Irene Grant-Jones

Irene's enthusiasm for inspiring singers of all ages underpins her vocal journey. She won the soprano prize at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod in North Wales as a teenager before continuing her studies at the Royal Academy of Music under Flora Nielsen and Clara Taylor and being awarded the Parepa Rosa prize.
Irene’s work covers opera, oratorio, solo recitals and musical theatre. Most recent performances include the Messiah, Carmina Burana, Bach Cantata 51 and operatic arias from Carmen, La Boheme, Madame Butterfly, Russalka, Gianni Schicchi, Cavalleria Rusticana, La Traviata and Lucia di Lammermoor, as well as many of the show songs from musicals and soloist at Bedford's Proms in the Park with the London Philharmonia. Her performances of the Strauss ‘Four Last Songs’ in her own English translation can be heard on Youtube.
Currently writing a book on voice production and teaching, she enjoys leading vocal and choral workshops where her master classes have been both educational and fun for all ages.
Her CD ‘Handle With Care’ of popular songs and piano music, has raised over £20,000 for children’s charities. She has QTS status, a degree in drama, dance and English cultural studies and is an adjudicator with The British and International Federation of Festivals. She enjoys incorporating impromptu vocal workshops and interacting with the audience.
Irene has composed over 300 poems, some published, from serious to humorous topics. Irene wrote the text for ‘The Human Race’, an oratorio by Tim Grant-Jones, her husband. Recently Irene has completed the lyrics for a musical based on a true story by Peter Gladwin, 'Out of the Ashes'.

Marilynne Davies

From her early experiences of performing in Welsh Eisteddfodau Marilynne has developed a lifelong passion and enthusiasm for all aspects of performance. Having studied piano, voice and cello at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama she took a Masters Degree in Education and became Head of the School of performance at York St John University.

As a conductor she has trained and conducted orchestras and choirs on a regular basis, some of whom have performed on BBC and ITV. The largest ensemble was a choir of 1100 school children and the smallest a Chamber Choir of 40 voices with whom she toured abroad on many occasions. She regularly works with School Choirs many of whom now compete in local, national and international festivals e.g. Lindley School Choir winners of the BBC School Choir of the Year 2017 and winners at the Llangollen International eisteddfod 2017 Currently she is Deputy Music Director of the 140+ Harrogate Choral Society, director of the Harrogate Polyphonic Choir and of a small vocal ensemble ”Beati”.

As an adjudicator member of the British and International Federation of Festivals she is well established and has adjudicated nationally and internationally. She was one of the four music adjudicators at the British Federation Festival of Festivals in Warwick and one of the presenters at the Millennium Festival in Leeds. She has been a regular adjudicator at the National Festival for Music for Youth and at the biennial Yorkshire and Humberside Championship for Festival winners. She has been a member of the Adjudicators Council and has made presentations at the Federation’s Annual Conference.

Her outreach work on behalf of festivals has included encouraging and supporting Primary School Teachers to be active and confident in school music and to participate in local festivals. Many of these projects have resulted in an increase in entries at Festivals and provided the opportunities for participation in large scale performances.

In October 2011 she was honoured to be made one of the first Adjudicator Fellows of the Federation and is currently Chair of the Fellows.

Tish Nicoll

Born in Aberdeen, Scotland, Tish is a Licentiate of The Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She has a wide range of experience in teaching all age groups in schools, colleges and the business world. Tish now lives in Suffolk, and works freelance. She is visiting lecturer in Vocal Communications in colleges in the UK and in Italy. She also examines for The English Speaking Board (International) Ltd. and was their Chief Examiner for seven years. She has travelled widely both in the UK and overseas lecturing, running workshops, examining and adjudicating.

As well as “Voice Over” work for advertising, Tish has television experience as a performer and stage experience as a performer and director. She is also a trained singer, specialising in recitals of poetry and song.

From an early age Tish took part in Festivals and well remembers how it feels to be a participant! Now, herself a Festival organiser and adjudicator, she knows the importance of these events and welcomes the opportunities offered to performers of all ages, giving them a platform for their work and a chance to celebrate music, poetry and drama.

Martin Wallington

Martin has recently retired from playing the Viola with the BBC Philharmonic, after 36 years in the job. A graduate of Chetham's School Of Music and The Royal Northern College Of Music, he has enjoyed an exciting and fulfilling career playing in many of the finest concert halls in Europe, North and South America, China and Japan, as well as the BBC Proms and all the major concert venues in the UK.

