Bach St. John Passion

Conductor - Christopher Herrick

Tonight is Christopher’s final concert with Twickenham Choral after 50 years.

He began his conducting career in the early 1960s while an organ scholar at Exeter College, Oxford, where he held the Parry/Wood Organ Scholarship. Here, he read for an Honours Degree in Music (MA), also assuming the role of Director of Music of the Chapel Choir and conducting the Exonian Singers and Orchestra. After Oxford, he secured a Boult Scholarship at the Royal College of Music, broadening his musical horizons to include the harpsichord and to study conducting with Sir Adrian Boult.

Christopher’s early career was at various Church of England establishments: from 1964 to 1967 he was Organist and Choirmaster at St Mary’s Primrose Hill in north London, before moving to St Paul’s Cathedral as assistant organist from 1967 to 1974.

In 1974 he moved from St Paul’s to Westminster Abbey, the same year that he auditioned for Twickenham Musical Society (see later). His Westminster Abbey days were marked by royal and state occasions, over 200 solo recitals on the Abbey organ, and the release of an album ‘Organ Fireworks’ in 1984 with Hyperion Records, which heralded his solo career as an international concert organist.

This new chapter saw Christopher touring the globe, recording extensively, notably the ‘Organ Fireworks’ and ‘Organ Dreams’ series as well as the complete organ works of Bach and Buxtehude for Hyperion. Since 1984, Christopher has dedicated himself to performance, recording nearly 50 CDs, as well as broadcasting for the BBC and many overseas radio stations – but always working round the Choir’s weekly rehearsals wherever possible. His solo organ performances are accessible on various platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Hyperion Records and YouTube.

Back to autumn 1974: after a rigorous series of interviews and an audition by the choir, Christopher took over as conductor of Twickenham Musical Society, as the choir was then called. For his first concert, the choir performed Gerald Finzi’s In Terra Pax and Haydn’s Nelson Mass. The secretary at the time wrote in her report to a committee meeting in January 1975: ‘the choir had given one concert under his baton and this had confirmed their confidence in Mr Herrick; it was hoped that he had no regrets about having accepted the job.’

Christopher’s half-century with the choir has been characterised by steady improvements coupled with judicious innovations, such as the policy of performing works in their original language. The choir has grown in size as well as in ability and reputation. For 22 of those years Christopher was musical director of both Twickenham Choral Society (as it had become) and Whitehall Choir, when several joint concerts were given – at Westminster Abbey, Guildford Cathedral and the Royal Albert Hall.

For a dozen years until the pandemic Christopher also directed the choir at the Brandenburg Spring and Autumn Choral Festivals at St Martin-in-the- Fields; and from the 1990s Christopher has led the choir on tour in Europe usually every two years.

The choir has performed works by living composers and often in the presence of the composer, for example Naji Hakim’s Gloria, Paul Spicer’s Easter Oratorio, Roxanna Panufnik’s Wild Musick, Robin Holloway’s The Spacious Firmament and On a Drop of Dew; and The Burning Heavens, An Old Belief and Jazz Cantata, all commissioned from Iain Farrington.

The choir is indebted to Christopher for his superb leadership and unwavering dedication to the choir.

Jeremy Budd - Tenor

Born in Hertfordshire, Jeremy Budd started out as a Chorister at St Paul’s Cathedral in London before going on to study at the Royal Academy of Music. Since finishing his studies he has been much in demand as soloist on the concert platform, particularly for his Baroque repertoire. Jeremy has worked with many of the foremost conductors in this field, including Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Harry Christophers CBE, Masaaki Suzuki, Sir Roger Norrington, Sir Charles Mackerras, Paul McCreesh, John Butt and Bernard Labadie.

His discography includes over ten years of recordings for The Sixteen, many of which feature him as a soloist, including Handel’s Acis and Galatea (as Acis) and Saul (as the Witch of Endor), and James MacMillan’s Stabat Mater.

Other notable recordings are the award-winning discs of Purcell’s King Arthur and The Fairy Queen with Paul McCreesh, and Acis and Galatea with the Early Opera Company and Christian Curnyn.

