Musical Director of our Choir

Iain has been singing in and conducting choirs all his life. Born in Bristol, he was a chorister first at St. Mary Redcliffe, then at the Cathedral. While still at school he formed a choir of friends to sing choral services at the church where he was organist.

As a student at Keble College, Oxford, he accompanied the college’s Chapel Choir and conducted the Arcadian Singers (a student chamber choir) as well as the Cumnor Choral Society.

A twenty-year teaching career followed, including five years as Director of Music at The King’s School, the choir school for Peterborough Cathedral, and a decade at the Perse School Cambridge, building up a large and successful department in which choirs featured prominently.

Iain also conducted the Cambridge Youth Orchestra and was able to enjoy training young musicians to play some of the great works of the orchestral repertoire.

A change then beckoned and Iain moved to the South West to pursue a freelance career which included examining instrumental grades for ABRSM and teaching for the Open University’s Music department. A choir featured prominently too: Bridgwater Choral Society, a choir not unlike CSFC. Particular highlights of fifteen years with Bridgwater Choral included Bach’s Mass in B minor and, in 2017, the first performance of Iain’s own Benedicite for choir, brass, piano and timpani.

From the South West Iain moved to Surrey and soon began to work with a chamber choir, the North Downs consort, helping to ensure that it emerged intact from the Covid period and able to go on enjoying performing.

Then in 2024 came a final move to Winchester and, shortly afterwards, the exciting opportunity to succeed John Sutton as conductor of CSFC.

When not busy with CSFC or ABRSM, Iain enjoys playing his violin in Winchester Chamber Orchestra, getting to know Winchester and its surroundings, continuing to learn German (very useful for musicians!) travelling in Europe and attending musical events in Winchester and London.