We are excited and grateful to be welcoming back a whole host of alumni from the Choir of Royal Holloway, all of which have performed and recorded Nathan’s work for some years:

Sophia Vines, Lucy Mitten, Esme Ellis, Ellie Ajao, Ciara Harman (soprano); Alicia Hunt, Phoebe Wakefield, Hannah Waterfield, Cecily Beer (alto)l James Edgeler, Sequoia Ralph, ⁠Daniel Ayers, Rob Murray-John (tenor); and, Gabriel Huc, Brooklyn Storey, Freddie Crowley, James Gooding, and Geoff Williams (bass)

The Choir of Royal Holloway is considered to be one of the finest mixed-voice collegiate choirs in Great Britain, with their recordings attracting top reviews from all major music publications. Created at the time of the foundation of Royal Holloway in 1886, the choir was originally only for women’s voices. The mixed choir now comprises 24 Choral Scholars who undertake a busy schedule of weekly services, as well as concerts, international tours, recordings, and TV and radio broadcasts. They are the only choir to give a weekly concert performance and during an average year give around 40- 50 concerts with a particular specialism in contemporary music.

The choir has one of the busiest recording schedules of any collegiate choir with an extensive discography with Hyperion, Decca, Signum, and Naxos amongst others. The choir is renowned for its performances of Nordic and Baltic music and has recorded works by Vytautas Miškinis, Rihards Dubra, Bo Hansson, Tõnu Kõrvits, and Ola Gjeilo to great acclaim. The 2018 release Winter Songs with Gjeilo was No. 1 in the UK and US classical charts and they have now recorded a follow-up album with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra released in September 2023. The choir’s recording of Matthew Coleridge's Requiem is already in the top 50 of Classic FM's Hall of Fame’. Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the choir recorded several tracks for a commemorative album released by Decca Classics which was no. 1 in the Christmas Classical Charts.

Other recent projects include two recordings of the music of Dan Locklair, collaboration with the jazz-trio Acoustic Triangle and the choir have just returned from a concert tour of southern France. The choir regularly collaborates with and performs alongside many famous ensembles. These have included the King’s Singers, the BBC Singers, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, London Mozart Players, Onyx Brass, Fretwork and the jazz-trio Acoustic Triangle. The group also celebrates the work of living composers and has commissioned works from Sir James MacMillan, Gabriel Jackson, Richard Rodney Bennett, Cecilia McDowall, and Paul Mealor. International performances are also an integral part of the choir’s work. They have toured most European countries, and have been broadcast on national television and radio all over the world. A tour of all three Baltic states saw the choir performing in the Latvian Song Festival with the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, in a concert (sung in Estonian) broadcast nationally on the Estonian Day of Independence.

Further afield, the group has visited Beijing and numerous tours to the US and Canada. The choir regularly sings at high-profile events which have included the Annual Festival of Remembrance at the Albert Hall (live on BBC television), an awards ceremony at Buckingham Palace, and the Magna Carta 800 celebrations, in which they performed a new work by John Rutter in the presence of HM the Queen and the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Praised for the “elegance of his technique, overall sound and natural poeticism” (Charlotte Gardner, Strad Magazine), British cellist Maxim Calver first gained public recognition as a BBC Young Musician 2018 Grand Finalist and Strings Category winner where he made his concerto debut with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in Symphony Hall, Birmingham.

Since the competition, he has been in high demand across the UK and Europe, appearing as a concerto soloist in many leading venues, including Tonhalle Zurich, Cadogan Hall, Kulturcasino Bern and the Grosse Saal of the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, where he made his European Concerto debut. A regular recitalist, he has recently collaborated with pianists Kumi Matsuo, Jams Coleman and Gorka Plada Giron, with 25/26 venues including the Cambridge Summer Music Festival, Lichfield Festival, Miry Konzertzaal, Wiltshire Music Centre and St. George’s Bristol amongst others. Furthermore, in November 2025, Maxim joined acclaimed violinist Nicola Benedetti, guitarist Plinio Fernandes and accordionist Samuele Telari for a 14 concert UK Tour, with venues including Edinburgh’s Usher Hall, Bridgewater Hall, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Ulster Hall and the Royal Albert Hall, London.

Maxim’s 26/27 season includes concerto performances with the Casco Phil, Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra (in London’s Cadogan Hall), Plymouth Symphony Orchestra (a Tour in the South-West), Orchestra of the City and the Amersham Festival Orchestra as a part of his 2027 Festival Residency. He will also perform debut recitals in MIM Brussels and the Harrogate International Festival as well collaborate with fellow young artists Leo Appel, Jaren Ziegler and Kasparas Mikuzis for Piano Quartet performances across the UK.

