Musical Directors
Rachel Staunton
Assistant Conductor
Rachel's interest in singing and music sparked at a young age as a chorister at St.Nicolas Church Newbury. After singing in The Berkshire Youth Choirs, and later The National Youth Choir, she became a Choral Scholar at Royal Holloway College, University of London, where she graduated with a first class degree in music. In her time at Royal Holloway she delighted in being the conductor of The Royal Holloway Chamber Choir, and played clarinet with the Royal Holloway University Chamber and Symphony Orchestras.
Rachel is now training at The Royal Academy of Music in London on the Post graduate Choral Conducting course, studying conducting with Patrick Russill and Paul Brough, and vocal studies with Julie Kennard. Rachel was the Director of Music at St.Thomas Church Oakwood where she conducted the junior choir, parish choir and choral society. Rachel loves working with choirs and currently conducts Pure Harmony Children’s Choir in Slough, and is an assistant conductor of the National Youth Training Choir of Great Britain. Rachel also enjoys being the Musical Director of The Genesis Chorale Choral Society in Working, and the Principal Guest Conductor of Concordia Voices.
Rachel has a passion for music education and has been awarded The Mortimer Development Award by the Friends of the Royal Academy of Music, which has enabled her to set up a choir at a local old peoples centre, and also to provide creative musical workshops in a deprived inner city London school. Rachel has been awarded a scholarship from The Royal College of Organists, and is the recent recipient of the Alan Kirby Prize for Choir Training from the Royal Academy of Music.
