About
Bass/Bass-Baritone
Music Psychology/Biological Anthropology
My interest in music started as a young treble chorister and soloist with the Knabenkantorei Basel and at the Opernhaus Basel. I was subsequently awarded a music scholarship to Sevenoaks School (clarinet) before reading for a bachelor's degree in music and music composition at the University of Birmingham. Later on I studied for a postgraduate diploma in vocal and opera studies at the Royal Northern College of Music and, since 2013, have been continuing my professional vocal development privately with Michelle Wegwart (Opera National de Paris/Bolshoi Opera). I also hold a recital diploma in piano performance (ATCL). As a professional bass/bass-baritone I have worked variously with Opera North, Pinchgut Opera, Cantillation Choir, Co-Opera, Elemental Opera, Saint Mary’s Cathedral, and as a freelance soloist for numerous choral societies. A full list of major works performed is posted here on the performance page together with some brief audio samples.
In parallel to my performance work I have also been pursuing academic interests in music psychology and biological anthropology. At the University of Cambridge I completed an MPhil (1st) at the Centre for Music and Science (CMS) and a research PhD project at the Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies (LCHES) supported by a Cambridge University Millennium Scholarship. In conjunction with preparing my PhD thesis I acted as author, peer reviewer, and/or editor for MIT Press, Music Perception, Psychology of Music, Musicae Scientiae, Science and Music, Journal of Human Evolution, Oxford University Press, and Cambridge Scholars Publishing. A brief description of my work on music’s evolutionary “design features” is given here on the research page together with proposals for a new experimental paradigm on “sensorimotor harmonisation”. A full list of publications and corresponding pdf files are also available.