Tony started singing as a chorister at St James the Greater, Leicester, joining his father who still sings with the choir. In addition to weekly Sunday services including choral evensong, Tony sang with St James at many special occasions, including a tour of the USA with a concert at Washington National Cathedral, and summer tours to many English cathedrals.
Tony won a choral scholarship at Keble College, Oxford, and deputized at Magdalen College. He also sang with Schola Cantorum of Oxford with whom he toured South Africa.
After graduating with a 1st class Masters in Chemistry Tony moved to the West Midlands for his first job, as a brewer at Banks’s! However, he swiftly felt a different calling, and embarked on a career in teaching.
Tony has worked in a wide variety of schools, including two years in Cairo, but now works as the Senior Deputy Headteacher in a large comprehensive school in Wolverhampton. Tony’s wife teaches at a hospital based school in Birmingham.
His family are almost grown up, with a son at Warwick University and a daughter studying A levels. In addition to singing, Tony is a keen cyclist and has dabbled in ballroom dancing…
1. How long have you been a member of Ex Cathedra and why did you join?
I joined Ex Cathedra in 1998 and I have sung with the choir ever since, bar a couple of years when I was living abroad. I did manage to perform in the summer concerts in those two years! I knew after singing at Oxford that I wanted to join the best choir wherever I moved to next. Ex Cathedra was and still is that choir. I have always appreciated the dual nature of the choir, with excellent amateur singers having the opportunity to continue to sing at a top level with professional singers. When I changed career to teaching I had the option to move anywhere in the country for my first teaching job, but continuing to sing in Ex Cathedra was a big part of my decision to stay in the West Midlands.
2. What does a typical day look like for you?
I am in day to day charge of one of the biggest comprehensive schools in Wolverhampton. We have 1800 students, over 100 teachers and dozens of support staff, and my role is to make sure that everything is running smoothly and that the school is improving over time. No one day is the same; although I have people to manage weekly, I also have to support my staff to respond to any situation which may arise. I still teach A level Chemistry, and I always teach all of our Year 13 chemists. This is really rewarding and keeps me grounded. Although I have taught in some very prestigious schools in the past, for example in the independent and grammar sector, I most enjoy my current role because we make a difference to young people from a really wide range of backgrounds and give them the skills to succeed.
3. If you could choose to perform again any piece you have performed before with Ex Cathedra, what would it be, and & why?
That’s a tough question as I have enjoyed most of it! At the moment I am enjoying listening back to some of our recordings of Latin American Baroque, particularly Salve Regina by Hernando Franco. I would love the chance to sing that again with the period instruments.
4. What’s your musical “guilty secret”?
It’s not too guilty, but I do enjoy listening to Pet Shop Boys from their early albums, and perhaps a bit of Massive Attack. I think some people who see us performing choral music assume we only enjoy the classical genre, but that’s rarely true!