Jimmy Holliday - Christus (Bass)

Jimmy has forged an international career as a classical singer, singing bass with many of the UK’s leading vocal ensembles and choirs. He began singing as a cathedral chorister at Lichfield before joining The National Youth Choir of Great Britain. He was a Lay Clerk at Winchester Cathedral before continuing his vocal training at The Royal College of Music’s International Opera School, where he won various awards and competitions including the inaugural Richard Van Allan award and the 10th Hampshire Singer of the Year competition. Jimmy also attended the prestigious National Opera Studio on its one-year course.

Equally as comfortable on the concert and opera stage as a soloist, Jimmy currently works mainly with ensembles and is a full-time member of the recently saved BBC Singers. He is also a regular bass with various vocal ensembles including Tenebrae, EXAUDI, The Gabrieli Consort and Ensemble Plus Ultra, as well as regularly singing with the likes of The Sixteen, The Tallis Scholars and I Fagiolini. Further afield he is the regular bass with Philippe Herreweghe and Collegium Vocale Gent’s madrigal projects. Recent projects include recording Gesualdo’s madrigals (Books 4 and 5) and Monteverdi’s 4th Book. Jimmy is also a regular on the session circuit for film work and has sung on many soundtracks including The Harry Potter series, The Hobbit trilogy, Hunger Games movies and the Fantastic Beasts movies.

As a soloist, Jimmy loves singing on the Oratorio concert platform, and his favourite sings include both of J.S. Bach’s Passion, Haydn’s Creation and Mendelssohn’s Elijah. He has also performed in various operas around the UK including Colline in Puccini’s La Boheme with Opera North and Billy Jackrabbit in Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West with E.N.O. He has also performed Nick Shadow in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress and King Heinrich in Wagner’s Lohengrin for Ostrava Opera Company, Czech Republic. Coming out in 2024 is his first operatic recording in Oliver Leith’s new opera, Last Days.

Jimmy is a massive football fan and as well as supporting Liverpool from afar and England closer to home, he has season tickets at Leyton Orient Football Club with his son. He is a keen, very amateur runner, and enjoys gaming with his son, who regularly thrashes him on Fortnite!

Alexandra Kidgell - Soprano

Alexandra Kidgell read music at Cambridge and completed post-graduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music, from which she graduated with distinction, and was awarded the DipRAM for an outstanding final recital.  She was a finalist in the LBS Bach Singers’ Prize, and in the Royal Overseas League Music Competition.

Alexandra has appeared as a concert and oratorio soloist throughout the UK and Europe, and enjoys performing a wide variety of repertoire.  Recent and forthcoming appearances include Bach St Matthew Passion with the choir of Norwich Cathedral; Handel Messiah in Bath Abbey; Mozart Exsultate, jubilate in Christchurch Priory; Vivaldi Gloria for King’s College Choir, Cambridge, with Daniel Hyde and The Academy of Ancient Music; Vivaldi Nulla in mundo pax sincera for East Sussex Bach Choir; St John Passion in Norwich Cathedral, and with Leicester Philharmonic Choir; Handel Dixit Dominus and CPE Bach Magnificat for Twickenham Choral Society; Handel Messiah for Nottingham Harmonic Choir; Handel Dixit Dominus and Vivaldi Gloria in Bridgewater Hall, Manchester; Mozart Requiem in Worcester Cathedral; Vaughan Williams Serenade to Music in Glyndebourne opera house alongside Dame Felicity Lott; Bach Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen in Christchurch Priory; as well as solo voice concerts at the Wigmore Hall for Harry Christophers and The Sixteen, Dunedin Consort and The Marian Consort.

Alexandra is a member of The Sixteen, with whom she has appeared in concert across the globe.   She lives in rural Sussex with her husband and two boys.

Carris Jones - Mezzo-Soprano

Born in Surrey but largely raised in Southeast Asia, Carris Jones studied history at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where she was also a choral scholar. Completing her postgraduate musical study at the Royal Academy of Music in London, Carris graduated with a DipRam, the Academy’s highest performance award.

On the operatic stage, Carris has performed and covered roles at English National Opera, Iford Arts, Garsington Opera and Bury Court Opera. Carris made her Royal Festival Hall debut in the role of Renee in the first European performance of Shostakovich’s Orango, with Esa Pekka-Salonen and the Philharmonia.

