Director of Music

NEIL SHEPHERD

Neil Shepherd is Director of Music at St Ives Parish Church in Cornwall, Director of Cornwall Community Choir, Local Vocalz Choir, Laudate! Chamber Choir and Schola Cantorum of Bristol. He also has a thriving teaching practice.

Neil is a native of Hindley, Lancashire. In his teenage years, Neil was a member of the choir at St Peter’s Church in Hindley, as well as being a member of the Standish Oriana Choir, Wigan Youth Choir and the Blackburn Cathedral based “Renaissance Singers”.

Since 1984, he has held a number of school and church appointments including Lawrence House School (Lytham St Annes), Standish Parish Church (Lancashire), Keynsham Parish Church (Bristol) and Cirencester Parish Church in Gloucestershire ("the Cathedral of The Cotswolds"). Neil enjoys motivating and enthusing young singers and musicians - several of his former students have taken up Oxford and Cambridge music scholarships.

Neil has played and directed in several Cathedrals both in the UK and abroad, including two visits to the famous Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, where he conducted the world premiere of a new work for two organs and choir by the celebrated English composer and organist, David Briggs, with the composer himself at the Grande Orgue. That work was recorded in July 2009 on the Hyperion label by David Briggs and the choir of Trinity College, Cambridge, directed by Stephen Layton, in Gloucester Cathedral. The recording has achieved wide critical acclaim including fabulous reviews in "The Gramaphone" and "BBC Music Magazine"

Neil particularly enjoys working with children and young people and for several years, he produced and directed “Christmas at the Tower” – a sell out Christmas show featuring massed children’s choirs and celebrity appearences by Canon Roger Royle, John Marsh (of "Wogan" fame and Nigel Ogden. Neil himself conducted the shows and also played the Tower Ballroom’s famous “Mighty” Wurlitzer together with his good friend and colleague, Peter Jebson. The show was broadcast several times by BBC Radio Two and BBC Radio Lancashire.

During the course of his career, Neil has undertaken a large amount of work for the BBC, including musically directing many programmes for BBC Radio 2, 3 and 4, and has made contributions to BBC 1’s “Songs of Praise”. He has worked with and arranged workshops with several high profile conductors and composers, including Sir David Willcocks, John Rutter, Bob Chilcott, Stephen Cleobury, Graham Kendrick, Geraldine Latty, Andrew Maries, David Ogden, Adrian Partington and Paul Spicer amongst others. Neil is a validated examiner for and Cornwall Area Secetary for the Royal School of Church Music.

In addition to his musical experience, Neil is a qualified travel agent and tour operator for high profile choirs and orchestras.

In the little spare time that he has, Neil’s interests are Travel, Theatre Organs, English Cathedral Music, Photography and anything French, particularly the wine! Neil is married to Kate and live with their two youngest daughters, Emily and Lucy in Hayle not far from the picturesque fishing village of St Ives in Cornwall.