Sarah has had a long and happy association with the West End production of Blood Brothers first joining the company in 1996 as Mrs Lyons.  She has since returned to the show a number of times playing Mrs Johnstone, most recently in February 2010  covering for Mel C.    

Early theatre credits include Maria in West Side Story, Olivia in ‘Twelfth Night’, Liz Essendine in ’Present Laughter’,  Lady Capulet in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ (Manchester), and a one-woman show ‘Perfect Swine’ (Unity Theatre, Liverpool).   Other more ‘exotic’ career moves have  included working on the club circuit in the North of England; entertaining on board SS Canberra whilst having a wonderful time travelling the world; and co-producing new work with her own company, The Cracked Actors Company, which toured theatres, arts centres and 25 British prisons with ‘Rule 43’ by Kevin Fegan.

Following that, Sarah was directed by James Hammerstein II as Mrs Anna Leonowens in  ‘The King and I’ with Susan Hampshire,  and played the role both on tour and at Sadlers Wells.   She went on to play Mrs Cratchit in the world stage premiere of ‘Scrooge’ with Anthony Newley, and received great reviews playing housekeeper Mrs Hudson in ‘Sherlock Holmes - the musical’ with Robert Powell. During her time with ‘Les Miserables’ at The Palace Theatre in London, she performed as Madame Thenardier,  and was then invited to join Rodgers and Hammerstein’s tour of ‘Cinderella’ with Janie Dee in Japan.  In 2002 she joined the company of ‘Tartuffe’ at The Royal National Theatre with Martin Clunes in the title role, when she understudied the role of Dorine.

TV includes Casualty, Doctors, Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Top Gearand numerous commercials. She has a successful career as a concert singer both in the UK and on the continent, particularly in Belgium as part of the West End Divas project promoted by producer Thomas Van der Spiegel. She was a special West End guest at the Musicalprijzen Awards in Antwerp in 2008 presenting and performing and has a series of dates lined up for 2009/10.

Concert appearances in the UK include Pizza on the Park in 2009 with her own show ‘The Sweetest Sounds’ and in 2010 with Paul L Martin’s ‘Cabaret Confidential’. With Musical Director, Leigh Stevenson, she formed Sarabande in 2007, and performs in concert and cabaret for private and corporate events. As a teacher and workshop leader, Sarah has worked extensively with the National Theatre Education Department and also The Mousetrap Foundation and was Head of Performing Arts at Queens School in Bushey for four years until 2008.

For further information please visit: www.sarah-hay.co.uk

Julie Gray
The Singing School
(www.juliegraysoprano.com)

Julie Gray is a classically trained professional soprano who works extensively as an oratorio and concert singer. Her busy singing career sees her perform many of the major oratorio works from Handel to Verdi to Orff with choirs and in cathedrals such as York Minster, Rochester Cathedral and St. Alban's Abbey and in churches and concert halls all over Britain. She is an experienced concert artist who has performed many operatic roles such as Donna Anna, Violetta, Fiordiligi, Aida alongside operetta heroines such as Mabel in a performance of The Pirates of Penzance at Windsor Castle. Julie studied Music and German at Oxford Brookes University and followed this with a PGCE and an ARCM diploma from the Royal College of Music. She studied with Elizabeth Robson for a number of years and now studies singing with Janice Chapman and has worked with coaches such as James Lockhart, David Drummond, Phillip Thomas and Linnhe Robertson.
 
She is the Artistic Director of The GraySingers and Classic Opera for whom she arranges bespoke concerts for Music Festivals, Weddings, Societies and Corporate Events, most recently for Knebworth House. For further information on Julie's Concert Diary and to find out more about her work as a singer see her dedicated website Julie Gray Soprano

 

Julie has a passion for teaching which has been developed during her time working with inspirational teachers such as Elizabeth Robson and James Lockhart and she has worked with the eminent vocal consultant Janice Chapman for the past 6 years developing her technique and learning teaching methodology. Julie believes very strongly in being a life-long learner and her mission is to pass on this desire to constantly learn and improve to the students and singing teachers she teaches. She began her teaching career in 1990 firstly as a peripatetic teacher in Hertfordshire at schools such as Parmiter's and Aldenham and now her work is solely for The Singing School as principal teacher and workshop leader. Julie leads workshops in Vocal Technique, Confidence and Overcoming Performance Anxiety and is a Co-Leader of The Pop Singing Workshop and Acting For Singers. Julie also developed a six lesson beginners and intermediate course which she now trains other singing teachers to teach.  Julie teaches daytime only and works mainly with professional singers, post grade 8 singers and singing teachers

 

Leigh Stevenson

Leigh Stevenson (link) trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama where he wrote the score for the World Premiere of Tony Harrison's The Common Chorus which was entered for the highly acclaimed National Student Drama Festival in 1994. Roles at Central included Farmer in Vinegar Tom, Keith Tompkins in Touched and The Man/MD in Brecht’s Fear and Misery in the Third Reich.