Carris’ concert and recital highlights include Britten Phaedra with members of the Philharmonia, Bach B Minor Mass for Roger Norrington, Bach Magnificat for Laurence Cummings and the English Concert, and performances of Elgar Sea Pictures and Mahler Kindertotenlieder with the North London Symphony Orchestra. As a consort singer, Carris has sung across five continents; in concert halls, on radio and television and on the soundtracks of numerous films including the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings franchises . She was a founder member of Stile Antico, with whom she won a ClassicFM Gramophone award, was twice nominated for the prestigious Grammy awards, and collaborated with Sting on his Dowland lute song project, Songs from the Labyrinth.

In addition to her performing career, Carris is a busy and committed teacher of singing, working in schools, at the University of Oxford and for the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain. She also gives masterclasses and workshops across the UK, most recently at Chetham’s School of Music.

In 2017, Carris joined the Choir of St Paul’s Cathedral, the first female Vicar Choral to be appointed in its one thousand year history.

Samuel Jenkins - Tenor

Winner of the Berlin Opera Academy’s Luxton award and a graduate of the Royal College of Music, Samuel Jenkins is a British tenor of “operatic richness and delectability” (Haddo Arts).

In demand as an oratorio soloist, Samuel regularly appears across the UK and Europe. Recent engagements have included Bach’s Johannespassion in London, Oxford and Edinburgh; Handel’s Messiah at St Paul’s Cathedral; Mendelssohn’s Elijah at Holy Trinity Sloane Square; and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at Romsey Abbey.

Samuel’s operatic roles have included Tamino (The Magic Flute), Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Don Carlos (Les Indes Galantes), and Dorvil (La scala di seta). In opera scenes he has performed the roles of Tonio (La fille du régiment), Camille (Die lustige Witwe) and Ferrando (Così fan tutte).

In recent years Samuel has appeared in a number of productions with Glyndebourne Festival Opera, spanning works by Puccini, Wagner, Poulenc and Ethel Smyth. Last season he was part of a semi-staged production of Berlioz’s Les Troyens which toured across Europe, culminating with performances at the Salzburg Festival, Berlin Philharmonie and BBC Proms.

Samuel is a Vicar Choral with the renowned choir of St Paul’s Cathedral, singing regular services as well as providing music at events of national significance. He also performs with a number of the country’s top ensembles including The Cardinall’s Musick, the Monteverdi Choir and The Sixteen.

Jonathan Brown - Baritone

Jonathan Brown was born in Toronto and studied at the Royal Conservatory of Music and the University of Western Ontario. After moving to England he continued his studies at the University of Cambridge as well as the Britten-Pears School in Aldeburgh with Sir Thomas Allen and Anthony Rolfe Johnson.

Operatic roles include Marcello (La Boheme, Royal Albert Hall), Belcore (L’Elisir d’Amore), Count Almaviva, Yamadori (Madam Butterfly ), Giove (La Calisto), Orestes (Giasone), Garibaldo (Rodelinda), Ariodate (Xerxes), Silvio (I Pagliacci), Malatesta (Don Pasquale), Masetto (Don Giovanni), Shepherd (Venus and Adonis) and Aeneas (Dido and Aeneas). He performed the role of Trojan (Idomeneo) for Sir Simon Rattle with the Berlin Philharmonic in the Salzburg Easter Festival. He has performed Orfeo (Pastore) at Lille Opera, Le Chatêlet, Paris and Opera du Rhin with Emmanuelle Haim. Last year he created the role of Leon in a new production of Tom Smail’s opera Blue Electric in London.

He made his debut with Sir John Eliot Gardiner in Holland as the baritone soloist in a concert of Bach cantatas and thereafter was a regular soloist with performances in Zurich, Brussels and Paris. These performances formed part of the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage and the subsequent CD release of all the cantatas on the Soli Deo Gloria label. He features as a soloist in Purcell’s Ode to St Cecilia and Dido and Aeneas for Harmonia Mundi. He has recorded the baritone solos in the Fauré Requiem with the London Festival Orchestra for BMG and appears in the role of the Forester in Sullivan’s The Golden Legend for Hyperion. Recent recordings have included world premieres of Wesley’s cantata Confitebor tibi (Priory) and Eccles’ Semele (AAM).