Peter Hunt - Conductor and Musical Director

Peter is Head of Voice at the Berkshire Young Musicians Trust, with responsibility for all vocal activity and

the three county choirs, which have a national and growing international reputation.  Previously, Peter was

Head of Music atChipping Norton Secondary School for nine years and, thanks to his hard work, the school

gained status as a Performing Arts College from September 2004, putting it firmly at the centre of artistic

activity in the Chipping Norton community.  From 2000-2002 Peter was also part-time Advisory Teacher for

the county’s vocal strategy.  He studied Music at Dartington College of Arts where he was active in promoting

chamber choir singing.  Peter has a wide experience of school teaching at primary and secondary levels, and was

one of the first Choral Animateurs to be appointed by youngchoirs.net (formerly the British Federation of Young

Choirs) when their outreach programme began in 1995.  He is a keen and versatile choral singer, a passion that began

with high-quality experiences in a chamber choir at school, and he has sung in many groups including the New

London Chamber Choir, with whom he toured extensively performing professional programmes. 

 

As a choir trainer and conductor, Peter works with all ages and abilities, but regularly with school students.  He was co-founder of the highly acclaimed

Oxfordshire Youth Chamber Choir, and has been musical director of adult and children’s groups over many years.  This broad experience of singing

work and education has led to publications, and in 1999 he was consultant for the BBC’s re-launch of their successful radio series Singing Together. 

In May 2001 Oxford University Press published Voiceworks – a handbook for singing, which has proved to be extremely popular as a supportfor

anyone wishing to develop singing with groups.  Its wealth of eclectic material and useful support teaching notes have made it a significant contributor to the

revival of singing in many counties across the UK, and its versatility has led to a series of Voiceworks publications - find out more here .  Peter

has also collaborated with Bob Chilcott on a new choral series called Songstream with publishers OUP, which presents new and refreshing music from

across the world to young choral singers - find out more here. 

Peter has delivered workshops and teachers’ Inset training all over England, in Ireland, and in Switzerland.  He is developing a reputation for lively, stimulating

and highly informative sessions born of real practical experience in the classroom, and is increasingly in demand by singing organizations and educational

authorities.  In July 2004 he visited Sydney to be a guest presenter at the conference of the Australian National Association of Teachers of Singing, and

delivered workshops on Voiceworks.  He is increasingly in demand as a workshop presenter in the UK.    

Favourite piece to sing: Handel’s Dixit Dominus - lots for the tenors to do!

Favourite piece to conduct: anything in which the tenors have very little to do!! 

 

Bernard West - Assistant Musical Director 

Bernard read Music at Cambridge University and was Organ Scholar at Girton College.  He has played piano, organ

and harpsichord with a number of choirs, orchestras and theatre companies across Oxfordshire, Berkshire and his

native Yorkshire.  He is currently Director of Music at Shipton-under-Wychwood Parish Church.