It all started when the lovely lady who ran the local church choir in rural Bedfordshire said to my parents: “Have you considered Peter applying to be a chorister?” After a few voice trials, off I went to St John’s College, Cambridge, to be a chorister under Andrew Nethsingha. I spent five incredible years there, singing daily services, recording CDs, and touring the world. Halfway through my time there, I overlapped with a certain Julian Gregory, beginning his undergraduate studies! It was also at St John’s that I first became aware of countertenors as a thing, and I remember thinking then that when my voice broke, I wanted to be one. Imagine my disappointment when my voice ended up settling as a fairly average baritone, and throughout my teen years I continued to experiment with my falsetto in a vain attempt to relive my chorister “glory days”.
I then went to Durham University, and after spending two misguided years attempting to study Maths, I took the plunge and switched academic course - and my entire career trajectory - going back into first year to study Music. I joined Durham Cathedral Choir, and spent three happy years (slightly interrupted by the pandemic) singing eight services a week and completing my music degree on the side. After a year in the Cathedral choir, I made the switch to make countertenor my full-time voice part, rather than treating it as just an experiment. I followed this with a Masters in Solo Voice Ensemble Singing at the University of York, under Robert Hollingworth, before moving back down south to sing as a Lay Clerk at Guildford Cathedral. There I pursued a career both as a singer, doing what I could on the freelance circuit alongside regular services at Guildford, and also as a conductor, holding a few assistant positions with local choral societies before becoming musical director of a local chamber choir.
I’m showing my age (or lack thereof) when I say that my first real exposure to the King’s Singers was through YouTube. No matter which line-up I was listening to, whether it was the first stable iteration of the group with Nigel Perrin singing I’m a Train, or the early 2000s team with David Hurley singing the masterpiece that is Paul Drayton’s Masterpiece, I always found myself drawn to the bell-like clarity and lightness of the top countertenor part, so to now call it my own and follow in the footsteps of four absolute legends - Nigel, Jeremy, David, and Pat - is truly surreal and the most unbelievable honour.
Away from music, the mathematical side of my brain loves puzzles and generally anything that requires me to think strategically: cryptic crosswords, sudokus, go, chess. I’ll play any kind of racquet sport when I can, am a huge Liverpool FC fan, and I love a trip to the cinema. It’s been a real pleasure getting to know the guys over the last few months of auditions, shadowing, and rehearsals, and I’m beyond excited for everything the coming years hold: travelling the world, meeting new people, and working with my five incredible colleagues to share amazing music with audiences far and wide!
My love of singing began at the age of just seven when I was given a choristership in the Chapel Choir at Warwick School. At first the early Sunday mornings were a struggle, but after a few months I was raring to leave the house to get to practice. After finishing school, I read geography at Girton College, Cambridge where I won a choral scholarship and the Tom Mansfield Memorial Prize in recognition of my contribution to College music. During my university years I was keen to have somewhere to sing outside the Cambridge terms; I became an honorary member of the choir of the Collegiate Church of Saint Mary Warwick, a place that I consider a musical home.
After graduating I was appointed as the Alto Lay Clerk at King's College, Cambridge. I sang seven services each week as well as undertaking a busy schedule of recording, touring and broadcasting which included the famous Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols broadcast to millions of people across the planet. I also sang in Collegium Regale (now The King's Men), the close harmony group made up of the King's Choral Scholars; I sang a vast variety of music from Byrd to the Beatles. I then spent two inspiring years as a volunteer in Gonville and Caius College Choir. I was fortunate enough to take part in two groundbreaking recording projects; a programme featuring ancient Celtic chant accompanied by instruments that I had never seen, heard, or heard of before, and a disc of contemporary South American music.
For two glorious years from 2017 I had the pleasure of serving HM The Queen, as the Alan Kendall Countertenor, one of the six Gentlemen, in her choir at the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace. Highlights of my time include a service marking the centenary of the Order of the Companions of Honour in the presence of HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, filming Elizabeth I's Battle for God’s Music, a BBC television programme presented by Lucy Worsley, and recording a disc of Thomas Tallis. Singing aside, I am an experienced fundraiser and have been trained in the Law. Much of my free time is spent running a small charity in Warwickshire, Rufus' Friends' Fund, with my family, the charity was set up in memory of my late uncle who had learning disabilities. Otherwise I love meditating, collecting antiques and walking; much of my childhood was spent in the countryside, making campfires, damming streams and generally getting muddy!
