Grenville Jones - Founder and Musical Director Good Afternoon Choir
Where to start … telling you about the man called Bath’s Mr. Music by the Bath Chronicle. Grenville was guest of Aled Jones on the Radio Three programme THE CHOIR last year. Aled asked Grenville about his national repututiaon for “getting people of all ages to sing.”
The Good Afternoon Choir is the most recent project from Grenville starting in May 2009 and already having over 90 members who sing every Thursday afternoon. The Good Afternoon Choir is for retired people, and working with Francis Faux, the project has really taken off. There will be more Good Afternoon Choirs around the UK in the future – the next one starting in Truro this coming January. Then there is the Golden-Oldies Charity he started in January 2008 that now runs over 40 fun daytime singing sessions each week across the West.‘Goldies’as it has become known has attracted World Wide media coverage.
Grenville is a Mayor of Bath - Citizen of the Year 2009, announced in March. He was nominated by a number of folk who attend the Golden-Oldies sessions in the City. The Bath Chronicle in its first issue of 2009 also named Grenville as Bath Man of the Year in September. He was one of 10 people from across the UK short listed for the Pride of Britain Community Champion Award.
THE Bath Chorus - is a mixed-voice choir started by Grenville in January after he left The Silver Ring Choir (who he had led for 11 years) which now has over 80 singers. And is building a big reputation. It is an auditioned group singing a wide repertoire of music it will perform in Wells Cathedral in March. You can check all of Grenville’s projects on his website www.grenvillejones.biz
The Bath Male Choir are now in great demand for concerts following their success on the BBC Last Choir Standing - now with over 90 singers and in big demand across the UK for concerts see www.bathmalechoir.org.
He was also recently asked to tutor a choir from the famous Norland College in Bath and the Norland Nannies delighted an audience at the Millennium Theatre in Cardiff. Grenville started working with the Norland students to develop music and a choir this autumn.
And of course those fabulous Stockingtops - an all-girl singing group of 30 singers – wow, yes he is a busy man!!
Francis Faux - Conductor
Francis Faux started his musical career when, at the age of 7, he was awarded a scholarship to Westminster Cathedral Choir School. Coached by James O'Donnell, Francis recorded several albums as a chorister, often as a soloist, and made appearances on Songs of Praise and Radio 4's Midweek Choice.As a top music scholar at Eton College, he learned to conduct under the guidance of Ralph Allwood, which culminated in his co-direction of Christmas Music from Eton College. He also recorded with the King's Consort and worked alongside Susan Digby, a judge on BBC1's Last Choir Standing, for Yehudi Menuhin's 80th birthday celebration at the Royal Albert Hall.
During his time at Bath Spa University, he assumed the role of Musical Director on several occasions in productions of Into the Woods, Dido and Aeneas, A Threepenny Opera, and The Medium.
He has also accompanied for the International Guitar Festival as well as acted as repetiteur for Bath Opera and Devizes and Chippenham Light Opera Groups in productions of The Pajama Game, Sweeney Todd and The Jewels of the Madonna. He has most recently finished working with Bath Light Operatic Group in the Theatre Royal in their acclaimed production of Sweeney Todd. Francis has recently taken on the conductorship of the Organum Choir and acts as Grenville's deputy conductor of the Bath Chorus. He also teaches piano at both Oldfield School and Downside School in Somerset, as well as being a lecturer in musical theatre at Bath Spa University.