Patron: Cecilia McDowall
People
Dominic Ellis-Peckham :
Musical Director
Dominic Ellis-Peckham is a conductor and chorus master, specialising in opera and choral repertoire.
He has been praised for his dedication to the Renaissance and Baroque era, whilst also passionately championing new works and delivering inspirational collaborations.
​
In addition to his position with London Oriana Choir, Dominic is Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of Chamber Choir of London, Chorus Master for Opera Holland Park and Chorus Director and Visiting Artist at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.
​
Dominic has prepared choruses in opera houses, festivals and on the concert stage, including an array of highly acclaimed world premieres, He works closely with The Meridian Sinfonia, and previously guest conducted London Mozart Players, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and The City of London Sinfonia as well as serving as Chorus Master for English National Opera, and recently making his debut as Chorus Master for English National Ballet.
​​
Dominic has conducted projects at Abbey Road, Air Studios, Angel Studios and for Deutsche Grammophon, Whistle Records, Signum Records, Sky, BBC and Eurovision. His releases have reached No.1 in both the U.S Classical Billboard Charts and the U.K Specialist Charts.
This season, Dominic conducts The City of London Sinfonia and Opera Holland Park Chorus in Verdi’s ‘Quattro Pezzi Sacri’, chorus masters the world premiere of Jonathan Dove's new opera 'Uprising' in collaboration with Glyndebourne, Saffron Hall and RNSO, makes his Theatre Royal Drury Lane debut with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Chamber Choir of London as Chorus Master for Rachel Fuller’s ‘The Seeker’. Dominic returns as Chorus Master to Opera Holland Park for the 2025 Season with Wagner's 'Der fliegende Hollander', Donizetti's 'Lucia di Lammermoor' and Verdi's 'La Traviata'.
​
Nicholas Chalmers :
Associate Conductor
Nicholas Chalmers is one of the leading conductors in the UK. His energy and vision have seen the establishment of highly successful artistic and education projects and his work impacts thousands of young people each year. Nicholas is driven by a passion to bring classical music to the next generation and to ensure that people in areas of under provision have better access to training and engagement in the performing arts. As founder Artistic Director of Nevill Holt Opera, his 10 year leadership of the company saw the creation of an exquisite new theatre in Leicestershire, which won plaudits for its acoustic design and reached the final of the RIBA Stirling prize in 2019. He is a Senior Associate Artist of the Royal Opera House, where he will make his conducting debut in autumn 2024.
​
Nicholas is the Associate Conductor, Learning of the BBC Singers and made his BBC Proms conducting debut in 2020 with the group. With the BBC Singers, he has programmed and conducted numerous broadcasts and concerts throughout the UK and helped establish the Singers’ partnership with youth choral groups in Stratford East, the future home of the BBC performing groups. From September 2024, Nicholas takes up the role of Fernside Chair of Choral Conducting at The Royal Academy of Music.
​
Educated at the University of Oxford and Piacenza Conservatoire, Nicholas has held positions at major UK musical institutions including Chichester Cathedral, St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, English National Opera and the Royal Opera House.
​
From 2011, Nicholas was conductor of Northern Ireland Opera and established the chorus and partnership with the Ulster Orchestra and conducted The Medium, Tosca (Best Opera - Irish Times Theatre Awards), The Turn of the Screw, The Bear, Macbeth, The Flying Dutchman, Salome, Don Giovanni, Cosi fan Tutte, Powder Her Face and Noye’s Fludde (Belfast Zoo, Beijing and Shanghai).
​
In 2013, Nicholas founded Nevill Holt Opera and established an award-winning education and associate artists programme. The company has introduced countless young people to opera in the East Midlands and its year-round education programme works with schools across the region. The rapid success of the company under his leadership led to a new opera house being built at Nevill Holt in Leicestershire. It opened in 2018 with Le nozze di Figaro. The exquisite new building has won plaudits for its acoustic design and reached the final of the RIBA Stirling prize in 2019. With Nevill Holt Opera, Nicholas has conducted The Magic Flute, La bohème, The Turn of the Screw, Carmen, Rigoletto, The Elixir of Love, Tosca, Noye’s Fludde, Le Nozze di Figaro, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Cosí fan tutte and La traviata.
​
Nicholas works with leading orchestras and opera companies in the UK and overseas: Royal Northern Sinfonia; Britten Sinfonia; Manchester Camerata; BBC Concert Orchestra; The CBSO; The Ulster Orchestra; The English Chamber Orchestra; London Mozart Players; China Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra; Macedonian Philharmonic Orchestra; Zurich Opera; Opera National de Lyon.
​
Nicholas’s education and community projects aim to impact thousands of people. He runs award winning education projects in the East Midlands and is curator of - Opera Nation - (a book of famous opera aria arrangements for young people) at the Royal Opera House. At Covent Garden, Nicholas also leads the Sing at ROH programme and works with the youth opera company. 2022 marked his involvement in the BIG SING with Britten Pears Arts.
​
Tabitha Reynolds :
Vocal Coach
British Mezzo-soprano Tabitha Reynolds is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music where she studied on scholarship with Yvonne Howard, Julie Kennard and Iain Ledingham.
On the concert platform Tabitha was a soloist in the Kohn Foundation Bach Cantata series, and has performed at venues including Wigmore Hall and St John’s Smith Square. She enjoys performing a wide variety of choral works including, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Dvorak’s Stabat Mater and Bach’s St John Passion.
Operatic highlights include Hansel and Gretel, Rigoletto and Carmen (chorus) with Opera Holland Park, Dido and Aeneas (Dido) in Chipping Campden Festival, Sweeney Todd (chorus) with Bergen National Opera, The Elixir of Love and Tosca (chorus) with Nevill Holt Opera and Die Zauberflöte, Il Trovatore and Alfonso und Estrella (chorus) with Opéra de Baugé. Recently Tabitha performed with Opera Holland Park in a collaboration with English National Ballet in Stravinsky’s Les Noces, performing at Sadler's Wells. She will be returning to Opera Holland Park in their 2024 season. During her time at RAM she performed in L’enfant et les sortilèges (Maman), Ariodante (chorus), Suor Angelica (chorus) and Le Nozze di Figaro (chorus). Tabitha has also participated in masterclasses with Felicity Lott, Susan Bullock, Kathryn Harries and British Youth Opera.
David Smith :
Accompanist
Born in Stockport, David completed a BMus at the University of Birmingham before moving to the Royal Academy of Music where he studied with Michael Dussek and Vanessa Latarche. After graduating with distinction he was awarded Junior Fellowships working with the vocal department at both the Royal Academy and Royal College of Music.
Numerous competition successes include the Birmingham Accompanist of the Year, Vivian Langrish accompanists’ prize, Michael Head and Bliss prizes for accompaniment as well as the Christian Carpenter prize, awarded in recognition of his achievements at the Academy. In 2009 David was one of the first pianists to be invited to work with the prestigious Samling Foundation under the tutelage of Sir Thomas Allen.
He has collaborated with many exceptional singers of his generation including James Rutherford, Sarah Tynan, Benedict Nelson and Allan Clayton, in addition to significantly established artists such as Sir Willard White and Sir Thomas Allen, and has appeared at many of the major UK venues including Wigmore Hall, St John’s Smith Square, Colston Hall, Symphony Hall Birmingham and Pittville Pump Room as well as some of the major UK music festivals.
Further afield David has performed in a number of countries including France, Spain and Germany, and has developed relationships with the Heidelberg and Aix-en-Provence Festivals. In 2012 he was invited to become an HSBC Laureate of the Aix Festival, performing in a number of concerts around Europe.