Roy Rashbrook
Roy was educated at Dauntsey's School in Wiltshire and Goldsmiths' College in London, before going on to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama to study singing under Alexander Oliver, William McAlpine and Rudolf Piernay. After a brief flirtation with a career in teaching, Roy became a professional singer in 1998, joining the world famous choir of St Paul's Cathedral the following year; a position which offers some precious stability in the life of a freelance musician!
In addition to the broadcasts, concerts, special events and daily services there, Roy also sings regularly with the choir of The King's Consort, as well as more occasionally with groups such as Ex Cathedra, The Clerks Group and Exaudi Contemporary Vocal Ensemble, combining their various performing, touring and recording schedules with his work as a soloist, singing teacher and conductor. He has conducted several choirs and ensembles, including the Goldsmiths' Chorus, The University of London Union Chorus, The Hanover Singers and Candlelight Opera, with whom he has performed at the Bath Festival. He is currently musical director of two choirs: Hart Voices (Fleet, Hampshire) and The Chantry Singers.
Roy has performed as a soloist with some of Britain's leading chamber orchestras including the City of London Sinfonia, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the London Mozart Players. His work has taken him the length and breadth of the country and throughout Europe as well as to Israel and the States. He has appeared on many CD recordings, film soundtracks and radio and television broadcasts, both at home and abroad.
The past few years have seen his debut at the South Bank in a recital of songs by Berg, Brahms, Britten and Schumann, and at the Wigmore Hall in a concert of Monteverdi's sacred music with the King's Consort. Recent solo engagements include Mozart's C Minor Mass at St John's, Smith Square, Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, conducted by Trevor Pinnock, Mendelssohn's Elijah in Bath Abbey, Haydn's Creation in Norwich Cathedral and Monteverdi's Vespers in St Alban's Abbey. Future concerts include performances of Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle and Stabat Mater and the role of Evangelist in Bach's St John Passion with the London Mozart Players at St Paul's Cathedral.