I am indebted to my family for nurturing my love of singing, especially my mum and dad, Delia and Nick, who waited in the car for me during countless singing lessons and choir practices, and my sister, Bertie, for sitting through service after service and concert after concert! I wish I had the space to thank all my singing teachers, directors of music, musical colleagues and friends who have supported me, and from whom I have learned so much. Over the years I have realised that there are few better things in life than making music; the creativity is limitless, helping people to feel their emotions is exhilarating, and the teamwork has resulted in lasting friendships.
I was born into a musical and bicultural household: my English father, a Cathedral organist and choir trainer; and my Japanese mother, who loves to sing in his choirs! Having fallen asleep most nights as a baby to Dad’s recordings of Bach and other organ works, inevitably I wanted to learn the piano and to sing. So at the age of 8, I went off to boarding school in Cambridge, where I became a chorister at St John’s College Choir for the next five years. There, I grew particularly fond of the violin, which overtook my other instruments, and ultimately led to me performing the Bruch violin concerto in my final year at Eton College aged 18.
After some character-building travels during my gap year, I returned to St John's to study Music, and experienced three incredibly busy but rewarding years as an undergrad. Through daily choir commitments, directing The Gents (our college a cappella group), helping to organise the entertainment at college balls, and spending any remaining time left over in the library - or possibly the pub - I came to realise that a career in singing might be worth a punt after all. So rather than following the standard path of my peers applying for internships and fast-track schemes upon graduating, I instead went on a year abroad to charming Heidelberg University in Germany. Intensively learning German to fluency and planting myself in a completely different field – socially, linguistically and culturally – was a great way of taking some time out and working on myself; and what a beautiful part of the world to live in for 10 months! I made friends for life from all over the world – something which struck a chord with my own international background - and that same year, I was awarded a scholarship to study a Masters in Vocal Performance at the Royal Academy of Music, back home in London.
What followed was a highly inspirational year at the RAM, opening myself up to the various art forms and states of mind that a solo singer navigates on stage and off. The following summer of 2014, while I was singing in the Opera Chorus at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in the south of France, I got a phone-call from Johnny inviting me to audition for The King's Singers – a completely different proposition to my exciting yet uncertain young solo career at the time. I was offered the tenor position minutes after the audition ended and the shock hit me: my life was about to change in a big way!
Since then, I've enjoyed my time in the group ever more, developing as an individual, learning from every experience, and striving to perform my best at each concert, I think in part to prove to myself that I deserve such a special job. I feel so lucky to be able to work every single day with five amazing friends and colleagues – akin to family – whom I respect and admire deeply, and I look forward to continuing to grow and hopefully inspire on a daily basis!
The day I turned 8 years old, I packed my little music bag and marched into St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, to audition as a chorister. They gave me a position in the choir, and at that time I had no idea that it would be the beginning of a brilliantly exciting career as a singer. I had the opportunity to sing on stages around the world, for recordings and radio broadcasts, and perform at many major royal occasions including the wedding of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. I still have a slice of their wedding cake in a box on my piano, unless the dog has eaten it. At that age, performing at such a high standard alongside professional musicians made singing feel like a huge part of my identity, and I always knew I would carry on doing this when I left school. I went on to become a Choral Scholar at King’s College London before my Master’s at The Royal Academy of Music, where I graduated with Distinction and was awarded the DipRAM diploma for outstanding performance.
As a fresh-faced student in London, I tried to sing with as many cathedral choirs as possible to get to know the scene. It was great fun getting a phone call from St Paul’s or Westminster Cathedral needing an urgent dep, and jumping on a bike to race across London to get there in time for the evensong rehearsal (and pretending you’re not out of breath when you arrive, although my asthmatic breath control gave it away every two bars). I spent five years as a lay clerk at St George’s Cathedral in Southwark, and dipped in and out of groups including Alamire, Fretwork, the Academy of Ancient Music, and Sansara. I’ve recorded at Abbey Road and was involved in music production for The X Factor and Made In Chelsea.
I joined Tenebrae as an Associate Artist in 2019, and this was the point that I really felt comfortable as a singer. I grew up listening to their albums, and it was a huge honour to perform under the direction of Nigel Short. Over seven years, he showed me how to be a King’s Singer, without me even realising. I owe a huge debt of thanks to him and all my colleagues for their support while I was preparing to join this group.