A passionate chamber musician, Maxim has collaborated with acclaimed musicians including Lawrence Power, Anthony Marwood, Antje Weithaas, Diyang Mei, Gidon Kremer and Thomas Adès. He performs frequently at chamber music festivals across Europe, with recent highlights including the Verbier Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, East Neuk Festival, Chamber Music Connects the World Festival at the Kronberg Academy and the International Pau Casals Festival as well as leading venues including Wigmore Hall, Berlin Konzerthaus, Flagey Studios and Amsterdam Concertgebouw. He also regularly collaborates with the Choir of Royal Holloway, releasing two albums of music by Matthew Coleridge on Convivium Records to widespread critical acclaim. A further album featuring music by Nathan James Dearden is scheduled for release by Signum Records in November 2026.

Originally from Gorleston-on-Sea in Norfolk, Maxim started the cello at the age of 4 with Maja Passchier before moving to the Yehudi Menuhin School to study with Thomas Carroll aged just 8 years old. He completed his undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the Royal College of Music with Professor Melissa Phelps and is currently an ‘Artist in Residence’ at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, studying with Gary Hoffman and Jeroen Reuling.

In 2025, Maxim was the recipient of the inaugural ‘Goldman Sachs Gives Award’ at the Verbier Festival Academy for a musician of exceptional merit. He also recieved the ‘Oranjewoud Award’ at the Schiermonikoog Festival in 2024. He is very grateful to have received support from the Amaryllis Fleming Foundation, Geoff and Val Richards, The Rev Robert Fleming Hannay Memorial Charity, Hattori Foundation, Countess of Munster Musical Trust and the Drake Calleja Trust. He is also grateful to the Young Classical Artists Trust for their generous support through their ‘UK Artists Directory’ scheme for young UK-based musicians.

Maxim currently plays a fine David Tecchler cello loaned to him through the Beare’s International Violin Society with thanks to a generous patron.

George Arthur Richford is an award-winning British composer, conductor, arranger and recording producer. Appointed to his first cathedral musical directorship at the age of 21, he has since held distinguished musical and academic positions at St John's College, Durham, Newcastle Cathedral, St Mary Magdalene Church (the Royal Peculiar), Newark, Romsey Abbey, Salisbury Cathedral, and the University of Southampton. He has also worked with Beaulieu Abbey and the Montagu family.

He is currently Head of Music for the Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth, Professor of Music at the Royal Marines School of Music, Deputy Director of Music at Great St Bartholomew's in the City of London, Honorary Director of the Convivium Singers, and a Company Director of the Rodolfus Foundation.

As a conductor, George has worked internationally with leading soloists, ensembles and orchestras, and has been a guest conductor for courses and choirs across Europe and America. He has directed around a dozen live BBC broadcasts and made numerous commercial recordings. His particular specialisms include musical leadership, change management, chorister training, and working with professional adult choirs.

His compositions are published by Universal Edition, Wise Music, Shorter House and Guild Publications, and have received numerous awards and commissions, including for the Three Choirs Festival.

A Gramophone Award-nominated recording producer, George has produced recordings for Signum, Convivium, Prima Facie and Regent Records.

Nathan James Dearden is a Welsh composer whose music explores identity, place, and memory through concert music, choral works, and immersive multimedia performance.

Described as "a champion of his generation" and whose music is "hauntingly beautiful" (Media Wales), his work has been commissioned, performed and recorded by many of Britain's leading performers and ensembles including the BBC Singers, Philharmonia Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Berkeley Ensemble, Welsh National Opera, mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston, The Tippett Quartet, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, National Youth Choir of Wales, The Heath Quartet, Grand Band, the Fidelio Trio, Hebrides Ensemble, CHROMA ensemble, and flautist Carla Rees. His music regularly features in concerts across the UK and overseas, including at the ISCM World Music Days, Cheltenham Music Festival, Dartington International Summer School and Festival, International Young Composers' Meeting, CROSSROADS International New Music Festival and Vale of Glamorgan Festival of Music. Nathan began his professional composing life as an inaugural Young Composer-in-Residence with the National Youth Orchestra of Wales and Music Creator for Sinfonia Newydd in 2013. Since then his music has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru, Resonance FM, RTÉ lyric FM, S4C and Soho Radio, whilst also released on NMC Recordings and Delphian.

Recent projects reflect an increasingly interdisciplinary practice that places the human voice at its centre. They include Mamiaith, created with Music Theatre Wales and the National Eisteddfod of Wales; messages, commissioned by the Three Choirs Festival; the Welsh tour of The day following with UPROAR New Music Ensemble; and silent stones, commissioned by BBC Sounds for the BBC Singers. His current creative work includes large-scale choral, theatrical, and immersive projects that explore contemporary Welsh identity through music, text, and emerging technologies, including his ongoing multimedia work Passion.

