Conductor

Musical Director: Tom Edney

Tom is now becoming an established conductor and singer across the North East. His musical career didn’t truly begin till he was 16, when he took up cello and singing lessons. Originally from Newcastle, Tom very quickly took to conducting and pursued this specialism as part of his undergraduate degree at Newcastle University. Since then, Tom has studied at the University of Cambridge, where he was tutored by Stephen Layton and Ben Parry, among others, and during his master’s programme he sang with King’s College Chapel Choir. Further training has been undertaken through national singing charity Sing for Pleasure. Tom will be starting a PhD at the Royal College of Music in September, conducting a hermeneutic investigation into Herbert Howells’ late choral works. 

Tom has a passion for igniting a love of singing in all. This is reflected in an eclectic mix of engagements that include conductor of Newcastle Youth Choir and artistic director of semi-professional North East octet Vox Populi, which he founded last year. Tom has taken part in the recording of Howells’ cello concerto and his English Mass with King’s College Chapel Choir, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Britten’s War Requiem with the Gabrieli Consort. He has participated in workshops with Voces8, David Hurley, Simon Halsey and Andrew Nethsingha. 

Tom is thrilled to be working with the Durham Singers at a very exciting time in the choir’s history as they begin to sing together again after the pandemic.