Peter Broadbent

Peter Broadbent is one of Britain’s leading choral conductors, known for his awareness of style, breadth of experience and commitment to contemporary music. In 1988, he formed the Joyful Company of Singers, which rapidly established itself as one of Europe’s leading chamber choirs, winning an impressive list of National and International Competitions. Performances in the UK have included most of the major music festivals, including several “Proms” appearances, and they have given concerts throughout Europe and the USA. The JCS has recorded CDs for Chandos, ASV, EMI Classics, Naxos and Warner Classics, as well as recording TV and film soundtracks.

Broadbent enjoys a versatile career with an extensive repertoire ranging from Baroque Music performed on period instruments, to contemporary music, including many first performances.  In the UK he has conducted the London Mozart Players, Divertimenti Chamber Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra, the City of London Sinfonia, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Southern Sinfonia and the BBC Singers, broadcasting frequently on BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM. Other engagements have included concerts with the Debrecen Philharmonic Orchestra and Kodály Chorus in Hungary, a broadcast concert with the National Chamber Choir in Dublin, an atelier at Europa Cantat XV in Barcelona in 2003, and a concert tour with the World Youth Choir in July 2006 in Italy, Switzerland, France Belgium and Germany.

Peter Broadbent adjudicates at International Choral Competitions all over Europe and in the UK, and gives seminars and master classes in the UK, Europe, South Africa, the USA and Canada.  He is director of Choral Conducting Courses for the Association of British Choral Directors, having instigated and designed the curriculum for the courses. He was recently presented with the “Pro Cultura Hungarica” Prize by the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Hungary for his outstanding achievement in promoting Hungarian Music.

Colin Durrant

Dr Colin Durrant leads the postgraduate programme in Music Education at the University of London Institute of Education. He has been Director of Choral Activities at the New England Conservatory in Boston, visiting Associate Professor in the School of Music at the University of Maryland and Principal Lecturer in Music and Music Education at the University of Surrey Roehampton.

Colin has a wide range of choral conducting and teaching experience and, following his research into the area of effective choral conducting, designed and developed a graduate programme in Choral Education, the first of its kind in the UK and is one of the conducting tutors for the Association of British Choral Directors. He has published many articles on choral conducting and music education; his book Choral Conducting: Philosophy and Practice appeared in 2003. He is also on the editorial board of the International Journal of Research in Choral Singing. Colin has led conducting workshops in the USA, Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and in Europe and the UK. He currently conducts the University of London Chamber Choir and Imperial College Choir.