MONMOUTH CHORAL SOCIETY

Registered Charity           No:501157

Conductor Benjamin Nicholas was appointed Musical Director of Monmouth Choral Society in April 2005 in succession to Mark Foster. 

He is Director of both Tewkesbury Abbey Schola Cantorum and of Choral Music at Dean Close School in Cheltenham.  He moved to these positions on the closure of the Abbey School in Tewkesbury in July 2006. 

His six years as Director of Music and Master of the Choristers at The Abbey School was a period of great activity: the choir toured in France, Germany, Italy and the USA (twice), recorded eight CDs for the Guild, Priory, Regent and Signum labels and broadcast for BBC Radio 3.

The International Record Review wrote of the choir's most recent disc 'Benjamin Nicholas reveals that he has trained the men and boys of Tewkesbury Abbey School into a choir of exceptional quality'. 

His discography includes works from Josquin and Sheppard to Macmillan and Lauridsen.  The choir gave a number of concerts, including the major choral works of J.S.Bach, and also gave the first performance of commissioned works.

Benjamin, born in 1976, was a chorister at Norwich Cathedral.  Prior to moving to Tewkesbury in 2000, he was successively Organ Scholar at Chichester Cathedral, at Lincoln College (Oxford) and at St. Paul's Cathedral.  He was also Director of Music at St. Luke's Church in Chelsea.

Apart from Monmouth, he is also Conductor of Stroud Choral Society and of the Aldwyn Voices of Malvern.

He directed the first three operas by John Caldwell; the first was recorded and later broadcast over three evenings by BBC Radio 3.  The recording, with the RPO and performers from Oxford University, was a Classic FM Opera Recording of the Month in April 2000.

Since becoming the Society's conductor, the link with John Caldwell has continued: at our Spring Concert (2006) he conducted the choir in the first performance of La Corona, the composer's latest choral work.

Assistant Conductor Colin Copestake won a choral scholarship to Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge where he studied Spanish and French.  After graduating and qualifying as a teacher at Nottingham University, Colin was appointed teacher of foreign languages at Monmouth School in 1962.  He retired in December 1998 and was appointed a Freeman of the City of London and of the Haberdashers' Company.  He has sung as bass soloist with the Society on many occasions and still sings with various choirs in and around Monmouth.  Colin has been Deputy Conductor of Monmouth Choral Society since 1992 and has conducted the choir on its tours of Tuscany (1999) and  Barcelona (2001).

Accompanist Vaughan Bennett was brought up in London.  He qualified as a Chartered Certified Accountant before moving to South Wales where he is now in practice.  He has been organist of his local Parish Church in Crickhowell for the last 17 years and also accompanies the Gwent Bach Society in Abergavenny.  He has always had an interest in music and has accompanied various choirs including a tenure as Musical Director of Abergavenny Operatic & Dramatic Society and accompanist of Crickhowell Choral Society.  He has also on occasion accompanied Eisteddfods in the region. Vaughan was appointed accompanist of Monmouth Choral Society in 2002.