Martin is hugely committed to his involvement in music education. He regularly advises senior students at the beginning of their professional career, and was for a number of years a Mentor for the BBC Philharmonic/RNCM Professional Access Scheme, where students spend time working alongside their mentor in the professional working environment. In addition to his playing commitments, he has always had a busy private teaching practice, as well as teaching for a number of years in the Music Department at Manchester University.

Martin has been increasingly in demand as an Adjudicator both at school music competitions and at a number of regional music festivals. He loves encouraging young people on their 'journey' to discovering the joy of making live music.

Away from music, Martin is a fluent French speaker and loves 'escaping' to France on holiday. He is a keen walker and will often be found hiking around the Yorkshire Wolds where he now lives with his wife (a cello teacher), 2 huge cats and 2 crazy dogs!

Joseph Tong

Joseph Tong enjoys a busy and varied career as soloist, duo pianist, chamber musician, writer, teacher and adjudicator. Joseph made his Wigmore Hall debut in 1997 as winner of the Maisie Lewis Young Artists Award and gives regular recitals throughout the UK and abroad. He has been a visiting teacher at Wells Cathedral School since 2008 and holds teaching posts at Hampton School and Trinity School, Croydon.

Joseph Tong studied at Wells Cathedral School and Christ’s College, Cambridge before completing postgraduate studies at the RAM with Christopher Elton.

He has given recitals in Japan, USA, Singapore, Italy, Germany and Spain both as a soloist and in a piano duo with Waka Hasegawa. Over recent years, concerts in Finland have included invitations to perform at Sibelius’s home Ainola, the Sibelius Museum in Turku and Helsinki Music Centre. Other solo recitals have included St John’s, Smith Square in London, St George’s Bristol, St David’s Hall, Cardiff and the Presteigne Festival.

In 2018, Joseph recorded a CD of Schumann at the Sendesaal in Bremen, for release this summer on the Quartz label.

His ongoing Sibelius recording project has received widespread critical acclaim and a further disc with violinist Fenella Humphreys is in preparation. A keen chamber musician, Joseph is a regular visitor to the Wye Valley Chamber Music Festival, frequently performing with his brother Daniel and in various ensembles. He has also commissioned and premiered piano duets by composers including Dai Fujikura, Daniel Kidane, Nicola LeFanu, David Matthews and Edwin Roxburgh.

Joseph Tong was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) in 2008. He is Co-ordinator of the Wells International Piano Summer School and will be joining the teaching faculty of the 2019 Chetham’s International Summer School and Festival for Pianists.

Joseph is also happy to adjudicate online/virtual sessions instead of a live festival.

Paul Harris

Paul has established an international reputation as one of Britain’s leading music educationalists. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music, where, as a pupil of John Davies, he won the August Manns Prize for outstanding performance in clarinet playing. He has taught in the UK, the USA, the Far East, New Zealand and Australia and has undertaken research into specialist music education for the highly talented. He has many publications to his name, mostly concerned with music education. His book, “The Music Teacher’s Companion”, won the UK’s Music Industry Association’s Best New Book award in 2001. He writes for many national and international journals and made an appearance in the final Inspector Morse novel!

Gary Ryan

Gary studied as a junior at the Guildhall School of Music, where he won the Director’s Prize, and later was awarded a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Music (RAM). In 1991 he graduated with first class honours and many awards including the Julian Bream Prize. Post-graduate studies followed at the RAM with an award from the Fleming Trust and was made an Associate of the RAM in 1997. Gary's London recital debut at the Purcell Room in 1994 was highly acclaimed by the critics. He subsequently performed a series of recitals for the Kirckman Concert Society at the South Bank Centre. In 1996, aged 27, he became Professor of Guitar at the Royal College of Music (RCM); he currently combines his role there as Assistant Head of Strings with a varied international career as a performer and composer. In 2013, he was awarded a Fellowship of the RCM becoming the first guitarist to be given this accolade since John Williams in 1983. Gary has also collaborated with John Williams and jazz guitarist John Etheridge to form 6 Hands. The guitar trio has since toured the UK extensively and has a new recording; further performances are scheduled for 2018. His celebrated compositions are often broadcast on Classic FM and have broadened the instrument’s appeal, combining traditional classical techniques and contemporary styles with a rich variety of musical influences from around the world.