Creative Team

Voices for Life work in collaboration with creative artists to create and perform exciting and fun songs and choral works.  These are carefully created and delivered to help give children a renewed sense of confidence in themselves as well as experiences that will live with them forever.

We are always looking for creative practitioners to work with, please get in touch if this would be of interest to you.

Sue Curtis

Librettist: Voices for Life song, Mission to the Moon, Extraordinary!, The Space Between the Stars and Stardust.

Sue approaches her work as writer and librettist from the solid
foundation of a lifetime’s experience in literature and theatre.
Sue has spent much of her life as an academic, lecturing at
universities in South Africa, Austria, and England, and teaching at
King Edward’s School in Bath. Here she founded a Drama
Department which she ran for twenty years. She has worked as an actor and as an award-winning director and her passion for theatre and commitment to professional production values communicated itself to her students, over 150 of whom now work in the industry. She is at present working on “Singing”, a book for children, with illustrator Becky Blake. Sue started writing for Voices for Life in 2021.

Jools Scott

Composer: Voices for life song, Mission to the Moon, Extraordinary!, The Space Between the Stars and Stardust

Jools has worked with the BFI, Brodsky Quartet, Flanders
Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra and St. Paul’s Cathedral Choir. In 2015, he scored Andrew Steggall’s feature film Departure (“Jools Scott’s tastefully sparse score” – Variety Magazine). The same year, he performed in Sally Cookson’s critically acclaimed production of Jane Eyre (National Theatre).

In 2014, Jools and his long-term librettist Sue Curtis, completed The Cool Web : A Robert Graves Oratorio, which premiered in Bath Abbey. The Cool Web opened the Wimbledon International Music Festival in 2017, and closed the official UK and Belgian 1914-1918 centenary programme at St. Paul’s Cathedral in 2018. Jools started writing music for Voices for Life in 2021.

Jamila Gavin

Librettist: We are every child and The Elements Cantata

Jamila Gavin is an award-winning writer who was born in India of an Indian father and English mother. Growing up in Britain she was aware of the changing face of Britain as it became more multi-cultural, and this became the inspiration for her writing – especially for children. Jamila’s main concern has always been to enable every child to find their mirror image in books, and to value their own cultural background whatever that may be. So, myths and legends have always been an inspiration, and led to her publishing several collections of these ancient stories.

Recently, she has enjoyed working with the composer, Russell Hepplewhite, producing poetic texts for him to set to music. When Voices for Life wanted to commission a choral work for the choir, Jamila was inspired to use the Four Elements as conceived by Aristotle, with stories from India, Africa, Egypt, and a Cherokee story from the United States.  Russell responded magnificently with the Elements Cantata. Jamila became a Voices for Life Ambassador in 2023.

Russell Hepplewhite

Composer: The Elements Cantata

Katrine Reimers

Choral Director and Workshop leader

Katrine Reimers is a Bath-based freelance choral conductor, educator, vocal coach and accompanist. Working in numerous schools over many years, Katrine’s education projects have ranged from large-scale choral concerts with international school children at the Cadogan Hall, London to devising and delivering orchestral projects for disabled young musicians to perform at the Bristol Beacon. Her youth music projects have included arranging potted operas for primary school children and collaborating with celebrities such as Oscar-winning composer Michel Legrand and British jazz legend Julian Joseph.

Katrine studied music at King’s College, Cambridge, gained a Master’s degree in piano  accompaniment at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and completed her training as an opera coach and répétiteur at the National Opera Studio. Her work has covered a wide range, from orchestral keyboard at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, to opera workshop-leading in prisons, and from conducting an international festival massed-choir of 3,000 singers in northern Italy to vocal coaching for English National Opera. Katrine is now Musical Director of Bath Choral Society, Wincanton Choral Society and Priddy Singers, as well as Director of Music at S. Mark’s, Swindon.

Kate Courage

Choral Director, The Elements Cantata and Songs for Change 2024 (Wilts) and Choral Workshop Lead

Kate has been running singing projects for many years, in her role as the Deputy Manager of Bristol Arts and Music Service, and Assistant Head of Wiltshire Music Service, and more recently for WEMA. She conducts four children’s choirs and accompanies two adult choirs, on top of her regular teaching in schools.

She has conducted massed choirs at Bristol Cathedral, Clifton Cathedral, Bristol Beacon, Glastonbury Classical Festival and at the Royal Albert Hall (twice!) She was a member of Howard Goodall’s Sing Tank, an advisory group to Sing Up in its infancy, and spoke at many conferences about engaging children in singing and is still a regular speaker at
conferences, delivering workshops on singing in schools and setting up and developing choirs. She is delighted to be joining Voices for Life.

Sarah Kettlety Youngs

Choral Director and Workshop Leader

 

Sarah Kettlety Youngs is a Bath-based choral director, workshop leader, and passionate advocate for the power of singing to support children’s mental health and wellbeing. With over 20 years’ experience teaching piano and singing, Sarah has worked with choirs of all ages and abilities, from leading children’s groups to guiding a ladies’ choir through to the advanced stages of Gareth Malone’s national choir competition.

Until recently, Sarah was Director of Music at The Paragon School, where she championed whole-school and massed singing as a way of building confidence, connection, and joy. Having sung in choirs around the world, she has seen first-hand the transformative impact of music on wellbeing, belonging, and resilience. Sarah is especially committed to encouraging boys to find their voices through singing.

Alongside her work with Voices for Life, Sarah teaches piano and singing privately and runs creative holiday workshops for children in Bath, where she continues to inspire the next generation to experience the joy of music.

