Manvinder Rattan | Musical Director

Manvinder Rattan has been Musical Director of Hertford Choral Society since September 2021, prior to which he was musical director at John Lewis Partnership where he was responsible for the company’s 15 choirs, orchestra, jazz band and music tuition service.

Travel featured strongly in the annual programme with performances in Rome, Venice, Florence, Athens, Dubrovnik, Palma, Lyon, Siena and Sorrento. The chamber choir, The Cavendish Singers, regularly covered services at Westminster Abbey and the orchestra, The Cavendish Ensemble, was voted one of London’s top five amateur orchestras by Classical Music magazine.

At the same time that Manvinder started at HCS, he also began a new role as CEO of The Voices Foundation, an organisation which promotes more and better singing for children through training teachers to lead singing in the classroom, with a particular emphasis on children in deprived areas. Manvinder is also Head of Conductor Training for Sing for Pleasure, the UK’s largest provider of training for choral conductors which does extensive work to enrich the singing lives of children and adults. Its annual Summer School has become a destination event for conductors and singers alike, from all over the world.

Manvinder was a judge on Gareth Malone’s BBC2 series, The Choir – Sing while you work – and he is still often greeted in the street when there’s a rerun on somewhere. He’s a popular judge for choir competitions including, in the past, for the BBC Choir of the Year.

As well as his musical commitments to HCS, he is Musical Director of Serafine Chamber Choir and Sinfonia, professional ensembles with whom he has released the premiere recording of Oliver Tarney’s acclaimed Magnificat.

In 2016, Manvinder was awarded an honorary doctorate by York St John University for his services to music and conducting and in 2021 he was awarded the Fellowship of the Royal Schools of Music in Choral Directing. Recent projects have included Come and Sing events at the Royal Opera House.

Looking ahead, Manvinder will be directing Messiah in Nairobi and an Indian classical music cruise in India.

Manvinder can be contacted at md@hertfordchoral.org.uk