Voices of Hope is an award winning chamber choir based in the North East of England. Founded in 2011 by Simon Davies-Fidler; Scottish conductor Mark Edwards was appointed as Musical Director in 2020.
Having originally formed for a one-off charity concert, Voices of Hope have since earned wide-spread recognition and success, most notably being championed as 2016 National Choir of the Year and 2017 Let the Peoples Sing finalists. The choir have been thrilled to perform in distinguished venues including Sage Gateshead, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Cardiff Millennium Centre and Helsinki’s Musiikkitalo. Additionally, Voices of Hope have contributed several broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 and have been televised on BBC 4.
2019 highlights include performances in Mainz, Germany; at the City of Derry International Choir Festival and a Remembrance Day concert presented by Ēriks Ešenvalds.
With a keen sense of North East identity and an extensive appreciation across the region, Voices of Hope have twice been nominated as Performing Artist of the Year finalists in the Journal Culture Awards. The choir regularly perform original music by local composers, having premiered works by Ian Stephenson, John Kefala-Kerr and Kathryn Tickell. In 2018, the choir released its second album ‘A New Christmas’ featuring six seasonal commissions by composers from the North East.
Voices of Hope regularly enjoy collaborations with celebrated composers and conductors including John Rutter, Will Todd and Neil Ferris. A performance of John Rutter’s Requiem (conducted by John Rutter) at St James’ & St Basil’s Church Fenham, was described by the composer as ‘music making of the highest order – engaging, inspiring and a joy to the ear’.
“Voices of Hope are a choir that have earned their place at the top table in the musical world“
John Rutter – Composer
“‘…a virtuosic performance of great ensemble, musicality and conviction“
Tim Rhys Evans – Conductor
“Really spellbinding, I love what you did and how you did it!“
David Lawrence – Conductor
Musical Director – Mark Edwards
Originally from Edinburgh, Mark trained as a percussionist before taking up conducting and receiving his MMus with distinction. With a keen interest in contemporary music, Mark has worked on new compositions with Royal Northern Sinfonia, London Sinfonietta Academy and Streetwise Opera. Recent highlights include performing at the Royal Albert Hall, London and Symphony Hall, Birmingham as well as live broadcasts for various BBC Radio 3 programmes. At ease working on large scale projects for both orchestra and choir, he has recently directed repertoire including: Elgar – The Dream of Gerontius, Vaughan Williams – A Sea Symphony, and Verdi – Requiem. As Assistant Conductor he has taken rehearsals for RTE Concert Orchestra and acted as cover conductor for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. In addition, Mark won the National Brass Band Conducting Competition in 2017.
Mark currently directs a number of ensembles in the North East and is also a lecturer in conducting at Newcastle University. He has participated in many masterclasses with renowned conductors including Sir Mark Elder, Omer Meir Wellber and David Hill. Mark was recently a semifinalist in the Citta’ Di Brescia-Giancarlo Facchinetti Conducting Competition in November 2021. Amongst his most recent successes is a Postgraduate Diploma with distinction and the Brierley Kershaw Prize for Conducting, both from the Royal Northern College of Music following study with Clark Rundell and Mark Heron. During his time in Manchester Mark was Assistant Conductor for projects with BBC Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Psappha.
He is currently Director of Music for the New Tyneside Orchestra, Hexham Orpheus Choir, Felling Male Voice Choir, workshop leader for Streetwise Opera, and a lecturer in conducting at Newcastle University. Mark is delighted to have recently been appointed Musical Director of Voices of Hope.
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