Platinum Consort

'A vocal supergroup' (BBC Radio 3) Celebrating the evolution of the voice through our Consort, Choristers, Orchestra and Workshops. Founder @singwithscott

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Following a successful run of auditions we are proud to say that our Chorister Programme has a record 27 talented children on roll. Here’s to some amazing singing to come! 💜

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We’re in the middle of our Crucifixus Weekender and taking a pit stop to enjoy some delicious curry 💜🥘🍷

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Lovely to have our Associate Musical Director Hilary Punnett dep in for Scott this week at Early Nights! We tackled two beautiful Marian motets, one by Palestrina and one by Anerio. Swipe for a clip of the Palestrina!

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A little snippet from our rehearsal of Pierre de La Rue’s Ave Regina Caelorum this evening - don’t we sound good in scrambled formation? 🍳

We’re singing two settings of this text tonight - this is the earlier one (de La Rue’s dates are c1460-1518), with the other being by Felice Anerio (1560-1614). It will be interesting to compare the two!

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It’s tea time at Early Nights! We’ve just sung a most perplexing but beautiful setting of the Salve Regina by Pierre de la Rue 💜

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Worthy is the Lamb from Handel’s Messiah. Join us on 23rd November @SinfoniaSmithSq for our concert! 🎟️ Tix in bio!

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And the Glory of the Lord from Handel’s Messiah. Join us on 23rd November @SinfoniaSmithSq for our concert! 🎟️ Tix in bio!

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It's time to introduce members of Platinum 415, our orchestra! First up are the violins.
Naomi Burrell, Holly Harman, Flora Curzon, Rebecca Harris, Rebecca Köhler Baratto, Will McGahon & Melanie Gruwez
Don't miss the chance to hear them on the 23rd!

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Meet the Platinum Choristers!
Platinum Choristers is a South London-based choir for boys and girls aged 8+ with a talent for singing. The choir was launched in August 2020 by Director Scott Inglis-Kidger. Rehearsals take place in Wimbledon on Sunday evenings during term time, directed by Scott and our Associate Musical Director, Hilary Punnett. We provide exceptional opportunities for talented young singers and, in particular, a Cathedral-style training without the constraints of a specific church or school affiliation. One of the unique aspects of the choir is that it combines treble voices with the professional adult singers of Platinum Consort – creating a musically inspiring environment in which the children can thrive.

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Introducing our wonderful Consort members!
Soprano: Fleur Smith, Hilary Punnett
Alto: Sam Mitchell
Tenor: Charlie Eastwood, Chris Tortise-Crawford
Bass: Dominic Felts, Alex Pratley
Come and see them in action on the 23rd!

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Just 2 weeks to go until our Messiah!

Next up is bass, Andrew Tipple!
Andrew Tipple studied at the Royal Academy of Music as the recipient of the Elton John scholarship and later the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland where he was a member of the Alexander Gibson Opera School, graduating in 2013. Whilst there he was the recipient of the ABRSM scholarship.
Recent operatic performances have included performing as Benoit in La Boheme at Nevill Holt Opera Festival, Fasolt in Das Rheingold at Grimeborn Opera Festival and as Gravedigger in Kurt Weill’s Silverlake with English Touring Opera. Other performances include playing Collatinus in The Rape of Lucretia at the Arcola Theatre in London, Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro at the Kilden theatre Norway, Zaretsky in Eugene Onegin and Antonio in Le nozze di Figaro at Garsington Opera and Talpa in Il Tabarro at Wexford Festival Opera. He has performed as a member of many eminent operatic companies, including the Bayreuther Festspiele, Glyndebourne Festival Opera.
Andrew is also a very experienced oratorio singer having performed a wide range of repertoire with recent performances including Bach’s B minor Mass at Lichfield Cathedral and Bach’s St John Passion at Norwich Cathedral. Other notable performances have included Haydn's Nelson Mass with the Oxford Bach Choir, Haydn's Creation in Glasgow University Chapel, Bach's St John Passion at Arundel Cathedral and Paisley Abbey and Bach's Magnificat in D at King's Place London.
Andrew was involved in music from a young age, starting as a chorister at Lichfield Cathedral. In 2005 he was appointed as a Choral Scholar at King’s College Cambridge, whilst studying for a BA in History.

