Soprano Laura Newey performs regularly with ensembles including Tenebrae and St Martin’s Voices, as well as professional church choirs across London. This spring, she is excited to join VOCES8 for several performances in the UK and Germany. Laura trained originally as a pianist, discovering singing at university. She held choral and academic scholarships at Keble College, Oxford, graduating in 2021 with a First in Music. From 2022-23, she was a Choral Scholar at St. Martin-in-the-Fields. She studies with Julie Kennard. 

British-Jamaican soprano Sophie Taylor-Denton studied Music at the University of Nottingham and postgraduate Education degrees at Homerton and Jesus College, Cambridge. She was a choral scholar at Nottingham Cathedral, singing thereafter with the choirs of OLEM and Jesus College, Cambridge. She now sings with the choir of St Mary’s Bourne Street and other professional choirs in London. Sophie balances singing with music teaching at a leading independent school and working for the Rodolfus Foundation as a choral educator and Trustee.

Lily is a Mezzo-Soprano who studied music at King’s College London, graduating with first class honours. Here, she sang with the university choir, featuring as a soloist on their 2023 recording of Kerensa Briggs’ music. Alongside her studies, she also managed Harmonies of Hope Children’s Choir – a choir for young people undergoing organ transplant surgery. She has spent the last two years in York, studying for her master’s degree in Musicology, whilst being a choral scholar at York Minster.

Francis Bamford is currently studying for an MMus at the Royal College of Music, where he is the London Women’s Clinic Foundation Scholar, studying Voice with Sally Burgess. Francis was a Choral Scholar at St John’s College Cambridge, where he read Music, and was a scholar on the Sir Arthur Bliss Lieder Scheme, coached by Joseph Middleton. Francis continues to perform with a number of choirs and consort groups, and is a Lay Clerk at Southwark Cathedral.

Monty Charles is a tenor recently graduated from the University of Birmingham with a First in Music and Spanish and the Arnold Goldsbrough Prize for the highest performance mark in his year. He has recently sung with VOCES8 in concerts across America and Europe, and is part of the 2024/25 Genesis Sixteen cohort. Previously, Monty has worked with Ex Cathedra, Orfeó Català in Barcelona, National Youth Chamber Choir, the CBSO Chorus, and St. Chad’s Cathedral Choir.

Alistair Donaghue is a graduate of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, where he studied Vocal and Operatic Performance. Originally from Northampton, Alistair started his singing career as a chorister at All Saints Church, before joining the National Youth Choir of Great Britain. Alistair is now a Tenor Vicar Choral in the choir of York Minster, and is a Singing Teacher at Bradford Cathedral.

Harry Mobbs is a recent graduate of The University of Manchester. Whilst studying, he managed two opera productions and conducted Ad Solem Chamber Choir, touring to Edinburgh, Ireland and Hong Kong. In his freelance career, Harry has performed with multiple professional choirs at venues around the UK and Europe, and is an alumnus of Genesis Sixteen. Harry is the Manager and Co-Founder/Director of The Mancunium Consort, a Manchester-based ensemble seeking to widen the platform for Young Professionals in the North.

Henry is a recent graduate of the University of Cambridge, where he studied Music and sang daily with the Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge. He began singing in his teens as a member of the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain, and now enjoys a mixture of professional choral and solo performing. Recent highlights include solo coaching through Joseph Middleton’s Sir Arthur Bliss Lieder Scheme, and St. John Passion performances singing Christus alongside Nick Mulroy as Evangelist. Henry has recently taken up the position of Lay Clerk at the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, and is delighted to be joining the VOCES8 Scholars this year!