I now live in Guernsey with my very patient and beautiful wife, and we have the most incredible little boy. We love taking our dog to the beach and sailing our boat around the islands when the British weather allows. I do lots of teaching in my studio and direct the illustrious Guernsey Choral Festival each year, which brings international choirs over to perform on our sunny island.
Joining The King’s Singers is an enormous privilege and I cannot wait to meet amazing audiences around the world. It’s going to be a wild ride but I am incredibly lucky to be on the road with some great guys and extraordinary musicians, and I can’t wait to see what the next few years bring.
For me the best thing about making music is the subconscious, unspoken connections with other musicians. I love blending my voice with others, and creating something larger than the sum of its parts. I've been singing pretty much constantly from as early as I can remember, and generally with increasing levels of success. Growing up in an intensely musical environment with four older sisters (all also professional singers), a career in music basically became inevitable — inspired no doubt by the King's Singers tapes we listened to as we drove to Germany to visit my grandparents! I grew up in Oxford, and enjoyed being a chorister in various choirs, as well as playing French horn and violin in many youth orchestras and chamber music groups. This provided a whole load of opportunities to perform and tour the UK and Europe — something I still relish doing.
When I began my Music degree at the university of York, I quickly joined as many choirs and a cappella groups as possible. This gave me the opportunity to start penning some compositions and arrangements, some more successful (Kiss from a Rose) than others (Nessun Dorma)... After graduating in 2009 I moved straight to London to try and make my name as a singer. I toured frequently with the Tallis Scholars, Stile Antico, Tenebrae, I Fagiolini, the BBC Singers, Ex Cathedra, and many more. As a soloist I loved performing oratorios and recitals, and was even asked to perform Mozart's Requiem, and a concert of Purcell songs in Japan.
One exciting but nerve-wracking moment closer to home was stepping in on the day of a BBC Prom concert, live on radio and to a packed Royal Albert Hall, to perform a solo off by heart in a Stockhausen opera alongside a (then pre-university) fresh-faced Pat Dunachie! I also relished the opportunity to sing a role in a broadcast performance of Stravinsky's "Les Noces" with the Philharmonia Orchestra. On days that I wasn't "gigging" I'd love going to the cinema, cycling around London, playing badminton (terribly), and cooking meals for my partner, for when she got home from a long day's teaching. The meals were never worthy of a Michelin star, but the good intention was there.
Since joining The King's Singers in 2019 I've learnt a huge amount. I've met fantastic people all around the world, performed phenomenal music in incredible venues, all the time working tirelessly with my five other colleagues to strive for perfection, even in the smallest details of music-making. Though I now don't get to the cinema, or cook meals as often as I'd like to, I do feel so lucky to work with these friends, exploring those subconscious, unspoken musical connections, and bringing the joy of a cappella music to the world!
I’d always maintained that I am not ‘a singer’, but rather someone who sings a bit. This position became somewhat more difficult to justify when joining The King’s Singers, but I like to think it still holds true in principle. Except that we do, of course, sing rather a lot.
Early musical experiences were at the piano, mostly - my mum taught my sister and me from an early age, and I have always loved doodling at the piano. Another foundational musical influence was Folk - our parents are both from Northern Ireland and my dad would sometimes wake us up by playing the chanter, which is a kind of practice instrument for the bagpipes (if you haven’t experienced the unyielding honk of a chanter, do look it up, and count yourself lucky not to have been woken up by it).
Having been a chorister at Llandaff Cathedral as a kid, I wound up being a choral scholar at the mighty St Peter’s College Oxford for my undergraduate years, where I spent my time playing as much sport as I could, including captaining the College rugby team and playing Blues Men’s Lacrosse. Stints then followed as a choral scholar at Wells Cathedral and as a lay clerk at Worcester Cathedral, before I moved to Cambridge to read for the MPhil in Composition and to sing at St John’s College (a place dear to both Julian and Peter, too!). More recently, I read for the DPhil in Composition back at Oxford whilst singing at Christ Church. So, writing music is a huge passion of mine. But so is sport - I try to get down to the Emirates to watch the mighty Arsenal whenever possible. I now live in the Suffolk countryside with my wife Mollie, daughter Rosie, and cat Pamela.
For me, The King’s Singer’s is the ultimate music-making: whether or not each of us feels like ‘a singer’, we commit ourselves to creating one sixth of a group sound. It’s a simple a yet profound ethos. It’s at once a sacrifice, and yet also for every input you make, you get rewarded fivefold. It’s an amazing experience, and sharing the stage with this wonderful group of guys is a real privilege, every time.