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We're heading on to meet our bass soloists now. First up, @kraynerbaritone!
Kieran Rayner is a London-based Kiwi baritone and RCMIOS graduate. Engagements include Junius The Rape of Lucretia (Royal Opera House); Escamillo Carmen (Norwich Opera Festival); Bartolo Barber of Seville, Sorcerer Dido & Aeneas (Waterperry Festival Opera); Frankie 1944: Home Fires (Tête-â-Tête); Papageno Die Zauberflöte, Silvio I Pagliacci (Festival Opera NZ); Gasparo Rita, Aeneas Dido & Aeneas (IF Opera); Dancaïre Carmen, Forester The Cunning Little Vixen (Longborough Festival Opera); The Prince Fantasio (Garsington Opera); Ucello BambinO (Scottish Opera/Improbable); Marcello La Bohème (Mid Wales Opera); Eisenstein Die Fledermaus (NAFA Singapore), Figaro Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Devon Opera).
He has performed solo at the Royal Albert Hall & Buckingham Palace, plus across Europe, Asia, and the Pacific Islands. He was winner of SING FINZI 2022, an International Handel Competition Finalist and a Wigmore Hall Song Competition Semifinalist. As a writer-performer, he has created two interactive play/recitals: Where To? (Aldeburgh Festival), and What If? (Samling Arts). https://t.co/fneDq5JUwA

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Introducing our second tenor soloist, Tom Kelly!
British Tenor Tom Kelly performs internationally with the world’s top conductors, orchestras, opera companies and vocal ensembles.
Baroque solo highlights include a recent tour of Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 with Solomon’s Knot and Jonny Sells, culminating at Wigmore Hall, and Bach’s Matthäus-Passion with Dunedin Consort and Nick Mulroy. Contemporary highlights include recording the twin roles of Mormon 2 and Housemate 3 in Oliver Leith’s Last Days with The Twelve Ensemble for Platoon Records, and performing Schubert’s An die Musik for 7 hours without stopping as part of Ragnar Kjartansson’s eponymous work for London Contemporary Music Festival.
On stage, Tom spent this summer with Grange Park Opera, performing alongside Ailish Tynan and Bryn Terfel in Rachmaninov’s Aleko and Donizetti’s Daughter of the Regiment before a production of Rossini’s Barber of Seville at West Green House Opera. Highlights on stage include Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni) at The Minack Theatre, Cornwall, and creating the role of Emile L’Angelier, a role Tom made for Surrey Opera’s 50th Anniversary production of the new opera Madeleine, by David Hackbridge Johnson. Other highlights include opera productions of Berlioz (Les Troyens and Benvenuto Cellini) with Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the Monteverdi Choir, and Purcell and Handel (The Indian Queen and Semele) with Emmanuelle Haïm and Le Concert D’Astrée.
As an ensemble singer, Tom performed with Grammy nominated ensemble Stile Antico for 5 years, touring Europe, USA and Canada, and South America regularly. He has also performed with a wide range of UK- and Europe-based professional vocal ensembles, including The Sixteen, Monteverdi Choir, BBC Singers and Collegium Vocale Gent, The Tallis Scholars and Gabrieli Consort. A recent highlight was a programme of Palestrina with Lionel Meunier and Vox Luminis.

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Here is one of our tenor soloists, Matthew Pochin!
Matthew Pochin began his career as a chorister at Hereford Cathedral, where he later became a lay clerk. He went on to study at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. After several years working as a pastry chef, Matthew moved to London in 2007 to continue his career as a singer. He currently sings with the choirs of St John’s Wood Parish Church and West London Synagogue. He also sings regularly with the choirs of HM Chapel Royal, Hampton Court, Temple Church and St Mary-le-Bow in the City of London. Matthew performs as an oratorio and consort soloist across the UK and Europe. This is Matthew’s fourth Messiah for Platinum Consort.

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Introducing our final alto soloist, Tristram Cooke!
After graduating from King’s College London where his first study was violin, countertenor Tristram Cooke was awarded a scholarship on the MA in Performance at the Royal Academy of Music, where he studied with Glenville Hargreaves and Michael Chance, and graduated with Distinction in 2016.
Solo repertoire includes a wide variety of much-loved and lesser-known oratorio and concert works, and he has a regular engagement performing cantatas with the City Bach Collective for Lutheran Vespers at St Mary at Hill. Tristram is a Lay Vicar at Westminster Abbey, and also performs with several internationally-recognised ensembles including the Tallis Scholars, Choir of the Age of Enlightenment, Ora Singers, Arcangelo, and Gabrieli Consort, and has worked with some of the world’s most famous musicians.
He has been a regular collaborator with Musica Antica Rotherhithe since the group started, notably the comic opera Lo Spedale, and recent concerts supported by the Continuo Foundation. He has also worked with lutenist Peter Martin, giving several recitals around the country, including for the Lute Society.

