We are so fortunate to be able to call upon the services of four dedicated and talented musicians who work tirelessly to bring the best out of the Choir.
At the helm, Terry Moore, our Musical Director since 1995, brings skills gained in a life of teaching primary-age children (very useful with a large male voice choir), combined with his previous experience of male voice choirs (Carlton, and Mansfield and District MVCs) from the perspectives of both singer (former member of the second tenor section) and conductor. Few people outside the Choir know how hard Terry works for us – he has selected the music, organised learning CDs, planned our learning schedule, played the central role in rehearsals, determined the musical programme and liaised with guests. We trust he’ll still have enough energy to actually conduct the Choir! His tenure at Carlton has seen considerable growth in singing membership, a broadening of repertoire and experimentation with different sounds.
Terry, whose conducting style is unobtrusive but subtle, knows how to get the best out of a diverse group of men and he is primarily responsible for the Choir being in good corporate health at this point in its history.
One thing that will not concern Terry is the calibre of the accompaniment on stage. Carlton followers will know about the quality of Roger Holland’s playing, which was highly praised by one of the world’s finest opera singers, Rebecca Evans, after he accompanied her at the Royal Concert Hall in 2008. Roger is in his second spell with Carlton, having first played for the Choir between 1984 and 1991, before returning in July 2001. He was born in Nottingham and brought up and educated in Carlton itself, prior to moving on to study and graduate at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. Now a resident of Mansfield and teacher in a primary school in Worksop, Roger is very experienced as an accompanist, having worked with choirs, chamber groups, vocal and instrumental soloists. As a piano soloist, He has made recordings for local and national BBC radio. Roger is newly appointed as Assistant Musical Director, a role for which he is well qualified with his experience in conducting male voice choirs.
Of recent times, John Sellars has been Deputy Accompanist and this role will take on more prominence in view of Roger’s appointment as Assistant MD. John studied at Huddersfield school of music, the Royal Northern College of Music and then went on to study in Paris at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris. He was Accompanist from 1991 to 1999 and returned in 2003 as Deputy Accompanist. A very accomplished musician, John brings his own flamboyant style and soloist expertise, and we look forward to this new collaboration with Roger and adding something special to our performances.
John Collier, a former Choir Chairman and valuable member of the Bass section, has been our Deputy Conductor. In the past year, John led the Choir in a number of successful concerts but has decided to stand down from this role. However, John will continue to make a significant contribution to preparations for our flagship Festival Concert in supervising the learning of the bass and baritone sections in ‘split rehearsals’.
Carlton’s choristers are indebted to our ‘fab four’ and we hope that our performances do full justice to their efforts.
Our Fab Four. From left: Roger Holland, Assistant MD; John Collier, Deputy Conductor; Terry Moore, MD; John Sellers, Deputy Accompanist
