Dr Alison Willis: Musical Director:
Alison (b. 1971) is a Musical Director, pianist, organist and award winning composer whose works have been performed and broadcast internationally. She studied composition with Alan Bullard (Colchester) and George Benjamin (RCM) and has recently completed a PhD with Paul Mealor and Phillip Cooke at the University of Aberdeen. Her music has been described as ‘Stunning’, ‘Intensely moving’, ‘Beautiful yet pragmatic’ and ‘Saying what you have to say and then stopping’.
She finds particular inspiration in historical sources and events, forgotten voices, social issues and enjoys working collaboratively with both young people and adults. She has recently been appointed as Musical Director of the Grimsby Bach Choir and Louth Choral Society.
Recent compositions include Be Still, My Soul, premiered at the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music, I Am Bartholomew for the 900th Anniversary of St Bart’s the Great, Smithfield, ‘We’re Nor ‘Avin’ It!’, a micro-opera written in collaboration with performers from Streetwise Opera and premiered with the BBC Concert Orchestra and members of The Sixteen at the Southbank Centre, the Derby Service written for Derby Cathedral and Salve Deus, Rex Judaeorum for Luminosa. She is currently working on Fantasia on the Christmas Carols of Landkey for The Winkleigh Singers, a collection of medieval carols and a set of twenty-four Preludes and Fugues for organ.
When not composing or educating Alison can be found walking her dogs on the beach, feeding the chickens or making soup for her family from the vegetables in the garden.
For more information or to listen to Alison’s music please visit www.alisonwillis.com or Alison’s YouTube channel – Alison Willis Composer.
David Parker: Assistant Musical Director and pianist:
David’s early musical career was centred around singing. His radio debut was as a boy treble singing “Where’er You Walk” at the age of eleven, on The Home Service, a month before it became Radio 4. Later, while a counter-tenor choral scholar at Christ Church Oxford, he also sang in the pioneering early music group The Tallis Scholars where he met fellow undergraduate and future wife Gill at a concert in Merton Chapel.
Since retiring from A Level teaching in the classroom at Franklin College David has extended his role of pianist. He is now pianist and deputy conductor for Grimsby Bach Choir and Louth Choral Society and is much in demand as piano accompanist for degree and diploma level exams giving recent recitals in Boston, Sheffield, Nottingham and Glasgow. He studied piano locally with Shirley Kemp and in London with Max Pirani at the Royal Academy of Music and has worked as accompanist with artists such as Peter Pears, Thomas Hemsley, David Willcocks and Raphael Wallfisch.