Mahler 8
Your voice in a
global symphony
BE PART OF THE LEGEND
Sing with Choir of the Earth and the world-class Bergen Philharmonic conducted by Edward Gardner
Learn each and every choral part, taught online by our award-winning musical director
Record as many parts as you like, using your phone or home equipment
Hear your voice in the final mix premiering in 2025
Everyone is welcome, no auditions, no previous choral experience required
LATEST NEWS
EVENTS: ONGOING AND COMING SOON
OUR MUSICAL DIRECTOR
Ben England BEM - Musical Director
Ben England BEM is the Musical Director of Choir of the Earth and gamechoir.
In 2020 Ben was awarded the British Empire Medal in the Queen's Birthday Honours and was commended by the Royal Philharmonic Society Inspiration Awards. In 2022 he received the University of Bristol's Alumni Award for Community Engagement and Impact; was awarded the ‘Kantele of the Year’ by the Finnish Kantele Association; and was a Finalist for the Music and Drama Education Awards' Francesca Hanley Inspiration Award. In 2023 Ben led Choir of the Earth into the finals of the prestigious Britain’s Top Choirs™ competition - the only digital choir to do so - and placed second.
He has featured in local, national and even international media, appearing as a guest on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row, BBC Points West, BBC Radio Somerset, BBC Radio Bristol, and various podcasts.
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A former Advanced Skills Music Teacher and Director of Music in an OFSTED Outstanding school, Ben has extensive experience in education and has led music at a county level across Bristol and South Gloucestershire. Today he teaches music theory, music history, composing and conducting both in person and online, including lectures for Choir of the Earth's popular Around Sound series.
A graduate of Bristol University, Ben trained as a conductor with Dr Alan Rump and Dr Adrian Beaumont, before going on to study conducting with Denise Ham of the London Conducting Academy.
During his undergraduate years, he led countless concerts and services, was Conductor of the University Chamber Choir and Musical Director of the University Opera.
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.
In 2002, Ben was appointed conductor of the Bristol Cabot Choir and over eight years 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 is the current Musical Director for the University of West England’s UWE Singers.
Ben has also led several orchestras, including his current role as Conductor of Nailsea Concert Orchestra, with whom he has 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 Cathedral, the former Colston Hall in Bristol, St George’s Brandon Hill and St David’s Hall Cardiff.