George Bevan

Choral Director, workshop leader and Accompanist

George Bevan was a chorister at St Mary’s Warwick where he had his first organ lessons with Paul Trepte. From there he won scholarships to Wellington College and then to the Royal College of Music where he continued his organ studies with Richard Popplewell and Timothy Bond, winning all of the major organ prizes. Whilst still a a student he held the post of organist at St James’s Muswell Hill, and it was here that he discovered a passion for directing choral music and for teaching which has remained with him ever since.

He has held teaching posts at Pangbourne College and Rugby School, and has been Director of Music at Wycombe Abbey School, Monkton Combe and most recently Downside School.  He is in high demand as a piano teacher, accompanist, organist and choral director.

In a long and varied career as a musician, highlights include directing a performance of Tallis’ 40-part motet Spem in alium, playing Mozart’s Piano Concerto in D minor, K466, and running his ‘Choir who can’t sing’ project for teenage boys. George writes extensively about music education on his blog www.georgebevan.com.

Emily Pennant-Rea

Workshop Leader

Emily trained as an actor at Webber Douglas Academy and has toured extensively to theatres around the country with productions that include Charlie’s Aunt, Private Lives, Joking Apart, Othello, Twelfth Night, a season at Pitlochry Festival Theatre and Mary Broome at The Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond. She is a co-founding member of simple8 theatre company. She has co produced every production, and performed in Les Enfants du Paradis, The Four Stages of Cruelty and Don’t Sleep There Are Snakes. Through the education outreach program of the company she has led workshops for schools and drama school students, and also worked with the Shakespeare Schools Festival many times, enabling children all over the country to perform in their local professional theatre. She has recorded numerous audiobooks, and a Radio 4 play The Franchise Affair.

Pete Harrison

Choral Director, Stardust 2023 (NE Somerset and Somerset) and 2025 (Bath and NE Somerset)

Pete studied at the Royal College of Music, London before his conducting career started in London’s West End with Crazy For You (Prince Edward Theatre), Disney’s Beauty & the Beast (Dominion Theatre) and Lautrec (Theatre Royal, Plymouth and Shaftesbury Theatre).
He is a regular guest conductor and presenter with many orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia, the Ulster Orchestra, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. He is the Musical Director of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra Voices choir (BSO Voices) based in Southampton and partnered with the BSO. Pete is also the Music Director of the Brent Youth Concert Pops Orchestra partnered with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Other education work includes the National Youth Wind Orchestra of Great Britain, the National Youth Wind Orchestra of Wales, Kent County Youth Orchestra, Berkshire Youth Symphony Orchestra for Berkshire Maestros and the Symphony Orchestra and Symphonic Wind Orchestra of Wells Cathedral School. . Pete first collaborated with Voices for Life as a musical director for the Stardust performance in Wells Cathedral in 2023.

Matthew Coleridge

Choral Director, Stardust 2024 (Cornwall)

Matthew Coleridge is one of the UK’s most exciting emerging choral composers,  debuting in 2023’s Classic FM Hall of Fame top 100: the second youngest composer to make the list, and one of the highest ranked British composers.

His 2023 album Requiem – recorded by the Choir of Royal Holloway and Southern Sinfonia – was Classic FM’s Album of the Week, and received a 5-star review from BBC Music Magazine.

Matthew has written music for many renowned choirs and vocal groups, including Portsmouth Cathedral Choir, Christchurch Priory Choir, The Queen’s Six and Papagena, and regularly conducts concerts of his music in cathedrals and abbeys around the country. 

Greg Hallam

Choral Director, Stardust 2022 (Wiltshire)

Greg Hallam is an esteemed choral director, singer and teacher. Greg teaches singing and choral conducting to young people aged 8-23 at Wellington College, Christchurch Cathedral School, Worcester College, Oxford and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, in addition to directing three adult choirs. Greg helped set up the London Youth Choir and was Musical Director of the National Youth Boys’ Choir for five years.

A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music and Royal College of Music, Greg was awarded an ARAM (Associate of the Royal Academy of Music) for his significant contribution to the music profession in 2019.

David Ogden

Choral Director, Stardust 2024 and 2025 (S.Glos)

David is a professional conductor and composer. He conducts Exultate Singers, City of Bristol Choir, Bristol Youth Choirs, the professional vocal ensemble Celestia, and workplace choirs at Arval and Airbus. He is Director of Music at Holy Trinity Church, Westbury-on-Trym.

For over 30 years he has worked with numerous professional and amateur groups of all shapes and sizes in many fields of music making from small children’s groups to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. He has conducted over 100 large-scale choral works including first performances of pieces by Roxanna Panufnik and James MacMillan. He has made 15 CD recordings and  conducted choirs on BBC Radios 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and the World Service, and worked as conductor and arranger for over 20 years on BBCTV’s Songs of Praise.

Bristol Ensemble

The Space Between the Stars and Stardust Performances

 

The Bristol Ensemble is the city’s only professional orchestra, comprising a core of 25 musicians and a further 50 musicians, all experienced players in a range of musical genres.

 

“We are delighted to be working in partnership with Voices for Life bringing fantastic music experiences into the lives of children. The Bristol Ensemble are fully committed to enriching the artistic lives of children and their communities and we have been working now for over 12 years in disadvantaged areas in Bristol. Voices for Life is a brilliant way for us to further this work and together we are producing a high quality experience and life enhancing opportunities for hundreds of children. We are very excited by this partnership and fully support the Voices for Life vision.”

Roger Huckle, Director, The Bristol Ensemble 2023