Graduate Scholars
Gabriella Liandu is a Zambian-Scottish mezzo soprano, studying on the Jazz Masters course at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. She continues to study with Yvonne Sandison, after graduating with first-class degree on the Vocal and Operatic course. Gabriella’s repertoire reaches from bossa nova, to choral, jazz and more. As well as leading her own jazz ensembles, she performs in the Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra and RBC Chamber Choir. In 2020, she joined Lichfield Gospel Choir as Assistant Musical Director. Gabriella delivers outreach projects for Birmingham Opera Company, Welsh National Opera and SoundLab. She was a Student Scholar with Ex Cathedra in 2018-19 and a graduate Scholar in 2020-21.
Student Scholars
Sarah Colgan is an Irish/Australian Mezzo currently based in Birmingham. She is in her second year of a scholarship at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, studying vocal performance under Jonathan Gunthorpe. Sarah was a former Head Chorister and Choral Scholar at St. Bartholomew’s Church, Dublin and is now a Soprano Choral Scholar at Birmingham Cathedral. Alongside singing, Sarah is an avid flautist. She is also an aspiring conductor and has conducted Choral Eucharists and Evensongs in her hometown of Dublin. Not limited to choral settings, Sarah has also conducted pieces for orchestra. She has had the pleasure of working under the tutelage of Tristan Russcher (Belfast Cathedral) and is now studying conducting as her second study this year at RBC with Julian Wilkins.
Beth Taylor is a Scottish soprano studying at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire studying under Anne Dawson. She began singing at the age of 8 with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra Junior Chorus and by the age of 17 achieved distinction in ABRSM grade 8 singing. She was also a member of the National Youth Choir of Scotland’s National Girls Choir from the ages of 12 to 16. Beth studied at the Royal Conservatoire of
Scotland Junior Conservatoire before beginning her studies at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. During her first year, Beth enjoyed singing with the RBC Chamber Choir and Consort as well as taking part in several Ex Cathedra engagements. During summer 2022, Beth performed with NYCoS all over Scotland culminating in several performances at the Edinburgh International Festival. Beth is also part of the NYCoS Chamber Choir and is a Choral Scholar at Birmingham Cathedral.
Daniel Marles is a tenor based in Birmingham. He sung in his local parish choir from a young age, where he first discovered his love of choral and classical music. Daniel has given performances with various choirs across the UK, in many prestigious buildings such as Liverpool Cathedral, Coventry Cathedral and Hereford Cathedral. He was a member of semi-professional group Leeds Guild of Singers, who gave a well-received performance of his own music in Leeds Minster, and he now studies at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, pursuing his love of Baroque and Classical music under the direction of Jeffrey Skidmore with Ex Cathedra, and Gwion Thomas his singing teacher.
R. Isaac Boulter was born and raised in the Appalachian Mountains of Western North Carolina. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, studying piano with Dr. Clara Yang and earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Music with Highest Distinction and Honors, with a Second Major in Russian Language and Literature. While at university he was a section leader and soloist of the Chamber Singers. In 2018 he received the Mildred Brown Mayo Undergraduate Research Fund Award for work at the U.S. Library of Congress in the Sergei Rachmaninov Archive. Upon graduating he was the recipient of the University’s Chamber Singers Award and Outstanding Performance in Piano Award, as well as the Paul Debreczeny Prize for Outstanding Scholarship in Slavic Languages and Literatures. He first studied in the UK as an exchange student at the University of Glasgow in 2017, and returned to begin a Master’s of Music in Choral Conducting at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in 2021, where he is currently a student of Julian Wilkins. He has also studied conducting under Paul Spicer and Sarah Tennant-Flowers. He is a lay clerk at Birmingham Cathedral. In his spare time he enjoys composing music and playing board games.
Henry Saywell, bass, currently in his final year studying MMus Vocal Performance at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, having graduated with a first-class degree in music from the University of Birmingham. Henry was a Student Scholar with Ex Cathedra 2021-22 and is an alumnus of the 2020-21 cohort of Genesis 16. He currently sings in the choir of St Chad’s Cathedral in Birmingham as well as singing with a number of other groups including the Corvus Consort, Carice Singers, Sestina and The Marian Consort. Alongside choral singing, Henry has performed as a soloist in Haydn’s Nelson Mass and Handel’s Messiah with the Sutton Coldfield Choral Society and this summer performed in a production of Handel’s Acis and Galatea in the 2022 Ryedale Festival, as well as singing in Birmingham Conservatoire’s summer operas.