Matthew Coleridge

Composer and conductor Matthew Coleridge (b.1980) is an exciting voice in the British choral music scene. His first choral composition - the Corpus Christi Carol - was recorded by a cappella group The Queen's Six, appearing on the cover CD of BBC Music Magazine's Christmas edition in 2015.

His highly melodic and very approachable compositional style often blends elements of plainsong and medieval music with shimmering modern harmonies - weaving simple melodic lines into rich tapestries of sound.

Requiem (composed 2014-15) was hailed by the late Sir Neville Marriner as "a valuable addition to the 21st century choral repertoire". Is is regularly performed by choirs across the UK, and overseas.

Matthew's 'Requiem in a Day' choral workshops are very popular amongst choral singers, giving them the opportunity to sing this wonderful piece in some of the UK's most prestigious church buildings.

Colin Druce - organ

Colin Druce trained as a professional pianist and organist with Roger Fisher (Organist and Master of the Choristers at Chester Cathedral), and later at the Birmingham Conservatoire, where he won the Ludlow Philharmonic Concerto Competition Prize.

Colin is very well known in his local area of Leamington Spa and Warwick as a concert organist and pianist, as a teacher, and as an accomplished accompanist, not least through his long association with the Royal Leamington Spa Bach Choir and the Warwick and Kenilworth Choral Society.

Olivia da Costa - cello

Olivia’s first inspiration to play the cello came about when she was 3 years old; she had been watching my mother play and had told her that she wanted to play ‘one of those’. She joined the RCMJD at the age of 8, and here she spent 3 years developing her chamber music skills, orchestral skills and also regularly participated in performance platforms which gave her access to short solo recitals. During this period she studied with Sasha Boyarsky, and by the age of 11 had gained a distinction in grade 8 cello (ABRSM).

Olivia studied with Felix Schmidt at the Royal Academy of Music, where she was awarded a scholarship at audition despite undertaking her undergraduate studies a year early. She has also had masterclasses with Alexander Baillie, Tim Hugh, Daniel Gardener and Anita Lasker Wallfisch.

Olivia plays on a 19th Century Betts Cello kindly on loan from the Royal Academy of Music.

Emily Hicks - Soprano

Soprano Emily Hicks is a familiar face at Matthew’s Requiem in a Day workshops, having previously performed the piece at Portsmouth Cathedral, Dorchester Abbey and Romsey Abbey.

She was a choral scholar at Royal Holloway, singing in the Chapel Choir and Schola Cantorum and recording several CDs, including one as a featured soloist. She currently studies with opera singer Anna Gregory.