Musical Director
Christopher Dell
Singer, Conductor, Organist and Composer/Arranger
Christopher started his musical life aged 10 as a chorister in the Choir of All Saints Church, Edmonton, North London. He received private tuition at Trinity College of Music with Gwendoline Hanson and later studied at the Royal College of Music with Edgar Evans. He also studied with Michael Brewer, now Musical Director of the National Youth Choir.
At the age of 18, Christopher was invited to join the Fayrefax Consort, St. Albans where he took part in many concerts at St. Albans Abbey and recording projects, including Bach's Magnificat and a programme of Sacred and Secular part songs. He was a regular tenor lay clerk at St Albans.
During his time at the Latymer School, Edmonton, Christopher's Madrigal Group won the radio competition “Let the Peoples Sing” schools class and subsequently recorded at the BBC for “Time and Tune”. They toured the USA mid-west and Canada. After finishing at the Latymer School, some of the former members of the Madrigal Group reformed as the “Gregorian Singers” and later as “Polyphony”. They also performed as a male close-harmony group called “Liberty Beaux” which covered barber-shop to Beach Boys material and had success locally. Many of these members have gone on to enjoy successful careers in music.
Christopher has continued to work with former members of the Madrigal Group throughout his career, including Michael Berman, who founded “Vox Musica”, a chamber choir of which Christopher and his wife, Sue, were members. Michael Berman recently created the “Southbank Sinfonia”, a chamber orchestra in London which offers recent graduates of the UK's top conservatoires valuable performance experience, with whom Vox Musica frequently perform alongside. Out of this organisation has sprung “Vox Coelestis”, another group based in Yorkshire offering performance opportunities for young musicians, in which Christopher is also involved with. Christopher has also worked with Michael Berman as a member of “Amici”, a small chamber choir, with whom he has taken part in recordings, notibly Haydn's Little Organ Mass.
As a conductor, Christopher has directed Amici and Polyphony, as well as All Saints, Edmonton as organist and choirmaster, and Christ Church, Southgate, North London. Christopher was responsible for rebuilding the choir at Christ Church to a standard high enough to see them perform live on the BBC in 1996 on the Sunday after Ascension, performing a Mozart Mass complete with soloists from the choir. The choir at Christ Church also recorded twice with Lance Andrews (Lammas Records). Christopher was also musical director of the 70-strong Groveland Singers before he and his family moved to Derbyshire in 2002, where he was invited to play organ and direct music at St. Oswald's, Ashbourne.
Six of Christopher's compositions are recorded on CD by the Michael Brewer Singers, including his “Requiem Aeternum”, “The Gate of the Year” and “Dormi Jesu”. Many of his compositions have been performed in concert and he has also received commissions for compositions and arrangements.