Chorus Director

Joseph Cullen 

Described by Opera News as "clearly a name to watch", Joseph Cullen was appointed Director of the London Symphony Chorus in 2001.  He has been Chorus Master of the Huddersfield Choral Society since 1999.  Joseph has also held the position of Chorus Director of the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields and Director of the Britten-Pears Chamber Choir in Snape.  He has made guest conducting appearances with orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Concert Orchestra and the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields.  His innovative aproach to choral training has established him as one of the foremost choral conductors in the country.

Joseph has worked closely with some of the world's leading conductors, including Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Neville Marriner, Mark Elder, Michael Tilson Thomas, Valery Gergiev, Bernard Haitink, Richard Hickox and Sir Colin Davis, with whom he won a Grammy Award for the 2006 LSO Live recording of Verdi's Falstaff.  As well as Walton's Belshazzar's Feast for Chandos and Mahler's Symphony No. 8 for EMI, other recordings for LSO Live include Britten's Peter Grimes, which also received a Grammy nomination.  He has released a pair of compilation albums with the Huddersfield Choral Society on the Signum label. 

In 2008 he conducted for the second time the London Symphony Chorus in Bach's St. Matthew Passion in the Barbican with the City of London Sinfonia.  Earlier in the year he had conducted the LSC with members of the London Symphony Orchestra in works by James MacMillan. 

Joseph was born in Glasgow and studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama where his principal study was violin.  He was Organ Scholar of Trinity College Cambridge, and he has held cathedral posts in Glasgow, Leeds and Westminster.  He coaches singers both in the world of opera and in the monastic choirs of Benedictine Abbeys in Scotland and the Isle of Wight.  He also sings with the vocal group Tenebrae.

Chorus Accompanist

Roger Sayer began his musical career as a chorister in Portsmouth. He went on to study at the Royal College of Music under the late Nicholas Danby, winning all the major organ prizes. Between 1980–84 he was organ student at St. Paul’s Cathedral, London and in 1981 was appointed organist of Woodford Parish Church, where he built up a fine musical tradition.

Since graduating he has been constantly in demand as an organist and conductor. In 1989 he won third prize in the St Albans International Organ Competition and in the same year was appointed Assistant Organist at Rochester Cathedral. In 1994 Roger was promoted to the position of Organist and Director of Music at Rochester Cathedral, where he was responsible for directing the traditional boys choir on a daily basis as well as directing the Girls Choir and the Senior Girls Choir which he established in 1995 and 2004 respectively. Roger left the post in September 2008 to concentrate on his freelance activities, but he remains as Cathedral Organist.  Roger also continues as Musical Director of the Rochester Choral Society.

Roger has made many highly acclaimed recordings both as an organist and conductor. He frequently directs choral workshops and has initiated and directed several projects including Britten’s Noye's Fludde and a children’s music education week.  He has played many of the monthly concerts of the Great Organ Works series which he founded at Rochester including in 2005 the complete organ works of J.S. Bach.

He makes regular visits to Scandinavia as well as giving concerts in most parts of Europe and the USA. Touring in Europe continues to be a major feature of his work.  He toured Italy and Germany in 2007 but he also gives concerts in Russia and Switzerland. His concerts worldwide have included all the organ symphonies of Vierne and all the organ works of Durufle. 

As well as being Chorus Accompanist for the LSC, Roger has worked with many other choirs, including the world-famous Tenebrae at the Harrogate International Festival and he was featured on BBC Radio 3's "In Tune".  He is also an examiner for the Associated Board and adjudicates for the British Federation of Music Festivals.

Recent recordings include the English Cathedral Organ Series, which was realised to critical acclaim, a new CD with the newly formed Touch Organ Duo and the third volume in his Classic Selection series