Biography of Neil MacKay – Director of Music.

Neil became Director of Music in 1995, when there were only 18 members.  Since then, the Choir has developed in every way and Neil’s enthusiastic leadership has been the main factor in the Choir’s progression. The range of music we now perform is broader than that of many other choirs, from rock to classical including just about everything in between.  Besides English the choir sings pieces in Latin, French, Welsh and Xhosa, a South African native language.

As well as being guest conductor at the three Croydon Festivals of Male Voice Choirs, Neil has appeared with the Central Band of the Russian Army and the Band of the United States Air Forces in Europe, and conducted the University of Illinois Symphonic Band and the Shonan Air String Ensemble of Japan on tours of the United Kingdom.  He was Director of Music for the SSAFA “Sixty Years On” concert at Fairfield Halls, conducting massed Male Voice Choirs and the combined bands of the Royal Artillery and the Parachute Regiment.

Neil is continually seeking new pieces for the Choir to perform and has developed arrangements of several popular ‘classics’ and up-beat numbers for male voices. These are performed exclusively by EMVC.

Biography of Helen King B.Mus (Hons) – Accompanist.

Helen has been performing since the age of 9, winning the North Lincolnshire awards for Most Promising Musician in 1994 and Most Promising Pianist in 2000. She was awarded an entrance scholarship to The Birmingham Conservatoire where she subsequently attained a Batchelor of Music (Hons.) degree.

Helen has been a finalist for The Beryl Chempin Beethoven Prize and in The David Brookes Competition and has played in masterclasses with such acclaimed piano virtuosi as Peter Donohoe and Martino Tirimo.

Selected for specialised piano tuition with the Birmingham Royal Ballet she has since worked with Elmhurst School of Dance in Birmingham and The London Children’s Ballet. An undoubted highlight of her career thus far was a performance, with full orchestra, of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in the Adrian Boult Hall.

In 2005 Helen moved to London where she is furthering her piano studies on a Postgraduate Diploma course at Trinity College of Music.  She combines this with her work as a freelance pianist, accompanist and teacher and has been the very popular accompanist to Epsom Male Voice Choir since 2005.

Biography of Juliet Hornby - Deputy Director of Music

Juliet began her singing career in Puccini’s Turandot at the Orange Festival in the South of France and then went on to sing in Germany.  She has performed in opera, oratorio, recitals and musicals both at home and abroad appearing in venues as diverse as Roman amphitheatres, French chateaux, Istanbul’s Topkapi Palace, English cathedrals and Glyndebourne. 

Juliet lives with her husband – a local GP - and three daughters in Mickleham.  She is enjoying the challenge of being behind the baton rather than in front of it and has developed a strong rapport with the Choir since joining us in June 2009.

© Epsom Male Voice Choir