Songs of Pleasant Glee
Charles MacDougall, tenor
Gavin Cranmer-Moralee, baritone
Robert Mingay-Smith, piano
For the opening concert of our 2019 festival, Surbiton Salons regulars Charles MacDougall (Tenor) and Robert Mingay-Smith (Piano) are joined by Gavin Cranmer-Moralee (Baritone) for a charming programme of duets about spring, romance, love, lust, and sleep by composers such as Mendelssohn, Vaughan Williams, Quilter, Howells and others.
£20 (early bird) / £25
Charles MacDougall
Tenor
Charles MacDougall is an award-winning tenor, choral animateur and vocal coach, known equally for his voice and his transformative work with choirs and singers. Recent solo highlights have included: creating the role of Richard III in John Webb’s The Last Plantagenet (Philharmonia Orchestra, De Montford Hall); Handel’s Messiah (Telemann Chamber Orchestra, Hitomi Memorial Hall, Tokyo); Bach’s Christmas Oratorio (Telemann Chamber Orchestra, Izumi Hall, Osaka); Bach’s St. Matthew Passion (The Guards’ Chapel, Wellington Barracks, London); Evangelist in Bach’s St. John Passion (Dalby Kammarkör, Sweden); Harlequin in The Pioneer of Panto (Handel House, London); and Bach Early Cantatas (Les Inventions, Dijon Opera House). In 2018 he made his London Handel Festival debut with London Early Opera at St. George’s, Hanover Square. Prior to that, from 2005-2012, he was a member of VOCES8, performing over 100 concerts internationally each year. With the group, he released several successful commercial albums and made regular television and radio appearances, giving his final performance with them on Christmas Day 2012 in Shanghai. He has also sung for London Early Opera (and appears on their recent releases Handel at Vauxhall, Vol.1 & 2, Signum Classics), the Gabrieli Consort, Seraphim, Cappella Nova, Schola Cantorum of Oxford and been involved in innovative collaborations with the James Taylor Quartet (Queen Elizabeth Hall). Charles is also a highly experienced vocal coach and choral animateur, working for the LSO Discovery, London Youth Choir, as well as being Chorus Director for Gabrieli Roar and directing two choirs in London. Highlights in 2018 included conducting the World Premiere of Errolyn Wallen’s MAP: Songs for children everywhere for Snape Maltings in Hull, as well as receiving the Music Teacher Award for Excellence in Primary/Early Years 2018 for his work as choral director in The Voices Foundation/DRET Singing Schools pilot programme. Formerly the Senior Vocal Coach at Portsmouth Cathedral, Whitgift School and Croydon Minster, he is now Choral Director for The Voices Foundation, coaches for the Royal School of Church Music, and is Consultant Vocal Coach at Derby Cathedral and Radley College.
Gavin Cranmer-Moralee
Baritone
Admired for his hugely versatile timbre, Gavin performs both as soloist and chorus singer for many of the leading ensembles and Churches in London including St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral and Temple Church. He holds a permanent position as Gentleman of the Choir of HM Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace. He regularly joins the BBC Singers in their live broadcasts at St Paul’s Knightsbridge, St Giles Cripplegate and Milton Court, in their outreach work and learning projects from the Maida Vale studios and for the PROMS season during the Summer. With his adaptable voice he is able to transition from one genre to another seamlessly and has featured as one of the core singers for the live performances of Disney’s Frozen, Danny Elfman’s Alice in Wonderland from the Royal Albert Hall and as a vocalist for film score recordings from Abbey Road studios; most recently for Aardman Animations and forthcoming animated comedy film UglyDolls.
Gavin’s professional singing career started at the age of 12 when he won the last ever RSCM Choirboy of the Year competition. With this came wide public exposure and performances at all major concert halls across the UK, regular TV and radio broadcasts in both the UK and Europe and the opportunity of making 4 CD recordings. When his voice broke he knew that singing was still a passion and luckily, unlike many, managed to retain the timbre and quality from his treble voice into his baritone range. He studied at Trinity Laban under the tuition of John Wakefield and Helen Yorke, graduating with a BMus in vocal performance. He sang as soloist in Haydn’s Nelson Mass under the baton of Sir Charles Mackerras (dec’d) and performed opera scenes at The Royal Opera House under the direction of Terry Edwards.
He currently studies with Arwel Treharne Morgan. In addition to his solo work he is part of the professional quartet Seraphim, based out of St Mary at Hill, Eastcheap.
Forthcoming solo engagements include Durufle’s Requiem and Mozart’s Requiem. He is the Vocal Coach to the Croydon Minster choristers who attend Whitgift School, Croydon and runs a small but thriving teaching studio from home. He is a member of the AOTOS (The Association of Teachers of Singing) and the Musicians Union (MU).
Robert Mingay-Smith
Piano
Robert Mingay-Smith began his musical career as an organist at the age of 14 and completed the ABRSM Organ Diploma for performance at the age of 19. In 1998 he became Director of Music at St Peter’s Church in Brandon, Suffolk after which he commenced his studies in organ, voice and bassoon at Trinity College of Music, London. Robert graduated with a BMUS (Hons) in 2005.
During his career, Robert has held choral scholarships at both St Edmundsbury Cathedral and St Martin-in-the-fields, and posts as Assistant Director of Music at the Old Royal Naval College Chapel, Greenwich, and St. Michael’s Cornhill, London.
From 2009 to 2013 Robert was a member of the British vocal ensemble VOCES8 with whom he toured world-wide. During his time with the ensemble they recorded six CDs including the Bach Motets and Aces High.
Robert performs regularly as an organ soloist in the UK and at many of London’s churches and cathedrals. He has performed all over America and in concerts improvising alongside Naji Hakim. He is a founder member of the flute & organ duo INVERSION, alongside the award-winning flautist Ruth Stockdale with whom he tours internationally.
Robert founded the Square Mile Music Series and is artist director of the new ensemble Seraphim (www.seraphimconsort.com); both of which are based at St Mary-at-Hill Church, London where Robert is the Director of Music, a post he has held since 2007. Robert is also Director of Music at St John the Baptist, Wimbledon.
