Founder-director of The Kinder Children’s Choirs of the High Peak, Joyce Ellis is a former opera and concert singer now working in music education.

A finalist in the Kathleen Ferrier Memorial Competition and the Royal Overseas League Competitions, she was well-known on the oratorio platform in the UK.

Joyce was a member of Glyndebourne Festival Opera and Glyndebourne Touring Opera from 1973-1976, before joining Opera North as a founder member in 1978. She has worked as a soloist under the baton of many major conductors throughout Europe, and is one of the few English contraltos to sing at La Scala. Milan.

Joyce founded the Kinder Choirs in recognition of the fact that there are few quality choral organisations in rural areas. She is passionate that children’s choral music be taken seriously within the professional music industry and within the education system. As someone who failed the audition for her high school choir at the age of 11, she knows that many children take time to find their voices. A gifted, enthusiastic and committed teacher, Joyce works patiently with children who would otherwise be termed ‘tone deaf’, many of whom eventually play a full part in the Kinder Choirs.

Carol Prowse has extensive experience of running projects and major events and has worked with the Kinder Choirs for over 12 years. She has led on many development projects for the organisation, including the successful collaboration with local schools, for which she secured Arts Council funding, ongoing organisational development programmes and the overseas tours.  In addition she has led on securing funding to underpin the infra structure of the choirs, as well as facilitating the purchase of capital equipment and project and development work. There have been many successful partnerships with national agencies such as ACE, Youth Music, the Alan and Babette Sainsbury Trust, the European Parliament and most recently “Sing Up”, as well as local Trusts and sponsors.

Carol worked in the City of London in banking, before returning to the High Peak, where she was employed by the local authority.  She is a Director and Company Secretary of the High Peak Theatre Trust, one of the UK’s leading regional receiving theatres (Buxton Opera House).  For 5 years Carol was a Non Executive Director of the High Peak Dales NHS Primary Care Trust and is now a Non Executive Director of Stockport NHS Foundation Trust (Stepping Hill Hospital).

 With Joyce Ellis, Carol has organised a series of highly successful International Opera Galas, which have raised around £80,000 for the development of the Buxton Opera House. The most recent Gala was attended was attended by HRH the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall.

Carol is married and has a son. She lives in New Mills.

Kathleen started to play the piano at the age of 4 and at 10 years of age she was accepted into the Royal Manchester College of Music Junior School, where she studied piano and flute.On leaving school Kathleen continued her studies at the RNCM.

After graduating she chose to specialise in accompaniment, studying with John Wilson and David Lloyd .She gained her performer’s diploma and also during this time, her ARCO organ diploma in London.Kathleen was, until recently, the accompanist with the Manchester Boys Choir; a post she held for 20 years. She travelled extensively with them, performing in Canada, Russia, Australia, the USA, as well as many European cities.

She has been associated with Kinder Children’s Choir for many years, accompanying them on several foreign tours.
Kathleen works freelance in the Manchester area, accompanying at music festivals and working with several choirs.
She also works as exam accompanist for Salford Music Service and teaches piano privately.

Malcolm is 25 years of age and currently completing a Postgraduate Diploma in piano atthe Royal Northern College of Music, under Helen Krizos. He was awarded a full scholarship from the Oglesby fund for postgraduate study and is hugely grateful for support from the South Square Trust and The Musicians Benevolent for funding his further studies. This year he is also the Leverhulme and John Wilson Junior Fellow in Accompaniment at the RNCM

Malcolm has performed at major London venues such as St Martin-In-The-Fields, St John’s Smith Square, St James’s Piccadilly and the Purcell Room. Particular highlights have included a performance at the Wales Millennium Centre, (Cardiff) a gala concert at the Beau Rivage Palace Hotel, (Lausanne, Switzerland) and more recently a memorable charity recital at Lambeth Palace with The Tanera Piano Trio.

Concerto appearances have included Grieg and Ravel with two orchestras in his home county of Gloucestershire, Dohnanyi’s Nursery Theme variations, and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the North Cheshire Concert Band and the Emerald Ensemble

During his time at the RNCM, Malcolm has developed a wide diversity of musical experience.  In 2005 he won second prize in the prestigious RNCM Piano Recital Prize, thus being awarded the Gordon Greene Memorial Award for solo piano.

As a chamber musician, Malcolm has had great success with his piano trio, winning both the RNCM Hirsch and Weil prizes and most recently, the Granada Prize, one of the college’s most prestigious awards. He has also won most of the college’s major accompaniment awards during his time there.

Malcolm is also heavily involved with community outreach work, having led vocal and piano workshops at the RNCM and in schools and colleges in the Greater Manchester area. Recently he was appointed as accompanist and piano teacher at Malvern St James’s school in Worcestershire.