Charlie Penn graduated from the University of Birmingham where he studied piano with Joseph Middleton. He maintains a busy freelance timetable as a versatile musician specialising in work with choirs of all ages and abilities. Charlie is a Britten-Pears Young Artist, previously joining the music staff for Grimes on the Beach in Aldeburgh, and performing on organ conducted by Semyon Bychkov. On stage, he has appeared in Orpheus, an original piece devised and performed by Little Bulb Theatre, and as Keyboard 1 in an exciting new orchestration of Threepenny Opera for the renowned Salzburg festival. He has even made a brief appearance on the BBC’s The One Show, teaching Lee Mack some basic piano vamping!
Alongside his work with Hertford Choral Society, Charlie is the Music Director of the Harborough Singers, Assistant Director of Cantate Youth Choir, and is currently leading Reading A440 choir, recently winning the Cheltenham Music Festival Mixed Voice competition. He is an accompanist and section leader with the National Youth Choir, regularly working and performing with both the Boys’ and Girls’ choirs. He is also accompanist to Hanover Choir and teaches piano at the Stephen Perse Foundation, where he is in charge of several boys’ choirs. He works for the Voices Foundation as a choral specialist, and can regularly be found playing various keyboard instruments with the orchestra of Sinfonia Viva.
Whilst living in Birmingham Charlie was Director of Stone Choral Society and a visiting tutor at the Birmingham School of Acting. He is in demand as a recital accompanist and has experience working with students at both the University of Birmingham and the Birmingham Conservatoire. He has also worked with a number of renowned professional soloists including Sir Willard White and Wendy Dawn Thompson. Charlie’s abilities and willingness to tackle any style of music have led him to work with many prestigious musical organisations including the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Armonico Consort and the national singing programme, Sing Up! He has also assisted in the running of the Choral and Choral Conducting courses at the international Sherborne Summer School of Music and regularly directs very popular singing courses for the Cambridge Holiday Orchestra Association.
Charlie can be contacted at accompanist@hertfordchoral.org.uk
