Our Tutors – Association of British Choral Directors

Find out more about our team of tutors who lead and support our training courses

Our training programme is overseen by our Training and Standards Unit, led by Director of Training Amy Bebbington, and a pool of highly experienced tutors who are carefully selected; they come from all parts of the choral spectrum and bring a wide range of experience to our courses. Find out more about some of them below.

The tutors are supported by our Training Moderation Group, which monitors the training programme, providing a bridge between our Trustees and Council, and the Training and Standards Unit.

Amy Bebbington, Director of Training

Amy is a passionate advocate for choral singing and choral conductor training. She is sought-after for her dynamic and engaging teaching style, and her wealth of choral pedagogical experience. Graduating with First Class Honours and a Master’s Degree in Piano Performance (UK), Amy went on to be awarded a Doctor of Musical Arts, specialising in Choral Conducting, from Texas Tech University (USA). She is the Director of Training for abcd, tutors on their extended courses, sits on its advisory council and was the Artistic Director of its annual convention in Winchester, 2016.

More about Amy

Amy is a founder of the inaugural London International Choral Conducting Competition, and sat on the jury of its inaugural event, which took place at the RAM in October 2018. Amy is also a co-founder of Wavelength, an organisation established to serve and celebrate women in all areas of choral leadership. Amy has taught choral conducting for The University of Cambridge, Sing Ireland, Sherborne International Summer School, The Royal College of Organists, the Military Wives’ Choral Association, the ISM and the Hallé Youth Choir. She has successfully established her own Choral Conducting Masterclass Series, which has taken place in Surrey, Durham and London. Amy has worked closely with the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain as Course Director, Musicianship Tutor and Guest Tutor. She has adjudicated for festivals in the UK and Ireland, is a published composer, and in great demand as a choral clinician, animateur and teacher. Amy currently directs The Royal Academy of Music Aural Skills Choir, Corra Sound, Harlequin Chamber Choir, Holmbury Choral, Sir William Perkins’s School Chamber Choir and Nota Bene.

Peter Broadbent MBE, senior tutor

Peter is one of Britain’s leading choral conductors, known for his consistent commitment to contemporary music. In 1988, he formed the Joyful Company of Singers, which rapidly established itself as one of Europe’s leading chamber choirs, winning an impressive list of National and International Competitions. Performances in the UK have included most of the major music festivals, including several “Proms” appearances, and they have given concerts throughout Europe and the USA. The JCS repertoire includes over 30 first performances, including works by major composers from the UK as well as composers from France, Hungary, Russia and Finland. The JCS discography extends to over 25 CDs, and recording continues to be an important part of its activity.

More about Peter

In the UK he has conducted the London Mozart Players, the English Chamber Orchestra, the City of London Sinfonia, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Southern Sinfonia and the BBC Singers, broadcasting frequently on BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM. He works as a guest conductor throughout Europe, giving masterclasses and adjudicating at international competitions. He was the first Director of Training for abcd, having helped to instigate and design the curriculum for its conducting courses, and received the Chair’s Award for his contribution to choral life in 2017. He was awarded the “Pro Cultura Hungarica” Medal by the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Hungary, and more recently the Knight’s Cross of the Hungarian Order of Merit for promoting and strengthening British-Hungarian cultural relations. Peter was awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours List 2022 for services to music.

Liz Garnett

Liz is a choral clinician and musicologist whose research and praxis both explore the theme of music and its social meanings. She studied music at the Universities of Bristol and Southampton. She taught at Colchester Institute’s School of Music and Performance Arts for four years, before moving to Birmingham Conservatoire, where she was Head of Postgraduate Studies. After the publication of her second book, Choral Conducting and the Construction of Meaning: Gesture, Voice, Identity, in 2009, she left academia to develop her work as a freelance choral clinician, performance coach and close-harmony arranger.

More about Liz

Liz now has a well-established coaching practice working with choirs and vocal ensembles throughout the UK and around Europe. Her work with choral conductors has included training sessions for the British Kodály Academy and the National Youth Choirs Young Leaders Programme, as well as leading courses for abcd, private mentoring and one-to-one lessons. As Chorus Director Development Specialist for the Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers, she leads a national education programme for current and aspiring chorus directors, and in 2018 she was the first British educator to be invited to join the faculty at the Barbershop Harmony Society’s Harmony University in Nashville.

She regularly reflects on her work at www.HelpingYouHarmonise.com where her blog offers a rich resource of both practical and theoretical ideas built up since 2008.

James Davey

James is one of the UK’s most distinguished and respected choral directors, in demand for his work as conductor, choir trainer, arranger and adjudicator. He is Musical Director for Chantage, the Chandos Chamber Choir, Ipswich School Chapel Choir, the Royal College of Music Junior Department Friends Choral Society, Amici Cantate, Halstead Choral and 4Tunes. James is also Chorus Master for the Saffron Opera Group, preparing Wagner’s epic opera scores for concert productions.

More about James

Formerly the chief choral advisor for the BBC’s sheet music archives, James has delivered projects for the BBC Singers’ Education Department, as well as regularly conducting and preparing choirs for broadcasts on television and radio. He is also Director of ChoirFixer Limited, fixing professional ensembles for recording sessions and events for films, TV advertising and the entertainment industry.

James leads choirs on courses for the Chester Choral Week, the Dart Festival Chorus and the Sherborne Summer School of Music. He co-founded the London International Choral Conducting Competition (LICCC), the first of its kind in the UK, based at the Royal Academy of Music.

