Tuneful Accord Spectrum Singers youth choir  Jericho Ensemble An ensemble of professional instrumentalists

Choral arranging 

Christine has made a number of choral arrangements for her own choirs which have also been performed and recorded by other groups. 

Choral repertoire 

Previous choral conducting activities 

Previous choral conducting activities have included:

Portsmouth University Choral Society (1993-9) Christine conducted the choir in various large-scale concerts and carol services in both the anglican and catholic cathedrals in Portsmouth.

Huntingdonshire Philharmonic (1987-1993) Christine was assistant conductor and accompanist for the Phil; her roles there included conducting the choir and orchestra in a broadcast performance of Mozart Ave Verum for ITV Highway 1992 as well as considerable orchestral piano playing, including Britten Saint Nicolas and Stravinsky Symphony of Psalms.

Epping Forest FE College choir (c.1990-1993) 

St Anne's Singers (mid-1980's-1993)  Growing from a church choir, this chamber group gave many concerts of smaller-scale choral pieces, including an orchestrally-accompanied performance of J S Bach St John Passion.
 

Other conducting experience 

Previous orchestral conducting experiences include:

University of Portsmouth Orchestra and Dramatic and Musical Society ~ various including Rutter Gloria, Opera Evening at Portsmouth Cathedral,   

Royal Marines’ School of Music orchestra in various concerts in Portsmouth Cathedrals

Jericho Ensemble in two all-Mozart concerts including the Prague Symphony and Piano Concerto in D Minor K466 (soloist Tim Smith)

Jericho Ensemble in Vaughan WIlliams Five Mystical Songs (John Llewelyn Evans baritione); Finzi Dies Natalis (Elizabeth Menezes soprano); Purcell/Britten Chacony

Aurelien Ensemble in Mozart including Oboe Concerto (soloist Sylvia Harper) and Exsultate Jubilate (soloist Jenny Haxell) 

Choral performances with orchestra Repertoire performed includes JS Bach ~ St Matthew and St John Passions, Mass in B minor and Magnificat; Beethoven Missa Solemnis; Bernstein Chichester Psalms; Blackford Mirror of Perfection; Brahms Requiem; Britten Cantata Miserircordium and Saint Nicolas; Handel Judas Maccabaeus and Messiah; Haydn Creation and Nelson Mass; Janáček Otčenáš (organ & harp); Mendelssohn Elijah; Mozart Requiem, Kyrie in D minor, Regina Coeli, Vespers K339 and  Mass in C minor; Panufnik Westminster Mass (organ, harp & timps version); Purcell Dido & Aeneas. 

Directing from the keyboard: J S Bach Magnificat and Concerto for Oboe and Violin (soloists Sylvia Harper and Elizabeth Porter) 

Music theatre 

Some highlights

Conductor/MD for premier performance of a new translation of Brecht/Weill Happy End, New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth 1994 

MD, including devising incidental music, for a new staged version of The Old Curiosity Shop 

MD for many musicals (orchestrally accompanied) including: South Pacific, West Side Story, The Most Happy Fella, High Society, Sweet Charity, The Wizard of Oz, Show Boat.

MD for semi-staged version of Purcell Dido & Aeneas

MD for semi-staged excerpts of Carmen, Suor Angelica, The Magic Flute, Pirates of Penzance, Iolanthe, Cavalliera Rusticana, HMS Pinafore