After graduation, Ben sang with groups including the New English Orchestra, Bristol Chamber Choir, Bristol Opera, the Exultate Singers and the Choirs of both Clifton and Bristol Cathedral. A bass baritone, he has performed widely as an oratorio and operatic singer, including lead roles in The Cunning Little Vixen and Der Mond (for Bristol Opera), The Magic Flute and the Pirates of Penzance.

He currently teaches singing to adults and young people across the Bristol area. An Advanced Skills Teacher, he has extensive experience in education and has led music at a county level across Bristol and South Gloucestershire. In 2002, Ben was appointed conductor of the Bristol Cabot Choir and, over the eight years he worked with them, transformed the choir into a major musical force in Bristol.

The success of his work with the Cabot Choir led to his subsequent appointment as Musical Director of Bristol Opera, where he led the company in successful performances of Handel’s Samson and Lakmé by Delibes. He has led numerous choirs in and around Bristol for the past 20 years, including the New Harmony Ladies Choir (now Sound of Song), a number of afternoon choirs, the Bristol Gilbert and Sullivan Operatic Society, and has led rehearsals for the City of Bristol Choir, Bristol Chamber Choir and St Paul’s Church choir.  

He leads several orchestras and has recently conducted performances of Copland’s Appalachian Spring, Elgar Enigma Variations, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Peter and the Wolf, narrated by Radio 4s John Telfer.  In November 2018 he conducted the revival of Eric Wetherell’s WWI opera A Foreign Field in Bristol, which won the NODA Best Dramatic Production award.  He is an experienced leader of large-scale concerts and has conducted performances of thousands at venues including Bristol’s Colston Hall, St George’s Brandon Hill and St David’s Hall Cardiff.

Roger Durston - President

After graduating from King's College Cambridge, where he was a choral scholar, Roger taught in the educational sector, where he developed a reputation over 10 years as one of the most progressive musical educators in Britain. He then became Director of Music at Wells Cathedral School before becoming Headmaster of the BRIT School in Croydon in 2000. He played a prime role in helping the Glyndebourne Opera establish its education programme and chaired the Music Education Council. His former boss, Jon Baxter, head of Wells, says Durston "breathed vitality into music-making." He has conducted The Messiah 30 times, three of which being at the Royal Albert Hall.

Marina Mahler - President

In 2020 we performed Mahler - Symphony No. 2 (final movement). We partnered with John Warner and his Orchestra For The Earth and it was an emotional event. Marina, Gustav Mahler’s granddaughter, became a President of Choir of the Earth after this event and is a most constructive and valued member of the choir.

Mark Strachan - The Choir

Mark Strachan is the Founder of Choir of the Earth and he was awarded the British Empire Medal in the 2022 Queen’s New Year’s Honours List for services to musicians. He points out: “There are moments in time when everything changes. The ‘normal’ becomes a memory and we yearn to return to the way things were. But sometimes the changes are for the better, and so whilst we yearn for the way things were, we slowly realise that the way things were is no longer the way we want things to be in the future.”

“I absolutely loved it - singing this moved me to tears. I've sung it many times but never like this. Thank you.”