Artistic Director:
Greg Beardsell
Born in North Yorkshire and educated at Chetham’s School and Manchester University, Greg is Artistic Director of the Irish Youth Choir, Associate Musical Director of the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain, and Artistic Director of the Ulster Youth Choir and the Wooburn Singers.
Greg’s previous posts include Music Director of the Oxford Chamber Choir and Surrey Youth Choir and conductor of Manchester Boys' Choir. He was Music Director of the Bournemouth Symphony Chorus between 2004 and 2009.
He has worked with the St Endellion Festival Chorus, the BBC Symphony Chorus, the London Bach Choir and the London Symphony Chorus and prepared works for conductors such as Marin Alsop, Sir Colin Davis and the late Richard Hickox. He has also directed the Sagittarian Consort of Cambridge, the Classical Soloists, La Nuova Musica, the City of London Sinfonia, the BBC Singers and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.
Ever keen to collaborate, Greg has worked with electroacoustic musicians, Irish folk bands, dance companies and this year is Vocal Projects Director for the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and he is delighted to be conducting IYC and NYOI in the first joint performance in their history.
Greg resides in Gloucestershire with his family, which now includes baby Isla.
Soprano coach:
Aoife Miskelly
From Belfast, Aoife graduated in 2004 with a First Class Honours Degree in Music from University College Cork winning the Mary V. Hart memorial prize and the Doc Gleeson award for solo performance. For three years Aoife was a soprano with the National Chamber Choir of Ireland performing with such conductors as Celso Antunes, Stephen Cleobury, Paul Hillier, Bo Holten and Stephen Layton.
Her professional experience ranges from solo and choral concerts of early music through to the latest contemporary vocal compositions. Solo concert engagements have included performances of Poulenc's Gloria, Handel's Messiah, Beethoven's 9th Choral Symphony, Bruckner's Requiem, Schubert's Mass in C, Mozart's Coronation Mass, Faure's Requiem, Schubert's Mass in Ab and Allegri's Miserere.
In addition to her accomplishments as a singer Aoife holds an associate diploma in violoncello from Trinity College London combining studio recordings and live performances as a cellist and vocalist. She also enjoys working as the soprano tutor with the IYC and the Ulster Youth Choir.
Aoife has recently participated in masterclasses with Susan McCulloch, Ingrid Surgenor and Paul Farrington and in September 2008 began a Masters Degree course in vocal performance at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
Alto coach:
Orla Flanagan
Orla Flanagan completed her training as a choral conductor with Péter Erdei at the Zoltán Kodály Institute of Music, Hungary. She has also participated in conducting courses and masterclasses throughout Europe with Gary Graden, Carlo Pavese, Anders Eby, Celso Antunes and George Hurst.
Orla has conducted the Mornington Singers since 2002. Under her direction, the choir has been awarded numerous prizes at the Cork International Choral Festival. In 2006 she gained the International Jury Award at the Fleischmann International Trophy Competition, and in 2008 the Mornington Singers were awarded Third Prize in the Fleischmann International Trophy Competition. The choir’s performances over the past twelve months have included appearances at Leinster House (as part of Culture Night 2008) and the Electric Picnic music and arts festival, and recent tour destinations have included Italy, Estonia Slovenia and Newfoundland.
Orla also directs Milltown Chamber Choir, a nine-voice professional vocal ensemble based in Milltown Church, Dublin, and has recorded for RTÉ as a guest conductor with the National Chamber Choir of Ireland. Other recordings include a selection of music for Advent and Christmas recorded with the Milltown Chamber Choir, and Solas, Orla’s first CD with the Mornington Singers.
Orla has been a lecturer in the Department of Music at Trinity College Dublin since 2002.
Tenor coach:
Alan Leech
Alan Leech began his musical training in the brass band world before focusing on singing. Since graduating from UCC he has been much in demand as a singer and has appeared with most of the orchestras and choirs in Ireland both in opera and oratorio. Alan is currently a full time tenor with The National Chamber Choir of Ireland. Alan is also a lecturer in Voice at the Leinster School of Music & Drama, and Mater Dei Teacher Training College Dublin. Throughout the year Alan travels around the country workshopping choirs. His teaching experience varies from one-on-one teaching right through to large groups, also in age from 4 years old right up to senior citizens. Having sung with the Irish Youth Choir both as a chorister and as a soloist for a number of years, Alan was delighted to be invited as the Tenor tutor in 2008 and is very pleased to return in 2009.
Bass coach:
Niall Crowley
Niall Crowley was born in Waterford, where he is now a teacher and conductor at the W.I.T Music School. Niall has received an MA in Musicology from the University of Limerick, a BA Mus from Waterford Institute of Technology and has also studied at the Kodály Pedagogical Institute in Hungary. In addition to teaching singing Niall conducts the Waterford Boy Singers, the Waterford Male Voice Choir and the WIT Youth Choir. Niall regularly gives courses on teaching music in the classroom to primary school teachers and in August 2008 tutored on the Annual Choral Conducting Summer School presented by the Association of Irish Choirs. He has been the bass vocal tutor of the Irish Youth Choir since 2004.
