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Sheffield Cathedral music department staff

Neil Taylor, Director of Music

Neil Taylor, Master of the Music NEIL TAYLOR won a Scholarship to the Royal College of Music, where he studied with John Birch and Nicholas Danby. Whilst a student, he was organ scholar at St Albans Cathedral, and on graduating was appointed Assistant Organist at Norwich Cathedral. As well as premiering many new works in his time at Norwich, he made numerous broadcasts and recordings with the Cathedral Choir, and toured with them on the continent and in the USA. As well as directing the Cathedral Consort, a 35-voice chamber choir, he formed the Cathedral Girls’ Choir which completed its first CD recording and made a highly successful tour of Germany shortly after its inception.

He has been Organist and Master of the Music at Sheffield Cathedral since 1997, where he is responsible for the Cathedral Choirs of boys, girls and men. Since his appointment, the Cathedral Choir has toured both at home and abroad (including Germany, Holland, France, Hungary and the USA) and broadcast frequently on BBC Radio 3. CD Recordings include Music for a Millennium, a Classic FM Magazine CD of the Year Award Winner, and nine CD recordings with the Cathedral Choirs.

Neil has directed and assisted on choral courses as far afield as Aldeburgh, Mexico City, and the Eton Choral Courses. As solo organist, he has played at many of the major venues in the UK.

In addition to his Cathedral duties, Neil is Musical Director of the St George’s Singers, Manchester, and of the Sheffield Chorale; he appears frequently with the BBC as Musical Director and Organist on BBC Radio 4 Daily Service, Songs of Praise and Sunday Worship.

In his spare time he enjoys reading and walking. A keen cook, he is also an enthusiast of real ales and good wines.

Ben Horden, Assistant Director of Music

Ben Horden, Assistant Master of the Music Although based in York, BEN HORDEN is currently Acting Assistant Director of Music at Sheffield Cathedral, where he accompanies the cathedral choir in the daily round of worship, assists in their training and directs the cathedral's Schola Cantorum. Ben is also founder director of his own York-based chamber choir, Spectrum.

Ben has previously held a series of prestigious organ scholarships at York Minster, Peterborough Cathedral, The Royal Hospital Chelsea, and as Director of Music at St Matthew's Church, Northampton where he continued the long-established choral tradition. Under his direction the choir gave the first performance of a commissioned mass by David Bednall to celebrate the feast of St Matthew in 2009, and the centenary of the birth of Walter Hussey, who began the church's long and distinguished history of commissioning new works of both art and musical composition. Both the work and the performance received favorable reviews: "This well-balanced, uplifting, not unnecessarily ostentatious setting... received an astonishing performance from the St Matthew's Choir. Ben Horden drew from his musicians singing of cathedral standard after being in office for scarcely more than a week." [The Church Times]

Ben's engagements as a freelance musician include appearances as both a soloist and accompanist, working regularly as such with graduate and postgraduate students at the University of York.

Nick Cox, SING! Project Leader

Anthony Gowing, Assistant Master of the Music NICK COX first came to Sheffield in 2003 to study music at the University. After graduating with honours in September 2006 he took up the role of Songman at Sheffield Cathedral. Having been heavily involved in choral music from an early age – unsurprising, being the son of an organist! – the new job was a challenge that he relished and he has grown as a musician under the direction of the Neil Taylor. With the Cathedral Choir, he has toured Normandy, Paris, Carlisle and Budapest, recorded a CD of music dedicated to St Peter and St Paul (the patron saints of Sheffield Cathedral) and has sung Choral Evensong live on BBC Radio 3 several times.

In 2007, he became the lead Animateur on Sheffield Cathedral’s Sing! project. Over the years he has worked with numerous primary schools across Sheffield, mostly within key stage 2, to try and help every child find their voice. The project puts on three large-scale concerts a year at the Cathedral. Each one involves upwards of one hundred children singing their hearts out to an invariably packed-house. Concerts have varied from a performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, to a celebration of the music of the Beatles.

Outside of Choral Music, Nicholas is a keen composer and performer of, for want of a better word, ‘pop’ music. He released several records with his old band, Situationists, playing across the country and around the world. After two critically acclaimed EPs, his current band, Screaming Maldini, have just recorded their debut album on French label HipHipHip and are set to travel far and wide in 2012. A highlight of this side of his career was a well received concert at Sheffield Cathedral’s 2010 summer festival where Screaming Maldini performed their songs alongside a symphony orchestra to a packed cathedral.

James Bingham, SING! Project Animateur

JAMES BINGHAM's unorthodox musical training began as a rock singer in various bands performing around Manchester’s music scene winning awards at both a national and local level for his performance and compositional skills. His introduction into the world of classical music began at seventeen when he was accepted into the Hallé Youth Choir and the National Youth Choir of Great Britain. Since then classical music has dominated James’ musical life. He has worked with numerous respected musical figures such as Gustavo Dudamel, Eric Whitacre, Karl Jenkins, Mark Elder, Mike Brewer, Markus Stenz and Manchester indie band Elbow. His choral work has taken him to venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, St Mark’s Basilica in Venice, the Royal Festival Hall, the Bridgewater Hall and the BBC studios in London.

Currently, James is studying a BMus in Music at the University of Sheffield where he was recently awarded the Julian Payne Award for performance and also conducts the University’s Chamber Choir. At the Cathedral, James holds a choral scholarship in the Cathedral choir as well ask working alongside Nick and Michael as an animateur in Sing! the Cathedral’s outreach initiative. James is also conductor for the Cathedral’s Young Songmen’s Choir designed for boys with changing voices.

Michael J Tinker, SING! Project Animateur

MICHAEL J TINKER has spent most of his life singing, from lead parts in school shows, the Stockport Youth Choir, and singing competitions to specialising in singing at A-level. Over the last ten years Michael has been performing around Yorkshire and even in the southern hemisphere. He released his debut EP with a 6-piece jazz/funk/ska/country/folk/blues band in 2008 followed by a full live album in 2009.

In 2011 Michael turned professional, taking up music teaching at Holgate Meadows, a behavioural special needs school, teaching privately and also joining the Cathedral's Sing! outreach project. In addition Michael is increasingly found on stage with the Incredible Washboard Pete II and BBC Folk Award nominee Katriona Gilmore with their distinctive blend of folk, americana and Jazz. As well as singing Michael plays guitar, cigar-box slide guitar and cigar-box banjo. The trio, along with Hammond-organ player John Ellis and double bassist Geth Griffiths, plan to record a full studio album in 2012. Further information can be found at www.michaeljtinker.com