GREENOCK Philharmonic Choir have appointed a new musical director.
Nicholas Wilks has taken up his post, having recently moved to North Ayrshire from Hampshire.
He takes over from Andy McTaggart who moved on after six successful years with the choir.
Nick said: “I am privileged to be taking on the musical directorship of Greenock Philharmonic Choir.
“Having sung with the choir for the past year, I am enormously impressed with the singers’ dedication to achieving the highest standards of music-making, and their commitment to their audiences.
“We have an exciting season ahead of us, including a rarely heard completion of Mozart’s Requiem, and a mixture of old and new carols at our Christmas concert.”
Nick studied conducting and clarinet at the Royal Academy of Music. His experience as a singer and conductor is wide and varied, and has included a range of musical directorships such as Finchley Children’s Music Group, Hampshire County Youth Orchestra, the Channel Islands Youth Orchestra, Haringey Young Musicians, and Winchester Symphony Orchestra.
He has broadcast widely on BBC Radio 2, 3 and 4, and has enjoyed working with many distinguished musicians. His performances have included conducting the première of Alec Roth’s Earth and Sky at the BBC Proms, Brahms’ Requiem with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah with Bryn Terfel, as well as a Sunday Telegraph’s Critic’s Choice recording of Britten’s Noye’s Fludde and A Ceremony of Carols.
Nick is a passionate advocate for music education, and works as a volunteer for the Big Noise (Sistema Scotland) in Govanhill. He is a trustee for Buskaid, a string teaching project in Soweto, South Africa, and is a patron of the Finchley Children’s Music Group.
He aims to ensure that rehearsals are an enjoyable and exciting process of discovery, and, by exploring the connection between the notes and the text, every singer in the choir comes to feel an essential part of the music.
Nick’s first event with the choir will be Come and Sing Coronation Music on Saturday 19 August in St. John’s Episcopal Church, Greenock.
He said: “It’s a wonderful opportunity to sing some favourite music such as Handel’s Zadok the Priest alongside some hidden gems by earlier and later composers.”
All will be welcome, and there will be more information released soon.
