About Us

Photograph by Romy Whai Films

Established in 1980, the Hampton Singers have become a valued part of music making in the Solihull area, with many supporters regularly attending our concerts. The choir is also involved in local community initiatives, singing at Solihull Civic Centre, entertaining our older residents at Christmas and helping to facilitate Singing for Wellbeing in the borough.

Our talented and enthusiastic conductor, Ben Hamilton, rehearses the choir every Monday evening (from 7.45 to 9.45pm) in Hampton in Arden’s Scout and Guide Headquarters, Shadowbrook Lane. Ben has guided our development for the last 9 years and rehearsals are always lively and fun (and include a break for a cup of tea!). Ben is ably assisted by our accompanist Lucy Griffiths.

We usually perform a major choral work in Spring and a lighter programme in Autumn at local venues and a Christmas concert at Temple Balsall Church in December.

Additionally, we have occasional training evenings with our vocal coach, renowned mezzo soprano and village resident, Gaynor Keeble. When we perform large choral works, we often have the opportunity to work with professional soloists and musicians.

Why not follow us on Facebook? Hampton Singers on Facebook

Our Committee

Sue Kiely

Joint Chair

Mark Blake

Joint Chair

Kay Sumner

Treasurer

Oksana Zurak

Secretary

George Cappendell

Membership

Sue Blake

committee member

Jane Durkin

committee member

Lucy Griffiths

committee member

Benjamin Hamilton, our conductor

Benjamin Hamilton is an enthusiastic and energetic conductor with extensive experience in the field of opera and choral direction. Most recently, in Januaory 2023, he assisted the distinguished conductor David Parry on the first complete recording of Charles Villiers Stanford’s Shamus O’Brien for Retrospect Opera with the Orchestra of Scottish Opera. He has been invited to assist John Andrews with the same orchestra on new recording of MacFarren and Bantocks’s Celtic Opera, The Seal-Woman.

Excelling in a range of musical styles, Benjamin boasts a repertoire that spans from Monteverdi to contemporary music, and has collaborated with orchestras and opera companies to deliver outstanding performances. Notable operatic engagements include conducting The Coronation of Poppea, Dido and Aeneas, The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, The Magic Flute, Carmen, Eugene Onegin and La bohème for Warwick Arts Centre, where he also conducted performances of The Threepenny Opera and Into the Woods. For the Newbury Corn Exchange, he has conducted Nabucco and La traviata, and at Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre, where he was made a Springboard Artist, La Cenerentola and Hansel and Gretel.

A gifted translator, Benjamin has also produced award-winning adaptations, including Die Fledermaus, re-branded in a grime-inspired production as Bat Out of Hackney for Hackney Empire, conducted by John Andrews; an ‘Oxford Don’ Don Giovanni for Hampstead Garden Opera, conducted by Johnathon Heyward; and a traditional Carmen for Warwick Arts Centre which he also conducted. Benjamin is a co-founder of HighTime, an opera company whose vision is to make this repertoire accessible to everyone through modern translations of traditional operas. He is also a trustee of Retrospect Opera.

With an enthusiasm for education and public engagement initiatives, Benjamin has created a series of development days for singers and musicians in opera with DEBUT/Classical and the Bishopsgate Institute, bringing together professional singers and amateur chorus with the Horizon Orchestra (of which he is the Principal Conductor) to learn an opera in a day. Following on from the success of Carmen and The Marriage of Figaro, forthcoming operas include La Traviata, Die Fledermaus and La bohème. Benjamin has recently also prepared a critical edition of Stanford’s Much Ado About Nothing from the manuscript for Northern Opera Group.

In addition to his work in the theatre, Benjamin has worked with choirs spanning the spectrum of genres and experience levels. He is the Artistic Director of Warwickshire Youth Choirs, where he leads the delivery of an in-school singing programme reaching 2400 children a year and leads the extra-curricular county choirs, creating clear learning pathways for every child who wants to sing. Benjamin regularly directs Ex Urbe Chamber Choir, which has recorded new commissions for BBC Radio 3; the Hampton Singers Choral Society; the Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service Choir, a 16-strong workplace choir set up by Gareth Malone, which appeared on ITV’s Night for the Emergency Services. Forthcoming concerts include a Mozart Requiem and Haydn Theresienmesse with Horizon Orchestra; Carmina Burana; Duruflé Requiem and Bach Motets with organist Kevin Gill and ’cellist Mark Walkem; and a programme to celebrate the Byrd anniversary entitled Eternal Light.

Benjamin has been engaged as Guest Conductor by several orchestras and festivals, including the European Union Chamber Orchestra and International Bach Days Festival, and has also acted as Assistant Conductor for the London Mozart Players and English Symphony Orchestra.

While completing his PhD at the University of Warwick, he studied simultaneously with renowned conductor Paul McGrath and was mentored by Toby Purser (Royal College of Music) and Mark Heron (Royal Northern College of Music) as well as attending George Hurst’s Sherbourne conducting courses.

Whether working with opera companies, choirs, or orchestras, Benjamin’s diverse background of experience, passion and creativity shines through. His wealth of experience continues to make him a name to watch.