Lucy Hollins

Lucy is one of the most respected conductor-animateurs of her generation. Having studied and won several prestigious prizes in the UK and Canada, her leadership experience ranges across vocal and instrumental music-making with professional, amateur, youth and adult ensembles at the very highest level of each. It has seen her appear on TV and radio, premiering new works, adjudicating competitions, touring extensively throughout the UK and internationally, and working alongside some of the world’s finest musicians and directors.

More about Lucy

Lucy is Artistic Director of the National Youth Choir, Acting Director of Music at the University of Warwick, Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra’s Junior Choir and Associate Conductor of the London Symphony Chorus. She is a leading expert in the field of music education and engagement, specialising in vocal outreach. As a conducting teacher, Lucy enjoys working with musicians of all ages and stages to enable them to be their most confident and effective. She is also a passionate concert designer and presenter, creating exciting performances for young people with many organisations, including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Warwick Arts Centre and London Symphony Orchestra.

Susan Hollingworth

Susan studied voice at the Royal Northern College of Music. In 1990 she was awarded a Churchill Fellowship for her work with choirs and studied in Hungary. In 2008, she won The BBC Choir of the Year competition with The Scunthorpe Cooperative Junior Choir. With this choir, she performed at the opening ceremony of the Millennium Dome and at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. In 2010, she was awarded Choir Master of the Year by the Gramophone Magazine and 2013 she received a Royal Philharmonic Award for co-directing and commissioning Cycle Song, a huge community opera for the Cultural Olympiad with over 1000 participants. She has directed her own family Prom in the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms.

More about Sue

She is musical director of the Sine Nomine International Touring Choir, a choir in which the majority of the singers are themselves choral directors. This choir regularly performers at the The Presteigne Contemporary Music Festival and international festivals abroad. She also conducts the Scunthorpe Choral Society and the Lydian Choir

She is in demand as a conductor trainer, workshop leader and choir trainer and is a visiting lecturer for the Royal Northern College of Music. Susan is a vice-president of abcd and in 2018 was awarded the abcd Chair’s Award in recognition of her outstanding contribution to choral music nationally. In 2019 she was awarded the British Empire Medal for services to music.

Mark Jordan

Mark is a busy freelance musician who works in all aspects of choral music. He is the Musical Director of Milton Keynes Chorale and Oxford Pro Musica Singers. Mark also conducts Voices in Partnership, the Cavendish Singers and the Cavendish Ensemble. He is a co-artistic director at the Chester Choral Week and is a guest conductor of the award-winning chamber choir Canzonetta. He has a keen interest in orchestral conducting and has worked with both professional and amateur orchestras notably, Alina Orchestra, the Adderbury Ensemble and many freelance orchestras. He has a passion for training conductors and in addition to private lessons, he is a conducting tutor for Sing for Pleasure and abcd.

More about Mark

In addition to his conducting work, Mark remains a skilled choral accompanist and has previously held positions with Manchester Chorale, Canzonetta, Manchester University Chorus, John Lewis Partnership Music Society and Opera Unlimited.

Mark is also a highly experienced choral singer having sung with several award-winning amateur and semi-professional choirs including Canzonetta, Choros Amici, Singscape, Encoro, Chantage, Ensemble 45 and many others.

Tom Leech

Tom enjoys a reputation as an outstanding and inspirational choral director and organist, with a passionate commitment to improving access to and equality of opportunity in choral music.
Educated at Cambridge University, he is the
Director of the Diocese of Leeds’ internationally acclaimed Schools Singing Programme directing one of the most innovative and successful choral programmes in the country, involving over 70 schools and around 6500 children weekly. As part of this role Tom is a consultant for the National Schools Singing Programme, developing similar programmes across the UK’s Catholic dioceses.

More about Tom

Tom combines this work with his role as Musical Director of Bradford Festival Choral Society and
frequent appearances as a guest conductor and workshop leader, Leeds College of Music Chamber Choir and Gabrieli Consort and Players’ youth choir programme, Gabrieli Roar.

His numerous recording credits include the complete choral works of Duruflé and complete organ works of Arvo Pärt. In 2018 he was the
Artistic Director for abcd’s Annual Convention; his educational work has been recognised with the
Worshipful Company of Educators’ Masters’ Award. In 2022 he was shortlisted for Making Music’s best
Musical Director award and alongside BFCS and BFC colleagues won Making Music’s Group Hero award.

Sarah Tenant-Flowers

Sarah directs a versatile array of professional and amateur choirs both in the UK and abroad and has conducted the Hilliard Ensemble, Chamber Choir Ireland, Cape Town Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra, the Kantorei der Friedenskirche Düsseldorf, English Baroque Choir, Reading Bach Choir, Granada International Festival Choir, Harlow Chorus, the RWCMD Chamber Choir and College Chorus and, as General Manager, worked worldwide with The Sixteen. As guest chorusmaster Sarah has prepared numerous choirs including the BBC Symphony Chorus. She is artistic director of professional choir Singscape and chamber choir NC3, and directs the Dubai Opera Festival Chorus.

More about Sarah

In huge demand as a teacher, Sarah tutors choral conducting worldwide as well as for Trinity, Jesus and Hertford Colleges in Oxford, Sing for Pleasure and abcd. She ran abcd‘s first convention in Oxford and subsequently served as a manager and director of the organisation. She featured as conducting mentor to actor Bradley Walsh on BBC2’s popular TV series ‘Maestro’ and is a choral conducting tutor for the Royal Philharmonic Society’s women conductors programme.

As a singer Sarah performs throughout the UK with leading professional female consort Papagena whose Christmas album The Darkest Midnight topped the 2018 download charts. Recent concerts have included performances at the Edinburgh, Christchurch and Three Choirs festivals and collaborations with the Orchestra of the Swan in Stratford and Birmingham. Its third album Hush! was released on the SOMM label in February 2020. www.papagena.co.uk