Will Todd, Voices of Hope, Will Todd Ensemble & Mark Edwards
Biography Will Todd, Voices of Hope, Will Todd Ensemble & Mark Edwards
Will Todd
taught himself the piano from an early age and grew up in County Durham, North East England where his grandfather was a coal miner and his parents were teachers. His love of improvising has been the central force in a wide ranging career of composing and playing. Will has worked with many of the UK’s leading music organisations including Welsh National Opera, Opera North, The Halle Orchestra, Opera Holland Park, The Sixteen, The BBC Singers and the BBC Concert Orchestra. He has also visited many countries performing and directing his music.
His love of choral music is reflected in a large output including masses, anthems and larger sacred concert works including Mass in Blue, which has been performed hundreds of times around the world since its 2003 premiere. His carol My Lord Has Come has become a worldwide favourite since it was included in Oxford University Press’s Carols for Choirs Five in 2012. Other widely performed choral pieces include Passion Music, Jazz MIssa Brevis and his arrangement of Amazing Grace. Will Todd also has an impressive list of theatre works including The Screams of Kitty Genovese, produced most recently by Tête à Tête Opera in London and Edinburgh, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Christmas Carol for Opera Holland Park, Migrations for Welsh National Opera and Song of our Heartland, commissioned by Opera North.
Will Todd is president and patron of a number of UK choirs. He strongly believes in music making for all, and his personal motto when directing choirs is ‘find the passion’. His music is published by Oxford University Press, Boosey and Hawkes and Tyalgum Press and released on Signum Records.
Voices of Hope
is an award winning chamber choir based in the North East of England. Founded in 2011 by Simon Davies-Fidler; Scottish conductor Mark Edwards was appointed as Musical Director in 2020.
Having originally formed for a one-off charity concert, Voices of Hope have since earned wide-spread recognition and success, most notably being championed as 2016 National Choir of the Year and 2017 Let the Peoples Sing finalists. The choir have been thrilled to perform in distinguished venues including Sage Gateshead, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Cardiff Millennium Centre and Helsinki’s Musiikkitalo. Additionally, Voices of Hope have contributed several broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 and have been televised on BBC 4.
2019 highlights include performances in Mainz, Germany; at the City of Derry International Choir Festival and a Remembrance Day concert presented by Ēriks Ešenvalds.
With a keen sense of North East identity and an extensive appreciation across the region, Voices of Hope have twice been nominated as Performing Artist of the Year finalists in the Journal Culture Awards. The choir regularly perform original music by local composers, having premiered works by Ian Stephenson, John Kefala-Kerr and Kathryn Tickell. In 2018, the choir released its second album ‘A New Christmas’ featuring six seasonal commissions by composers from the North East.
Voices of Hope regularly enjoy collaborations with celebrated composers and conductors including John Rutter, Will Todd and Neil Ferris. A performance of John Rutter’s Requiem (conducted by John Rutter) at St James’ & St Basil’s Church Fenham, was described by the composer as ‘music making of the highest order – engaging, inspiring and a joy to the ear’.
Alina Orchestra
is a charity orchestra making classical music accessible and inclusive for everyone.
Founded by Chief Executive Nick Cutts in 2017, the orchestra creates concerts that introduce audiences to classical music by presenting them in a friendly and approachable way, taking audiences on a musical journey with captivating performances of the highest of artistic excellence, led by renowned Musical Director, Hilary Davan Wetton. Alina is a non-profit charity.
‘You’re doing wonderful things with Alina and I just wanted to express my gratitude and appreciation!’ Orchestra member
Alina believe that to be part of a community, we need to serve the needs of that community. We provide a dedicated programme of outreach to the community which includes: working with local Care Homes to provide workshops that support those living with dementia, providing musical opportunities to students from local music hubs & creating events for members at the heart of the community that, for whatever reason, do not have access to classical music and its many benefits.
“Alina (Bright, Beautiful, Light) means many things in many languages and to me, that is the way we approach music – it means different things to each and every one of us. When I first started thinking about creating a new professional orchestra, I wanted to create a name that people would remember, that didn’t link itself to any geographical location and didn’t refer to size. In that way, Alina is a musical ‘resource’ for communities – it can go anywhere and do anything as long as it can support people with music and outreach, reaching as many diverse sections of the community as it can.
We hope that Alina can always be the light for everyone, even in the darkest of times. - Nick Cutts (Founder)
Mark Edwards
Canadian harpsichordist and organist Mark Edwards is recognized for his captivating performances, bringing the listener “to new and unpredictable regions, using all of the resources of his instrument, [...] of his virtuosity, and of his imagination” (La Libre Belgique). Since 2016, he is Assistant Professor of Harpsichord at Oberlin Conservatory.
He has given solo recitals at a number of prominent festival and concert series, including the Utrecht Early Music Festival, Bozar (Brussels), the Montreal Baroque Festival, and Clavecin en concert (Montreal). He has had concerto performances with a number of award-winning ensembles, including Il Gardellino (Belgium), Neobarock (Germany), Ensemble Caprice (Canada), and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. Also an active chamber musician, he is the artistic director of Poiesis, collaborates regularly with Les Boréades de Montréal and Les Délices (Cleveland), and has performed with Tafelmusik, Il Pomo d’Oro, and Pallade Musica.