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Next up is @MattFarMus!
A sought-after soloist for oratorio works, countertenor Matthew Farrell has a broad repertoire that encompasses early music, chamber works, oratorio, choral works, and contemporary music. Alongside his job as a Lay Clerk at Westminster Cathedral, Matthew regularly performs with ensembles including Vox Medicea, La Nuova Musica, the Gabrieli Consort, and the Tallis Scholars, as well as many church choirs throughout the city. His extensive knowledge and experience in consort singing has also resulted in him performing with smaller chamber ensembles such as the Swan Consort and Opus Anglicanum.
In his professional career as a soloist, Matthew has performed in Handel's Messiah, Bach Passions, and Purcell cantatas with a range of ensembles, as well as contemporary works. Most recently, he performed the part of Adam at the premiere performance of Ed Hughes’ one act opera 'States of Innocence' alongside Sir John Tomlinson at the Brighton Festival 2024.
Matthew's love of early music extends to his instrumental work as an accomplished double bassist and viola da gamba player, performing with Ensemble Pro Victoria, Platinum Consort, Netherlands-based Cantus Quintus Consort and his own viol consort, Arculo.

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Moving onto our alto soloists: here's our very own @randomirror!

Miranda Ostler completed her Masters in Vocal Performance with Distinction at Trinity Laban Conservatoire in June 2024, where she was the Kathleen Roberts Vocal Scholar, and recipient of the Paul Simm Opera Prize for the most promising student in opera. Recent roles for Trinity Laban Opera include the lead role in Strozzi!, Jennifer Hamilton’s jukebox opera of works by Barbara Strozzi at Blackheath Halls; Fenena in scenes from Verdi Nabucco; Kael in Edward Jessen’s Syllable; and Dorabella in scenes from Mozart Così fan tutte.
Miranda is a member of The Ruffians, a new music collective and upper voice vocal trio, specialising in improvisation and experimental music. She has recently made premiere recordings of several songs by Freda Swain with the Henschel String Quartet, and was the soloist for Julian Marshall’s multi-laurelled dance-film Yearning. Miranda has recorded several recent discs with the London Choral Sinfonia and Michael Waldron; and deputises with the BBC Singers and Tenebrae. She formed one of the six voices of Platinum Consort for Victoria Requiem at St James’s Piccadilly in 2023, and was an inaugural choral scholar with the Oxford Bach Soloists and Tom Hammond-Davies. Miranda holds an undergraduate honours degree in Music from University College, Durham, where she was a choral scholar. Miranda is also Assistant Director of Platinum Consort.

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Next up is our final soprano soloist, Helen Lacey.

Helen Lacey is a versatile lyric soprano currently living in London. Helen has recently performed the role of 1st Bridesmaid in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro with Glyndebourne. She is a SongEasel Young Artist and previously, a Young Artist for Leeds Lieder festival. Helen is a recent graduate from the Royal Academy of Music where she was a member of the prestigious Academy Song Circle. She is a featured soloist on Will Todd’s Passion Music recorded for Signum Classics and a BBC Introducing Artist for Radio 3's In Tune. Among her recent engagements is Peter Sellars’ staging of Bach’s St. John Passion conducted by Sir Simon Rattle (OAE / German Tour), Bach’s cantata Ich habe genug at St Martin-in-the-Fields (Brandenburg Sinfonia), Haydn’s Creation conducted by Jane Glover at Dartington International Festival and a performance at Latitude Festival, broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune.

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Here's another of our soprano soloists, Christine Buras!

Soprano Christine Buras has been praised for her rich lyrical timbre, commanding stage presence, and fearless exploration of 20th and 21st-century music. Her diverse repertoire spans from Baroque chamber works to the grand operas of Verdi and Strauss, and even contemporary performance art.

Originally from Washington, DC, Christine has made her home in London since 2013. Her operatic roles include Contessa Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro), Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), Helmwige (Die Walküre), Erste Dienerin (Die Ägyptische Helena), and the title role in Handel’s Theodora. A passionate performer of both recital and concert repertoire, she was a finalist in the 2020 Oxford Lieder Young Artist Competition alongside pianist Thomas Ang. In spring 2021, Christine returned to Washington National Cathedral—where she sang as a girl chorister—to perform as the soprano soloist in Mendelssohn’s Elijah. She is also a founding member of the Hampstead Collective, a North London-based group that presents a monthly concert series of oratorio, song, and chamber music.

Recently, Christine has performed as Donna Anna (Don Giovanni, Regents Opera) and Rosalinde (Die Fledermaus, Carshalton Opera), and performed orchestral works such as Strauss' Four Last Songs and Handel’s Ode for St Cecilia’s Day with the Hampstead Collective. In the coming season, she looks forward to a recital featuring the complete songs of Henri Duparc, Michal in Handel’s Saul, a tour of La Bohème as Mimì with Regents Opera, and the title role in a concert performance of Dvořák’s Rusalka.