Chester Music Society Youth Choir Conductor

Rhiannon Owens-Hall

Rhiannon Owens-Hall has been a Musical/Chorus Director for over thirty years. She began her musical career as a cellist, playing with the Merseyside Youth Orchestra under the direction of Mr Bill Jenkins. As a result of his skilful and inspirational teaching she decided to go the Royal Academy of Music, thereby extending her involvement in orchestral music. Whilst at the Academy, and as part of her degree course she undertook a course in musical directing, obtaining a distinction classification.

She then began teaching music, firstly in Cheshunt Hertfordshire and then in Liverpool. She was appointed to Dovedale Junior School, the largest junior school in the city, as Head of Music, with a large music department of 10 peripatetic teachers. She remained at this school for 13 years. During this time the school choir was asked to go and represent the UK in the Montreux Choral Festival. It also had numerous television appearances as well as making several records. The choir sang with the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in all its Christmas season concerts and also was the teaching choir for all the Liverpool schools that joined together to welcome and perform for the Queen during her visit to the city for her Silver Jubilee celebrations.

Her teaching career then moved to Higher Education. She was made a Principal Lecturer, and Programme Manager/Leader of the BA/BSc in Primary Education at Liverpool John Moores University. She remained at the university until 2000 when she took early retirement.

Whilst teaching music in schools she became involved in barbershop singing, and formed the Liverpool Ladies Barbershop Singers. She directed this group of singers to become gold medal winners and 3 times British Champions as well as gaining several silver and bronze medals to add to this total. She has also sung in several ladies barbershop quartets, having 2 gold medals as well as a wide range of silver and bronze!

She has directed several choruses, both male and female, throughout the country from Ruislip, to Mold, and is currently directing the 3rd place men's chorus in the UK, the Thames Valley Chorus based in Reading, Berks.

She began and developed an annual Chorus Directors' College that is attended by directors from barbershop and non-barbershop organisations from across the UK and Europe, and is just in the process of leading the team to drawing up its own certification programme. She has worked with the Sing for Pleasure organisation several times over the last 15 years, providing workshops and master classes for their aspiring directors.

She has sung with several societies in Merseyside and Lancashire both as a chorus member and as a principal. She was Musical Director of the Bentley Operatic Society for several years. More recently she has been working with Steve Roberts as Chorus Director for the Dee and Alyn Gilbert and Sullivan Society, and has just been back "on stage" as a singer in the chorus for their most recent shop Ruddigore.

She also coaches singing and Directing throughout the UK, Europe and the United States and also teaches coaching techniques to aspiring musical coaches. Currently, she is working at NEWI teaching music to intending primary school teachers.