We are very pleased to say that after a fruitful search, we have managed to appoint a new MD for Choir, David Dewar. We hope that he will feel very welcome within our society and enjoy working with our Choir. Below is some information about him taken from his website:
David Dewar studied music at Birmingham Conservatoire, in Utrecht, and in Portugal.
He also undertook instrumental study with Anthony Halstead (horn), and Anne Marsden Thomas and Gerdi Troskie (organ). His principal studies were organ, horn, and conducting; he also admits to a facility with tuned and untuned percussion. He studied conducting with George Hurst, who studied with Pierre Monteux.
As an orchestral conductor, his repertoire is large and varied, covering the mainstream of the classical repertoire, and also including many less well-known works. Apart from working with a variety of professional and amateur orchestras, David has also conducted large scale works from the choral repertoire with orchestra, in the ICC in Birmingham, and in the Great Hall of Birmingham University amongst other venues.
Much of David's early work as a composer involved writing for organ. As he has worked
more and more closely with choral groups, and under the influence of his wife, Hilary, who
is a viola player, compositions featuring voices and instruments are featuring more and more prominently.
In 2005, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and is a member of the Association of British Choral Directors.
David gives organ recitals in various venues around the country, most recently in Bristol Cathedral, Holy Trinity Bradford-on-Avon, Wellow Parish Church, and Chippenham Parish Church. He gives concerts, too, with his wife, and with the cornettist David Jarratt-Knock.