Nathan's work has received numerous awards and honours. In 2024 he was awarded the prestigious Tlws y Cyfansoddwr (Composer's Medal) at the National Eisteddfod of Wales for (ail-) atgofion. He was named Best Music Creator at the 2022 Making Music Awards for i breathe, selected to represent Wales at the 2023 ISCM World Music Days, received an Early Career Public Engagement Award from the Institute of Musical Research, was a London Philharmonic Orchestra Leverhulme Arts Scholar, received the inaugural Paul Mealor Award for Outstanding Young Composers, and was the first recipient of the Acapela Composer Award from the Welsh Music Guild.

As a conductor, Nathan is carving a career as one of the most sought-after interpreters of his generation for the performance of twentieth and twenty-first century repertoire. Nathan has held posts and guest conductorships at National Youth Orchestra of Wales, National Youth Choir of Wales, CHROMA, Cardiff University, Cardiff Contemporary Music Group, London Metropolitan University / CASS Institute, and is currently the Director of New Music Collective and New Voices Consort at Royal Holloway, University of London. Nathan made his London Philharmonic Orchestra conducting debut with members of the LPO at their 2018 Summer Gala. Nathan has recorded, performed and premiered works by established living composers such as Judith Weir, David Lang, Caroline Shaw, Michael Finnissy, Benjamin Tassie, Gavin Bryars and Howard Skempton, plus hundreds of new works by young and emerging composers. 

Nathan is Associate Professor in Music Composition at Royal Holloway, University of London, where he also serves as Co-Head of Student Recruitment & Global for the Department of Music, Drama and Media Arts. He is Composer-in-Residence with the Choir of Royal Holloway and Music Performance Manager, combining artistic leadership with teaching, research, performance, and the strategic development of music within higher education. His doctoral research, completed at Royal Holloway in 2023 under the supervision of Mark Bowden, explored musical portraiture and composition as a form of social commentary.

Nathan holds a Bachelor of Music (with Honours) from Cardiff University, where he was awarded the David Lloyd Music Prize for excellence in vocal studies and choral work (2012) and the Elizabeth Griffiths Award for his outstanding contribution to the musical life at Cardiff University School of Music (2013). He later graduated from Cardiff University as a Master of Music (with Distinction) in Music Composition with Robert Fokkens, Louis Johnson and Arlene Sierra, where his studies were kindly supported by Cardiff University, the James Pantyfedwen Foundation and the Vaughan Williams Foundation. 

Alongside his creative and academic work, Nathan is committed to supporting the development of contemporary music and the next generation of musicians. He is Membership Secretary and a Board Member of the Welsh Music Guild, Festival Manager of Chamber Music on Valentia, a Classical Music Mentor with the Help Musicians, SoundBoard mentoring network, and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). Through these roles, alongside his work as a composer, conductor, educator, and artistic leader, Nathan champions new music, nurtures emerging artists, and works to strengthen the place of Welsh music and culture within the wider musical landscape.

Hattie Butterworth is a writer, speaker, cellist and mental health campaigner based in London. She studied the cello at Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal College of Music until moving into arts journalism.

Hattie is the Editor of Choir & Organ and Opera Now Magazines, and a contributing writer for parent magazine Gramophone. As Editor, Hattie has overseen numerous partnerships including an inaugural media partnership with the Three Choirs Festival. She is committed to providing a bridge between audiences and performers, commissioning and writing investigations, opinion pieces and a mental health campaign for opera singers.

As a writer, Hattie’s work has been published by The Standard, Gramophone Magazine, The Strad and Royal Opera & Ballet Magazine. She has also written programme note interviews for English National Opera and liner notes for Decca Classics and Signum. Read some of Hattie’s work here.

Until 2026 Hattie was the founder and co-host of podcast Things Musicians Don’t Talk About, which was launched in 2020 as a space to share honestly about the reality of musician’s lives. The podcast was supported by the Royal Society of Musicians with whom they curated a live podcast event series, Resonate. Explore the talks here.

As a speaker and campaigner, Hattie has contributed to features on BBC Radio 1, Radio 3, the BBC World Service and co-hosts the Gramophone Classical Music Podcast. She also took part in a Take Me To The Opera documentary on Kiri Te Kanawa for the BBC News TV channel. As a jury host, Hattie has chaired talks as part of the Three Choirs Festival, Exhibition Road Festival at the V&A and for Finite Films & TV, and was on the panel for the 2025 Royal Philharmonic Society Opera Award.

She is committed to empowering younger culture writers and critics, and has mentored writers through criticism, taking on investigations, podcasting and interview technique. She has given talks on her work in cultural journalism at the Royal College of Music and Royal Academy of Music.

When she’s not working, Hattie enjoys walking, reading non-fiction and researching. She is often learning weird things for the sake of it, knows a lot of Eminem raps, enjoys sauna, cold water swimming and Sumatran coffee.