His first job as a musical director job was for the Really Youthful Theatre Company when he was fifteen, MD'ing Little Shop of Horrors. He then stayed with the company to musically direct Chicago, for which he won the Richmond Arts Award for Best Musical Direction, Wind in the Willows and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat! In the last ten years or so, Leigh has been lucky enough to musically direct most of his favourite shows, including Guys and Dolls, Annie Get Your Gun (Broadway Revival), Summer Holiday, Honk!, Oliver! The Wiz, Bugsy Malone and Into the Woods for award winning companies in and around London, Hertfordshire and Essex.

Leigh’s recent theatrical credits include Pop in We Will Rock You, Cosmo Brown in Singin’ in The Rain, Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar, Trevor in Bedroom Farce and Paul in Company at the Mermaid Theatre, London. He has also worked as a Cabaret Performer on board the MV Lion Queen touring Poland and Sweden. Television credits include The Friday Night Project and The Real Hustle. On film, Leigh will be appearing as a Zombie in The Vanguard (Working Title Pictures) in 2008.

Having worked as the former Course Co-ordinator on the Musical Theatre Course at the Arts Educational School in Tring for five years, where he first met and worked with Sarah, Leigh went on to become Head of Drama at St George's School, Harpenden, where he has produced, directed and choreographed Willy Russell’s Our Day Out, Bernstein/Sondheim's West Side Story, and Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Nathan Martin - Accompanist
www.nathanmartin.info

Singer/pianist Nathan Martin has performed extensively in concert and cabaret all over the world, and he recently presented Facing The Music - the Fred Astaire songbook at London’s Pizza On The Park. Before this, he was seen in Something Wonderful with Craig Rubano and Heather MacRae, and in Catch Us If You Can with Lee Lessack both also at Pizza On The Park, where he has completed three other solo engagements. He has presented solo shows several times at Jermyn Street Theatre, as well as at Covent Garden Theatre Museum, Dulwich Picture Gallery, Lauderdale House, Giardini del Baraccano - Bologna, for two engagements at Don't Tell Mama - NYC, and for Holland America Cruises.

Nathan was seen in Dorothy Fields Forever directed by David Kernan at the King's Head Theatre, London as Musical Director/Arranger and performer. Other UK theatre credits as Musical Director include Elegies (Arts), Unite For The Future (Old Vic), Helen Lederer'sOne Night Stand (national tour), Assassins (New End), High Spirits (Bridewell), After The Fair (King's Head), Bastien and Bastienne (BAC), Charlotte: Life? Or Theatre? (Drill Hall), Veronique - A Life Long Cult (Gatehouse), Glitter And Twisted (Diorama), Let’s Do It (Coombe Manor) and The Three Divas, Chalk and Cheese and Threesome, at Jermyn Street Theatre. He also played piano on Romance Romance (Gielgud), Side By Side By Sondheim (Civic, Chelmsford and The Stables, Wavendon), Miss Saigon (Drury Lane) and The Lion King (Lyceum).

For the past six years, Nathan has worked on the MAC award winning show Simply Barbra starring Steven Brinberg playing at Jermyn Street Theatre, The Arts Theatre and The Playhouse Theatre (London), the Pleasance Theatre - Edinburgh, L'Alp d'Huez - France and tours of the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore and the United States. He has also been Musical Director for such performers as Kaye Ballard, Brent Barrett, Deborah Boily, David Campbell, Cantabile, Claiborne Cary, Chris Coleman, Fenella Fielding, Lindsay Hamilton, Linzi Hateley, Lee Lessack, Jessica Martin, Marin Mazzie, Tim McArthur, Morag McClaren, Donna McKechnie, Robert Meadmore, Liliane Montevecchi, Angela Richards, Liz Robertson, Georga Osborne and Gay Soper .He has made several albums including Simply Barbra - original London cast (TER), Lindsay Hamilton - It's Me!, Chris Coleman - Time For Roses, Jo Jo de la Cerna - Trust The Wind, Paul Hull - I Wish You Love, Marie Zamora – Comedies Musicales/Musiques de Films, James Gillan's self titled debut album and most recently, Linzi Hateley - True Colours.

John Wyatt - Organist

JOHN WYATT began studying the piano from an early age and started learning the organ with Richard Hickox in his teens. He continued his musical education at The Royal Academy of Music where his teachers included Douglas Hawkridge for organ and Paul Steinitz for harmony and continuo playing. John was organist and choirmaster at St. Augustine’s Church, Kilburn for several years and more recently at St. James’ Church, Bushey. He is at present Director of Music at Aldenham School, Elstree and conducts the Harrow Philharmonic Choir, Aldenham School Chapel Choir and Choral society and Bushey Festival Choir. With these and other choirs he has performed a wide range of works including Carmina Burana by Orff (Barbican Hall), War Requiem by Britten (St. Alban’s Abbey), Requiem by Verdi and Missa Solemnis by Beethoven as well as producing a CD of Christmas music with Harrow Philharmonic Choir. More recently performances have included Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius ( Brent Town Hall), Missa Per Rossini (Royal Academy of Music) and Vaughan Williams’ Sea Symphony (Elliott Hall).