Guest Musical Directors

Ben Horden - Summer 2022 Guest Director

Ben is an accomplished artist forging a diverse career as an organist, conductor, and keyboardist.

An MA graduate of The University of York, Ben’s studies focussed on Baroque performance practice; specifically, the influence on the music of Johann Sebastian Bach by his European counterparts and their country’s cultures and practices. 

Church music shaped much of Ben’s initial training and early career; he has previously held positions at a number of England’s churches and cathedrals. Chief amongst his now varied portfolio as a freelance musician is his work at the University of York as an accompanist, teacher of organ, and teaching assistant.
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Ben appears regularly in his capacity as a solo artist, and in 2022 will release his debut solo album. Ben often accompanies many young aspiring singers and collaborates with instrumentalists and ensembles as an accompanist and continuo player.

As a choral conductor, Ben is in increasing demand. He is the Music Director of King’s Lynn Festival Chorus; a one hundred strong choir, collaborating with distinguished soloists and ensembles to perform from a wide-ranging repertoire. Ben is also a guest conductor of The Fourth Choir, London’s LGBTQ+ chamber choir, and an Associate of The Come and Sing Company with whom he engages in a wide-ranging outreach programme. He currently studies conducting with Paul Brough.

Jamie Powe - Spring 2022 Guest Director

Jamie Powe currently holds a scholarship from the Royal Academy of Music, where he is studying for an MA degree in choral conducting under Patrick Russill. Jamie was also one of the 2018/19 Young Conducting Scholars with Sing for Pleasure and has worked with Genesis Sixteen as conducting scholar. He was Director of the Chapel Choir of Regent's Park College, Oxford 2019-2021, and he is currently Musical Director of Laurelin Voices, and The Arcadian Singers. In 2018, he completed his BA degree in Music at Somerville College, Oxford, which included a choral conducting module. Alongside his degree, he also studied choral conducting with Paul Spicer and directed the Somerville Orchestra. 

As a tenor, Jamie was a choral scholar at Somerville College (2015-2018), St Mary's Church, Primrose Hill (2018-20) and now regularly works as a tenor deputy in and around London. He has also performed operatic roles with Handmade Opera, Opera in the City and has performed at the Dorset Opera Festival. Recent roles include Flute (Midsummer Night's Dream), Daniel (Witch - a new opera by Toby Young), Trio (Trouble in Tahiti) and Bill (A Hand of Bridge).

Hilary Campbell - Winter 2021 Guest Director

Hilary Campbell is a freelance choral conducting specialist and prize-winning composer who leads professional chamber choir Blossom Street. They have released a Christmas album to great acclaim, so she will be inspirational to work with for the December concert. 

Hilary is currently associate conductor of Ex Cathedra and has led the BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Chorus, Royal Academy of Music Symphony Chorus, Trinity Laban Chamber Choir and New London Singers. She also conducts the P&O Ferries Choir, who won best workplace choir on the BBC series The Choir in 2013. She is the Musical Director of Bristol Choral Society, the Music Makers of London and Chiswick Choir. In addition to conducting, Hilary also acts as an adjudicator and choral workshop leader. Hilary gained a Distinction for an MMus in Choral Conducting at the Royal Academy of Music; she was also awarded the three choral conducting prizes. Following her studies, she returned to the Royal Academy as the Meaker Fellow 2012-13 and was made an Associate in 2020. 

Nicholas Chalmers - Autumn 2021 Guest Director

The Fourth Choir will be working with Nicholas Chalmers for our fall term. Nicholas is well known to the choir, having led many rehearsals for us in the past. We are excited that this will be our first full term and concert together.

​Nicholas led the BBC Singers at the Proms last year and is the founding Artistic Director of both the Nevill Holt Opera company and Second Movement. He also works with major UK orchestras including Royal Northern Sinfonia, Britten Sinfonia, The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, The English Chamber Orchestra and The Ulster Orchestra. He is Director of Music at St Jude-on-the-hill, Hampstead Garden Suburb. He has been on the music staff at English National Opera, Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral and Chichester Cathedral. Nicholas leads the Sing at ROH programme and works with the youth opera company. ​He studied music at Lincoln College, Oxford and the Piacenza Conservatoire. 

Esther Jones - Summer 2021 Guest Director

Esther Jones will be working with the choir for our spring-summer term. Esther is a conductor, workshop leader, arranger and adjudicator with a particular interest in music and wellbeing, so Esther will be perfect for our first term emerging from lockdown.

Esther has worked over many years with the National Youth Choir of Great Britain, the Royal Academy of Music and London Youth Choir. She also appeared as a tutor on the BBC's TV show The Choir with Gareth Malone and was a project leader for a Wellcome Collection public engagement project on dementia and the arts. Esther has worked as Chorus Master for conductors including Marin Alsop, John Rutter, Simon Halsey and Eric Whitacre. She has directed music on numerous CD recordings and digital downloads, as well as on live broadcasts for BBC Radio. She studied Music at Oxford University and choral conducting at the Royal Academy of Music, where she was the first Open Academy Fellow.

Dominic Ellis-Peckham - Former Artistic Director 2013-2021

We'd like to say thank you to Dominic Ellis-Peckham who was the founding Artistic Director and Conductor of The Fourth Choir from September 2013 to February 2021. Dominic was instrumental in establishing the choir, crafting our sound and setting our strategic direction.