James Priest
Baritone
James began his path as a solo singer at the age of 17 with Andrew Yeats at Bishop's Stortford College. He then went on to study voice with Gordon Sandison at the Birmingham Conservatoire while completing a BMus at the University of Birmingham. James is now undertaking a Masters in voice at Trinity College of Music in Greenwich, where he has studied with John Wakefield and Peter Knapp. James's solo performances include the premier of G.A. Silvani's cantata Già le vive tue preci, Pergolesi's Magnificat, Schubert's Mass in G, Vaughan Williams's Five Mystical Songs, Fauré's Requiem, Stainer's Crucifixion, Britten's Rejoice in the Lamb, Haydn's Great Organ Mass, Händel's Chandos Anthem No.9 and two performances of Händel's Messiah. As an operatic singer James has played the part of Mars in Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld and Papageno and the priest in two productions of Mozart's The Magic Flute. James was baritone soloist with the Brighton Orpheus Choir in Haydn's Nelson Mass and has sung the role of Count Almaviva in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro and Guglielmo in Così Fan Tutte, performed at various venues such as Blackheath Halls and Longborough Opera House. More recently, James sang the Judge in Gilbert & Sullivan's Trial by Jury in a concert shared by former D'Oyly Carte Opera Company singers.
Dionysios Kyropoulos
Bass
He started his singing studies in 2005 at the Filippos Nakas Conservatoire in Athens, and his acting studies in the Theatre of Changes drama school. In Greece, he sung with The Athens Singers in Dvorák's Stabat Mater and Mozart's Don Giovanni, and performed as a soloist in the oratorio Kosmas o Aitolos by Mimis Plessas.
This February he played the role of Polyphemus in Handel's Acis and Galatea, conducted by Will Carslake. Last year he played the Badger in Janácek's The Cunning Little Vixen, conducted by Tom Seligman, and Antonio in a production of Le Nozze di Figaro for The Complete Singer. His roles in opera scenes have included Masetto (Don Giovanni), Don Pasquale (Don Pasquale), Zoroastro (Orlando), Colline (La Bohème), Sergeant of Police (Pirates of Penzance), Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro), Osmin (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Dulcamara (L'elisir d'amore), Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), Barbe-Bleu (Ariane et Barbe-Bleu), Kecal (The Bartered Bride), Simone (Gianni Schicchi) and Rocco (Fidelio).
Dionysios has recently sung with Riverside Opera and Mantissa Opera. He toured with Unexpected Opera in their 2009 production of The Barber of Savile Row and sang in the 2009 Longborough Festival Opera production of La Bohème. This summer he will be singing in the Love and Betrayal Young Artists Concert at LFO, and will also be playing the Imperial Commissioner in a production of Puccini's Madame Butterfly for Mantissa Opera.
James Williams
Baritone
James Williams, presently an undergraduate student at Trinity College of Music, began his development as a conductor under the guidance of Andrew Morley. A proficient pianist, singer, trombonist and guitarist, James specialises in vocal repertoire both as a vocalist and accompanist and has performed in many venues including St John's, Smith Square; Cadogan Hall; the Wigmore Hall; St. Paul's Cathedral; St John's, Waterloo; and the National Gallery, amongst others. His performance of Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto was dubbed "exceptional" by the General-Anzeiger Bonn during a 2008 tour of Germany. In 2009, James was awarded the title Essex Young Musician of the Year in a competition sponsored by Rotary International after playing a rarely-performed Haydn piano sonata and has taken part in the Jaques Samuel Piano Competition and the North London Music Festival. James's knowledge of orchestral and chamber repertoire has been broadened with his participation in various ensembles as a trombonist, ranging from Romantic symphonies to jazz quartets, while his involvement in various choral groups has increased his awareness of vocal music in a wider context.
With an ardent passion for languages, James is a keen interpreter of art song, notably German Lieder. He is currently training as a singer under the supervision of the renowned mezzo-soprano, Ameral Gunson.
Edmund Saddington
Bass-Baritone
Edmund Saddington began his musical career as a chorister in the cathedral choir of Southwell Minster, Nottinghamshire. An experienced church musician, Edmund is currently a permanent member of the chapel choir of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea and is active as a singer throughout London's churches and cathedrals. He has previously held choral scholarships at Portsmouth Cathedral, the Old Royal Naval College Chapel, Greenwich, and St Sepulchre-Without-Newgate, London. He is currently in his final year of study for a Bachelor of Music degree from London's Trinity College of Music and is taught by Linda Hirst and coached by the renowned English tenor Martyn Hill. He balances study with a professional consort and session music career, singing recently with the Monteverdi Choir, the Armonico Consort, Philharmonia Voices, Musica Contexta, the National Chamber Choir of Ireland, Opera Ireland, Greenwich Baroque Orchestra (GBO) and The English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble.
Edmund has just been accepted on to the Monteverdi Choir's Apprentice Scheme for 2010/2011 and will soon be joining them for many of their forthcoming projects around the world; he will also be taking up the post of bass Lay Clerk with Winchester Cathedral Choir in September. Edmund has also worked with many distinguished conductors, including: Sir Andrew Davis, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Paul Hillier, Steuart Bedford, Richard Egarr, David Hill, Jeremy Summerly, Stephen Divine, Philip Thorby, Nicolae Moldoveanu, James Judd, Marco Zambelli, Ralph Allwood, Gregory Rose and Stephen Jackson. He has performed at many of the leading concert venues throughout the UK and Europe. Recent operatic roles have included, Superintendent Budd in Britten's Albert Herring conducted by Steuart Bedford (TCM Opera Company); Leporello in Mozart's Don Giovanni (Puzzle Piece Opera); solo chorus in Handel's Acis and Galatea (Woodhouse Opera) and Handel's Giustino (TCM Opera Company).
On the concert platform recent engagements have included, Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 (Reading Bach Choir); Handel's Messiah with Catherine Bott in Portsmouth Cathedral; Bach's Magnificat (Choir of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea); Poulenc's Le Bestiaire (TCM Wren Ensemble) at the Rye Arts Festival; Buxtehude's Membra Jesu Nostri (Portsmouth Cathedral; Haderslev Cathedral, Denmark; Greenwich International Early Music Festival); Bach's St John Passion (TCM; GBO) and Mozart's Coronation Mass (Dorking Chamber Orchestra).