Barbara Robotham - President
 |
|---|
Our President, Barbara Robotham, studied at the Royal Manchester College of Music where she gained both Teachers and Performers Diplomas with Distinction. She was awarded the Imperial League of Opera Prize and the prestigious Curtis Gold Medal for Singing, an award which thirty years later was presented to her distinguished pupil, Amanda Roocroft. At the end of her College course she won the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society International Singers Competition and, the following year, the Silver Medal in the Councours de Geneva. A busy International singing career followed. She made regular visits to most European countries for concerts and opera.
At home, Barbara was much in demand by the country's major orchestras and choral societies and made many broadcasts. Recordings included Stravisnsky' Cantata on Old English Texts for Supraphon and the Walton Gloria for EMI which won the prize for the most outstanding record made for the Queen's Silver Jubilee. Her interest in teaching began at College when she assisted her mentor, Elsie Thurston and has continued throughout her own professional performing career. She became Professor of Voice at Lancaster University in 1974 and in 1979 was invited to join the staff at The Royal Northern College of Music as a Principal Lecturer and in 1992 was admitted to Honorary Fellowship for her distinguished contribution to teaching. She has made regular appearances on television, including three Granada Celebration programmes, a Channel 4 documentary on the pitfalls facing young artists, the BBC 2 Late Show and recorded a programme for Welsh Television with one of her students who represented Wales in the 1996 Cardiff Singer of the World. In 1977, Barbara was invited to represent Great Britain on the jury of the Geneva international Councours, one of the world's most distinguished and long established music competitions.
Andrew Barratt - Musical Director
 |
Andrew Barratt was born in Leeds and, after attending the cathedral school in Peterborough, went on to study at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Here he studied piano and 'cello and conducting with the late Maurice Miles. After graduating from the Royal Academy he completed post-graduate training at London University. Andrew and his wife Pippa met while they were both students at the Royal Academy and they have lived on the Fylde coast since 1975.
Andrew has been Director of Music at Kirkham Grammar School since 2003, previously holding posts of Head of Music at Queen Mary School, Lytham from 1977-1999 and Director of Music at King Edward VII and Queen Mary School until December 2002. Andrew has conducted widely in the area, being involved with various choirs and operatic societies. He is also active in the assessment of musical perorming at GCSE and A level, being closely involved in the development of the new examinations.
Andrew has conducted widely in the area, being involved with various choirs and operatic societies. He has conducted the Lytham St Annes Choral Society in 80 concerts since 1977 and conducted the Society in a number of joint concerts with Preston Cecilian Choral Society during his time as conductor of that society.
Andrew conducted the Northern Chamber Orchestra in the first two of the highly acclaimed 'Last Night of The Proms' events held on Lytham Green. Interests apart from music include gardening and walking. Andrew is also a Local Preacher in the Methodist Church.
Anne Shepherd - Deputy Director
 |
|---|
Anne Shepherd was educated at Arnold Girls School Blackpool before going to college in London. She studied piano with Edith Kaye-Perry and it was whilst accompanying the school choir under Phyllis Dunkerley that her interest in choirs was kindled. During her time in London she sang with the Philharmonic Choir, and took a sabbatical to study at the Orff Institute in Salzburg. Since she returned to the Fylde in 1991 she has been a member of the Lytham St Annes Choral Society.
Anne became Deputy Conductor in 1994. She is an active member of the committee and enhances the life of the choir with various ?extra curricula? activities. She regularly organises and conducts rehearsals for the choir members who wish to sing in the summer months. During recent seasons she has led members of the choir at the Christmas party at St Annes Masonic Lodge and she organised a highly successful Gospel workshop in Lancaster run by Scott Stroman for Making Music (the National Federation of Music Societies).
Anne makes numerous other contributions to the musical scene. She is chair of the NW Regional Committee of Making Music (NFMS). In this capacity she organised a performance of African Sanctus at Chester Cathedral and a choral workshop in Lancaster in 2007 to commemorate the Abolition of the Slave Trade Bill 1807. Anne is Vice-Chairman of the Blackpool Festival for Music, Dance and Speech and conducts the May Copeland Choir and the Wedgwood Ladies Choir in Blackpool.
Anne makes numerous other contributions to the musical scene. She is Vice-Chairman of the Blackpool Festival for Music, Dance and Speech. She conducts both the May Copeland and the Wedgwood Ladies Choirs in Blackpool. Anne also organised our Centenary Exhibition in 2007 which was held at The Heritage Centre in Lytham and ran a recent workshop for String players for Making Music at Parbold (2009) .
Ian Hare - Concert Organist
 |
|---|
As an organ recitalist and accompanist, lan Hare has performed widely in Britain and abroad, including France, Germany, Holland, and the USA.
He has played at many of the major London venues, notably Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Temple Church and an appearance at the BBC Proms. Performances in the past few years have also included engagements in Vienna and Berlin, and recitals at Queen's College, Oxford and King's College, Cambridge. He has made several recordings, including broadcasts for radio and television, and organ CDs In Pastures Green (2002) and Spirit of the North (2006). He is also a composer, specialising in choral and organ music, and has had a number of works performed and published in Britain and the USA.
Currently, lan is the Director of Music at Crosthwaite Church, Keswick, in the Lake District, directs the Keswick and Wigton Choral Societies and is Chorus Master of the Cumbria Rural Choirs. From 1981 to 1989 he was Organist and Master of the Choristers at Cartmel Priory and then Sub-Organist at Carlisle Cathedral until 1995. After founding the Lancaster Singers in 1975 he remained their Musical Director until 1989, conducting many choral works with orchestra and professional soloists.
Having begun his musical training at Hymers College, Hull and at St Mary's Church, Beverley, he became a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists at the age of sixteen and studied in Paris with Andre Marchal. In 1968 he became the Organ Scholar of King's College, Cambridge, under the direction of Sir David Willcocks. Following studies at the Royal College of Music and with Nadia Boulanger in France he was appointed Lecturer in Music at Lancaster University in 1974, subsequently becoming its first University Organist, and in 2006 he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship. He is in demand as a teacher and is an Associated Board Examiner, including tours of Hong Kong and Malaysia.
He has an extensive repertoire ranging from the 16th century to the present day, including a special interest in music by British composers.